Codebank

Codebank keeps a bank of reusable code on your machine and recalls it in any project. The bank is plain files under ~/.codebank/. The same bank is available in VS Code, in the terminal, and to an agent over MCP.

Nothing is written into a project until you accept, insert, or apply it.

• Extension: Visual Studio Marketplace and Open VSX, id bobrowsse-tech.codebank
• CLI: npm install -g @bobrowsse-tech/codebank (Node.js 20 or newer)
• Source: github.com/bobrowsse-tech/codebank

Use it in VS Code

Install the extension, then run Codebank: Open Walkthrough. These are the same steps.

1. Scan this machine

Run Codebank: Scan This Machine. A panel shows progress and Cancel. Codebank reads local git repositories and puts repeated code in the Inbox. The scan does not change your projects, and nothing is saved until you accept a candidate.

2. Accept candidates from the Inbox

Open Codebank: Open Inbox. Each row is a candidate, either found by the scan or proposed by an agent. Accept the ones you want to keep. Dismiss the rest. An accepted candidate becomes an entry in the bank. A dismissed one is not suggested again.

3. Search and insert

Run Codebank: Search (Cmd+Alt+Shift+B on macOS, Ctrl+Alt+Shift+B elsewhere). Choose a result. Codebank then asks you to Add to project or Insert at cursor. Add to project writes the files under src/codebank (change that with codebank.insertDir). If the entry needs a package, Codebank types the install command into a terminal and does not run it.

An insert in marker mode starts each file with an @codebank comment so a later version can be found. External mode stores that link and adds no marker text.

4. Deposit a selection

Select a function and run Codebank: Deposit Selection (Cmd+Alt+B on macOS, Ctrl+Alt+B elsewhere). Codebank expands the selection to the function and the helpers it needs, then opens a card: title, what it does, when not to use it, tags, and ownership. The files in that closure are listed above the card. Edit the card, then choose Save to bank. Packages the code imports are stored with the entry.

A selection that contains a secret cannot be saved. If you allow a draft, the selected code is sent to the editor's language model, which may be remote. You can fill the card yourself when no model is available.

5. Recall while you type

In a short TypeScript or JavaScript file, Codebank can offer a banked entry when the file name matches one, when a comment asks to implement something, or when you paste a large block that is already in the bank. The suggestion is a CodeLens: the entry title inserts it, and Preview, Not now, and Mute here are next to it. Not now keeps that file quiet for 10 minutes. Mute here stops that suggestion. Three dismissals mute it as well.

6. Browse the bank

The Codebank view lists entries, the Inbox, and Updates. Click an entry to insert it. Retire Entry removes it from suggestions.

7. Take an update

When the bank copy is newer than a copy you inserted, it shows up under Updates. Take update applies one editor edit, so one undo restores your copy. Keep mine leaves the project file as it is. Promote mine snapshots the previous code and makes the next version in the bank. A conflict is opened for you to resolve and is not applied on its own.

8. Ask in chat

In chat, type #codebank and what you need, for example #codebank filtering. The agent searches the bank and can insert a match. If nothing fits, it can propose the new code to your Inbox. A proposal stays there until you accept it.

Use it from the terminal

npm install -g @bobrowsse-tech/codebank
codebank doctor

codebank doctor prints the bank folder, the schema, and how many entries are indexed. Add --purge-usage to delete the local usage log.

Search, read, and copy an entry

codebank search "filter table rows"
codebank search "filter table rows" --limit 5 --json
codebank get filtering
codebank get filtering --out ./tmp/filtering
codebank list
codebank retire filtering

search prints the slug, title, and intent. get prints the card and the files. --out writes those files into a directory you choose. list skips retired entries.

Add code from a file

codebank add src/filterRows.ts --range 13:20 --title "Filter table rows"

The range is start:end, and the first line of the file is line 1. Codebank saves that function and the helpers it can see from the file. A secret blocks the save.

Scan and the Inbox

codebank mine
codebank mine --roots ~/code,~/work --json
codebank inbox list
codebank inbox accept <id>
codebank inbox dismiss <id>

mine walks the folders in your Codebank config, or the folders you pass with --roots. Candidates stay in the inbox until you accept one.

Let an agent propose an entry

codebank propose --title "Retry a request" --intent "Retry a failed HTTP call with a limit." --files src/retry.ts

The proposal stays in the inbox until you accept it. Do not include secrets or names that belong to one client.

Agents

codebank mcp
codebank skill install --target claude
codebank skill install --target copilot
codebank skill install --target agents --agents-md

codebank mcp speaks newline-delimited JSON-RPC on standard input. The tools are codebank_search, codebank_get, and codebank_propose. skill install copies the agent skill into the target you name.

Settings

| Setting | What it does | | --- | --- | | codebank.home | Bank folder. Empty uses ~/.codebank. | | codebank.insertDir | Folder inside the project for an inserted entry. Default src/codebank. | | codebank.recall.enabled | Show a suggestion on an empty file. | | codebank.recall.threshold | How close a suggestion must be, from 0 to 1. | | codebank.lineage.mode | marker writes a comment. external stores the link and adds no text. | | codebank.scan.roots | Folders to scan. Empty uses the open workspace. | | codebank.scan.ignore | Folder names skipped by a scan. |

Privacy

Codebank does not send telemetry and does not open its own network connections. If you allow a deposit draft, the selected code goes to the editor's language model, which may be remote.

License

MIT. Copyright Bob Rowsse Walakira.