JScratch

JScratch is an "In-Editor ETL Scratchpad" for Visual Studio Code. It allows you to perform quick data transformations, experiments, and pipelines without polluting your main project workspace.

Features

🧪 Virtual Workspace

Keep your project clean! JScratch operates entirely within a virtual file system (datalab://). All your inputs, scripts, and outputs are stored in a transient global storage, so you never have to worry about accidental commits of scratch files.

⚡ TypeScript Transformations

Write powerful transformation scripts using TypeScript.

• Auto-Injection: Common modules like fs and path are available.
• Type Safety: Full IntelliSense support for your data structures.
• Execution: Scripts are executed securely using tsx.

🌳 Pipeline Visualization

Visualize your data flow in a dedicated Tree View.

• Input: Start with raw data (JSON, CSV, TXT).
• Transform: Apply logic.
• Output: See the results immediately.

📜 Session History

Never lose an experiment.

• Auto-Save: Sessions are automatically saved.
• History Browser: View, restore, or delete previous sessions from the sidebar.
• Persistence: Your pipelines survive VS Code restarts.

📤 Export

Happy with your transformation? Export any file from the virtual pipeline directly to your local machine with a single click.

Getting Started

1. Open JScratch: Click the Beaker icon in the Activity Bar.

2. New Session: Click the + icon or run JScratch: New Session.

3. Add Input: Click the "Create Input" button to create a file (e.g., data.json) and paste your raw content.

4. Transform: Right-click the input file in the tree and select Add Transformation.

5. Code: Write your logic in the generated .ts file. The input variable holds your data.

   import { input } from "./data.json";
   
   // Your logic here
   const result = input.map((item) => ({ ...item, processed: true }));
   
   // The return value becomes the content of the next file
   export default result;

6. Run: Click the "Run" icon on the transformation node.

7. Export: Right-click the result and select Export File to save it to your disk.

Commands

Command	Description
JScratch: New Session	Create a new, empty scratchpad session.
JScratch: Create Input	Add a new root file to the pipeline.
JScratch: Add Transformation	Attach a processing script to a node.
JScratch: Run Transformation	Execute the script and generate output.
JScratch: Export File	Save a virtual file to your local filesystem.
JScratch: Clear History	Delete all saved sessions.

Requirements

• Visual Studio Code 1.85.0 or newer.

Release Notes

0.0.1

• Initial release of JScratch.
• Virtual File System implementation.
• Basic Pipeline and History management.

0.0.2

• Moved to using tsx from user's global installation
• Broken because of VSCode restrictions now - PLEASE MOVE TO 0.0.3

0.0.3

• Moved to bundling ESBuild with the extension to avoid VSCode restrictions.
• Improved error handling in transformation scripts.

0.0.4

• Fixed docs typos and improved formatting.