Configuration

ParrotJS works out of the box, but you can customize it via VS Code settings and project-level configuration.

Run Mode

Set the default run mode. Can be overridden from the status bar at any time.

{
  "parrotjs.runMode": "auto" // "auto" | "onSave" | "onDemand"
}

Auto-Start

Control whether ParrotJS starts automatically when you open a supported file.

{
  "parrotjs.autoStart": true,
  "parrotjs.autoStartFilePatterns": ["**/*.{js,ts,jsx,tsx}"]
}

Execution Safety

ParrotJS runs your code in a process-isolated sandbox. Configure safety limits:

{
  "parrotjs.maxExecutionTime": 5000, // ms, default 5s
  "parrotjs.processHealthCheck": true
}

Keybindings (15 built-in)

All time travel and session controls have default keybindings. Here are the most important ones:

Action	macOS	Windows/Linux
Step Over	`F10`	`F10`
Step Into	`F11`	`F11`
Step Out	`Shift+F11`	`Shift+F11`
Step Back	`Alt+←`	`Alt+←`
Step Forward	`Alt+→`	`Alt+→`
Start/Stop Recording	`Cmd+Shift+R`	`Ctrl+Shift+R`
Toggle Auto Log Mode	`Cmd+Shift+L`	`Ctrl+Shift+L`
Clear Output	`Cmd+K Cmd+O`	`Ctrl+K Ctrl+O`

Configuration Profiles

Pre-configured profiles for common project types:

{
  "parrotjs.profile": "node" // "node" | "react" | "vanilla"
}

Profile	Defaults
node	CJS + ESM support, `require` and `import` both handled
react	JSX/TSX transpilation, React 18 APIs, hooks instrumentation
vanilla	Minimal instrumentation, browser globals (DOM, fetch, etc.)

Dependency Watching

ParrotJS automatically re-executes when an imported file changes:

{
  "parrotjs.watchDependencies": true
}

Status Bar Items

Five status bar indicators are shown by default. Toggle them individually:

{
  "parrotjs.statusBar.toggle": true,
  "parrotjs.statusBar.coverage": true,
  "parrotjs.statusBar.runMode": true,
  "parrotjs.statusBar.snapshotPosition": true,
  "parrotjs.statusBar.testResults": true
}

Commands (45+ available)

All commands available via Cmd+Shift+P:

ParrotJS: Start/Stop Session
ParrotJS: Start/Stop Recording
ParrotJS: Toggle Run Mode
ParrotJS: Toggle Auto Log
ParrotJS: Clear Output
ParrotJS: Show Instrumented Code — read-only view of the fully transformed code
ParrotJS: Step Over / Into / Out / Back / Forward
ParrotJS: Pin Snapshot
ParrotJS: Compare with Snapshot

Theme Adaptation

Time travel color palettes and inline decorations automatically adapt to your VS Code theme (light/dark).