Effortlessly copy file paths with their respective line numbers when working on GitHub.
"LineClipper" is a Chrome Extension which optimizes a software developer's flow between the browser and the IDE while working on GitHub.
A lot of IDEs provide fuzzy find capabilities so you can specify a file path and the IDE would open that file for you. Additionally, you can specify a line number at which you'd like to go to. Example:
"api/controllers/base_controller.go:73"
This would take us to the "base_controller.go" file on "line 73" in the "api/controllers" directory.
When working with GitHub (especially during code reviews) it's common for a developer to jump from the browser to the IDE and vice versa. As it is today this flow is very clunky and can break a developer's flow while working.
The "LineClipper" extension focuses on doing one thing and do it well - copy to your clipboard the file path suffixed with the respective line number when clicking on a specific line number while viewing any type of file with line numbering on GitHub. This way a developer can almost instantly go back and forth between browser and IDE when reviewing files and particular points in code all while keeping a developer's focus where it should be - in the code, not in meaningless operational details.
The plugin includes the copying to clipboard functionality when:
- "reviewing pull requests in the Files Changed tab"
- "reviewing pull requests in the Conversation tab where there are file snippets"
- "going through a repository's files"
- "going through files from old commits"
Your feedback is valuable so it would be appreciated if you leave a rating or feedback of your experience!
Also if you have ideas for improvement you can go ahead and contribute directly to the project: https://github.com/NickyMateev/Line-Clipper
FAQ:
Q: Why does the extension state upon installation that it can read and change all my data on the websites I visit?
A: "LineClipper" will only attempt to work on websites which contain "github" as part of their domain. You can check out this in source here (https://github.com/NickyMateev/Line-Clipper/blob/3f13ab4063e2f72e9860e974d3ec58ee1dda0306/manifest.json#L8).
The reason for deciding to work on all domains containing "github" is that often developers work with multiple public/private installations of GitHub. Out of convenience for the developer it was decided to simply match these domains automatically instead of having to make the developer whitelist every single GitHub domain he works in.
Q: Does the extension work for all GitHub installations or just the public https://github.com installation?
A: The extension, as stated above, works on all kinds of GitHub installations public/private as long as the domain contains
the word "github" in it.
Q: Does this work only when traversing a GitHub project's file tree and looking at different files?
A: No, it works for every page on GitHub which has a file with lines in it. You can copy lines from
the GitHub Pull request diff perspective when you're looking at the file diffs or at the main page of a
pull request where sometimes we see some code snippets which have been commented. You can also copy line numbers
when you're going through old commits and looking around at the files.
PLEASE NOTE:
"LineClipper" (also known as "Line Clipper for GitHub" in the Chrome Web Store) is not endorsed by GitHub.
GitHub and Google Chrome are trademarks of their respective owners.