This extension automatically detects file encodings using Python's chardet library and displays a prominent warning in the status bar for any file not encoded in a "safe" format (like ASCII or UTF-8). It helps prevent accidental character corruption when working in codebases with mixed or legacy encodings.
- 🚦 Status Bar Indicator: Instantly see a file's detected encoding in the bottom-right corner of VS Code.
⚠️ Configurable Warnings: Get a visual warning (orange background) for any encoding not in your configured "safe list".- 🔍 Automatic Detection: When you open a file or switch tabs, the encoding is detected automatically.
- ⚙️ Customizable: You can easily add encodings (e.g.,
iso-8859-1) to your safe list via VS Code settings.
You must have Python 3 and the chardet library installed and available in your system's PATH.
# Install chardet using pip for Python 3
pip3 install chardet