Never Lose Coding Progress Again: How I Built a Hybrid Auto-Logger for VS Code

Introduction

I was debugging for hours… then my Mac froze. All that work — gone.
That moment has haunted me more than once.

We've all been there:

You're deep in the zone, refactoring a complex function.
Your internet cuts out mid-push.
Your laptop kernel panics.
Or worse — you just forget what you did yesterday.

And when you come back?
You're staring at code like, "Wait… why did I change this?"

GitHub Copilot doesn't remember.
Your brain is foggy.
And git log only tells part of the story.

So I built a hybrid auto-logger that silently documents:

✅ What project I'm working on
✅ Which file I'm editing
✅ How long I've been active
✅ All without internet, and even if my Mac dies

And best of all? It runs in the background — zero effort required.

Let me show you how.

💡 The Problem: We Code, But We Don't Document

We use AI. We commit code. But we rarely capture the process.

We jump between files, tweak logic, debug edge cases — but unless we write notes or commit with good messages, that context vanishes.

And if your machine fails? Good luck reconstructing a full day of work.

What if my editor could quietly journal my progress — automatically?

🛠️ The Solution: A Silent Dev Logger for VS Code (macOS)

I built a lightweight script that:

Runs every 10 minutes via cron
Logs project-wide activity
Detects your active file in VS Code using AppleScript
Writes clean, readable logs to .devlogs/
Works 100% offline

No internet? No problem.
Mac dies? I can recover my workflow.
Back from vacation? I can pick up right where I left off.

It's like a black box for developers.

📁 How It Works

The system uses:

A Bash script (runs quietly)
Cron (scheduling)
AppleScript (to read VS Code's active file)
Simple Markdown-style logs

Folder Structure

my-project/
├── .devlogs/
│   ├── project.log        # Overall progress
│   ├── auth.js.devlog    # File-specific log
│   └── cron.log          # Script logs
├── hybrid-devlog.sh      # The magic script
└── …

📝 Sample Logs

`project.log` — Your Daily Pulse

2025-04-05
⏱️ 09:15:00: Session started
⏱️ 09:25:00: Still working…
⏱️ 09:35:00: Still working…

`auth.js.devlog` — Deep Work on One File

Dev Log: auth.js
2025-04-05
09:15: Active edit session
09:25: Added JWT token refresh logic

These logs act like a time machine for your development process.

🚀 Step-by-Step: Set It Up in 5 Minutes

1. Create the Script

touch hybrid-devlog.sh
chmod +x hybrid-devlog.sh
code hybrid-devlog.sh

2. Paste This Script

#!/bin/bash

# === CONFIGURATION ===
PROJECT_DIR="/your/project/path" # ← CHANGE THIS
PROJECT_NAME="My Project"
LOGS_DIR="$PROJECT_DIR/.devlogs"
PROJECT_LOG="$LOGS_DIR/project.log"
DATE=$(date +"%Y-%m-%d")
TIME=$(date +"%H:%M:%S")
TIMESTAMP="[$DATE $TIME]"

mkdir -p "$LOGS_DIR"

# === PER-PROJECT LOG ===
if [ ! -f "$PROJECT_LOG" ]; then
  echo "# Development Log for '$PROJECT_NAME'" > "$PROJECT_LOG"
  echo "" >> "$PROJECT_LOG"
fi

if ! grep -q "## $DATE" "$PROJECT_LOG"; then
  echo "" >> "$PROJECT_LOG"
  echo "## $DATE" >> "$PROJECT_LOG"
  echo "- ⏱️ $TIME: Session started" >> "$PROJECT_LOG"
else
  LAST_LINE=$(tail -n 1 "$PROJECT_LOG" | sed 's/.$//')
  if [[ "$LAST_LINE" == "- ⏱️ " ]]; then
    sed -i '' '$d' "$PROJECT_LOG"
    echo "${LAST_LINE}.." >> "$PROJECT_LOG"
  else
    echo "- ⏱️ $TIME: Still working…" >> "$PROJECT_LOG"
  fi
fi

# === PER-FILE LOG ===
FRONT_APP=$(osascript -e 'tell application "System Events" to get name of first application process whose frontmost is true')

if [[ "$FRONT_APP" == "Code" || "$FRONT_APP" == "Visual Studio Code" ]]; then
  FILENAME=$(osascript -e '
tell application "Visual Studio Code"
try
return name of active document of front window
on error
return "untitled"
end try
end tell
' 2>/dev/null)

  if [ ! -z "$FILENAME" ] && [ "$FILENAME" != "untitled" ]; then
    FILE_LOG="$LOGS_DIR/${FILENAME//\//_}.devlog"

    if [ ! -f "$FILE_LOG" ]; then
      echo "# Dev Log: $FILENAME" > "$FILE_LOG"
      echo "" >> "$FILE_LOG"
      echo "## $DATE" >> "$FILE_LOG"
    fi

    if ! grep -q "## $DATE" "$FILE_LOG"; then
      echo "" >> "$FILE_LOG"
      echo "## $DATE" >> "$FILE_LOG"
    fi

    echo "- $TIME: Active edit session" >> "$FILE_LOG"
  fi
fi

echo "$TIMESTAMP Hybrid devlog updated"

# 🔁 Don't forget to update PROJECT_DIR!

3. Grant Permissions

Go to:
System Settings > Privacy & Security > Automation
Allow your terminal (e.g. Terminal, iTerm) to control Visual Studio Code.

4. Schedule with Cron

crontab -e

Add:

*/10 * * * * /bin/bash /your/project/path/hybrid-devlog.sh >> /your/project/path/.devlogs/cron.log 2>&1

That's it! It now runs every 10 minutes.

🎯 Why This Matters

This isn't just about logging — it's about preserving context.

✅ Recover from crashes with confidence
✅ Document your process without effort
✅ Reflect on where you spend time
✅ Show progress in standups or portfolios
✅ Never lose a day's work again

It's the closest thing to a developer memory extender.

🔄 What's Next?

I'm extending this to:

Auto-commit with smart messages
Generate weekly reports
Sync logs to Obsidian or Notion
Detect idle time and pause logging

And yes — I'll open-source it soon.

💬 Your Turn

Have you lost hours of work to a crash or bad connection?

Try this system. Tweak it. Make it yours.

And if you do — let me know in the comments. I'd love to hear how you're using it.

Because coding isn't just about the code.
It's about the journey.

And now, I finally have a map.

🔗 Resources

GitHub Gist: hybrid-devlog.sh (replace with your link)
AppleScript Docs

Like this?
Follow me for more dev tools, automation hacks, and ways to code smarter — not harder.

#vscode #productivity #automation #devjournal #beginners #macos #scripting #git #developerexperience