xlboy/nvim-chainsaw

Speed up log creation. Creates various kinds of language-specific log statements, like logs of variables, assertions, or time-measuring.

nvim-chainsaw 🪚

Speed up log creation. Creates various kinds of language-specific log statements, like logs of variables, assertions, or time-measuring.

demo.mp4

• Installation
• Built-in language support
• Usage
• Configuration
• Add your own log statements
• Credits

Installation

-- lazy.nvim
{ "chrisgrieser/nvim-chainsaw" },

-- packer
use { "chrisgrieser/nvim-chainsaw" }

Built-in language support

• JavaScript / TypeScript / TypeScriptReact
• Lua
• Python
• Shell
• AppleScript
• CSS / SCSS

Not every language supports every type of log statement. For details on what is supported, see log-statements-data.lua.

Note

In languages like CSS with no log statements, nvim-chainsaw simply uses similar statements with debugging purposes, such as outline: 2px solid red !important; to quickly assess whether a selector is correct or not.

Usage

The plugin offers various types of log statements. Bind keymaps for the ones you want to use.

-- create log statement, and position the cursor to enter a message
require("chainsaw").messageLog()

-- log the name and value of the a variable
-- normal mode: treesitter node or word under cursor, visual mode: selection
require("chainsaw").variableLog()

-- like variableLog, but with syntax specific to inspect an object, such as
-- `console.log(JSON.stringify(foobar))` in javascript
require("chainsaw").objectLog()

-- assertion statement
require("chainsaw").assertLog()

-- Minimal log statement, with a random emoji for differentiation. Indented for
-- use in structures like if/else, to quickly glance whether a condition was
-- triggered or not. (Inspired by AppleScript's `beep` command.)
require("chainsaw").beepLog()

-- 1. call adds a statement that measures the time
-- 2. call adds a statement that logs the time since
require("chainsaw").timeLog()

-- debug statements like `debugger` in javascript or `breakpoint()` in python
require("chainsaw").debugLog()

-- remove all log statements created by chainsaw
require("chainsaw").removeLogs()

Configuration

-- default settings
require("chainsaw").setup ({
	-- The marker should be a unique string, since `.removeLogs()` will remove
	-- any line with it. Emojis or strings like "[Chainsaw]" are recommended.
	marker = "🪚",
	-- emojis used for `.beepLog()`
	beepEmojis = { "🤖", "👽", "👾", "💣" },
})

Add your own log statements

Custom log statements are added in the setup() call. The values are formatter lua strings, meaning %s is a placeholder that is dynamically replaced with the actual value. See log-statements-data.lua for examples.

PRs adding log statements for more languages are welcome.

require("chainsaw").setup ({
	logStatements = {
		messageLog = {
			javascript = 'console.log("%s ");',
			otherFiletype = … -- <-- add the statement for your filetype here
		},
		variableLog = {
			javascript = 'console.log("%s %s:", %s);',
			otherFiletype = … -- <-- add the statement for your filetype here
		},
		-- the same way for the other statement types
	},
})

Credits

About Me
In my day job, I am a sociologist studying the social mechanisms underlying the digital economy. For my PhD project, I investigate the governance of the app economy and how software ecosystems manage the tension between innovation and compatibility. If you are interested in this subject, feel free to get in touch.

Blog
I also occasionally blog about vim: Nano Tips for Vim

Profiles

• reddit
• Discord
• Academic Website
• Twitter
• Mastodon
• ResearchGate
• LinkedIn