String-LE
Extract every string in a codebase, so a person can read them
No editor in the loop? npx -y string-le-mcp runs the same engine as an MCP server, so an agent can call extract_strings with nothing else installed, and cargo install string-le puts the same check in a terminal. Every way to install it.
Overview
What String-LE does
Locale files, config files and CSV exports all bury their string values in structure. String-LE flattens that structure away: run one command and every string value in the document lands in a new editor, ready to paste into a translation tool or scan by eye. It parses JSON, YAML, CSV, TOML, INI and .env, and streams large CSVs rather than loading them whole. Line and column are a setting in the editor, off by default, and exist for source code, JSON and plain text. Values in YAML, TOML, INI, CSV, JSONC and .env files have no position to give, and the tool says so.
What people use it for
i18n prep
Flatten locale files into a clean list of translatable values, without the key hierarchy in the way.
Config review
See every string value in a TOML, INI or .env file at a glance.
CSV mining
Pull one column, several, or all of them — large files stream rather than loading whole.
Palette
8 commands
Open the command palette and type the name. Nothing is bound to a shortcut by default — the editor's keymap is the user's, not ours.
string-le.showPositions: Show the line and column of each string. Off by default.
- Extract Strings
string-le.extractStrings - Extract Strings from Workspace
string-le.extractWorkspace - Extract Strings from Folder
string-le.extractFolder - Deduplicate Strings
string-le.postProcess.dedupe - Sort Strings
string-le.postProcess.sort - Toggle CSV Streaming
string-le.csv.toggleStreaming - Open Settings
string-le.openSettings - Help & Troubleshooting
string-le.help
Install
Install String-LE
VS Code
ext install nolindnaidoo.string-leOpen Quick Open (Cmd/Ctrl+P) and paste.
Cursor / Windsurf
cursor --install-extension nolindnaidoo.string-leCursor, Windsurf, VSCodium and the other VS Code forks pull from Open VSX. The id is the same as on the Marketplace.
AI agents
npx -y string-le-mcpRuns String-LE's engine as an MCP server, so an agent can call extract_strings with no editor involved. VS Code 1.101+ needs nothing — the extension registers it for you.
Channels
Where it ships
One engine, 5 places to get it. Copy the one for the editor you use.
Links
Where String-LE lives
- VS Code Marketplacestring-le
- Open VSXfor Cursor, Windsurf and VSCodium
- npmstring-le-mcp
- GitHubsource, issues, changelog
- MCP registryio.github.nolindnaidoo/string-le
The family
The other 16
Numbers-LEExtract every hardcoded number in a codebase, so a person can check them
Paths-LEExtract every file path in a codebase, and say whether it still points at anything
Colors-LEExtract every color in a codebase, and say which ones are not in your palette
URLs-LEExtract every URL in a codebase, with its protocol and exact position
Dates-LEExtract every date and timestamp, and the exact instant each one resolves to
Units-LEExtract every quantity with its unit, normalized, and refuse the ambiguous ones by name
IDs-LEExtract every UUID, ULID, NanoID, ObjectId and Snowflake, and decode the time inside
IPs-LEExtract every IP address, CIDR block and MAC, normalized and classified by scope
Regex-LEFind every regex in a codebase, and report which can be driven into catastrophic backtracking
Scrape-LECheck whether a page is scrapeable before the scraper is written, and say when it cannot tell
Versions-LEFind where one dependency is constrained differently across a repository's manifests
i18n-LEIdentify the i18n library a project uses, then audit its catalogs by that library's rules
DecisionLintLint Jev and Luna questions before they are sent: the questions you write for TypeSafe's Jev, OpenAI's Decisions API (gpt-6-luna) or any platform that serves one, as you type, with no API key and no network calls. An optional command asks the model itself to check a file
Secrets-LEFind hardcoded credentials in a codebase, and never print one into the report
EnvSync-LECompare the dotenv files in a tree, and say which keys are missing from which
Unicode-LEFind the Unicode that hides meaning — bidi controls, invisibles, homoglyphs, mixed scripts