feat: Add search filter to sidebar #562

yelnatscoding · 2025-07-29T19:05:41Z

See - #330

Features added:

Added these buttons "All workspaces" section (Clear, Refresh, and Search) See Image below -

Clicking on 'Search icon' (Magnifying glass) toggles the Global search
- VS Codes file tree system does not allow creating Input fields directly within the "All workspaces" section

Search uses a fuzzy search/substring method users can search via name, owner, template, or status of their workspaces
- it prioritizes exact word matches first
- fallback - substring search

Before search

After search term typed

Copilot

Pull Request Overview

This PR adds a search functionality to the "All workspaces" sidebar, allowing users to filter workspaces using fuzzy search. The implementation includes search buttons in the UI and smart search logic that prioritizes exact word matches over substring matches.

Added search/filter functionality with clear and refresh buttons to the All Workspaces view
Implemented fuzzy search that matches workspace name, owner, template, status, and agent metadata
Added VS Code commands and UI integration for the search feature

Reviewed Changes

Copilot reviewed 4 out of 4 changed files in this pull request and generated 4 comments.

File	Description
src/workspacesProvider.ts	Core search functionality with filter management and smart matching logic
src/extension.ts	Command registration for search operations
src/commands.ts	Search UI implementation using VS Code QuickPick
package.json	Command definitions and menu integration for search buttons

src/workspacesProvider.ts

- Pre-compile regex patterns to avoid repeated compilation - Cache stringified metadata to reduce JSON serialization overhead - Extract input field processing into reusable helper method - Add input validation to prevent performance issues from long search terms - Add comprehensive error handling for edge cases and malformed data

- Add 150ms debounce delay to prevent excessive search operations - Implement immediate clear functionality without debouncing - Add proper cleanup for debounce timers to prevent memory leaks - Improve search responsiveness, especially for users with many workspaces

CHANGELOG.md

aslilac · 2025-07-30T16:59:58Z

src/workspacesProvider.ts

+		// Validate search term length to prevent performance issues
+		if (filter.length > 200) {
+			filter = filter.substring(0, 200);
+		}


what performance issue? why 200 characters?

it was mainly implemented due to this comment from Copilot

Also, i'd like to note:

each word in the search term gets compiled into a regex pattern even though we are moving to a word boundary search, we are then testing each word against every workspace

we also run string operations .toLowerCase(), .split(), and multiple .includes() checks on concatenated text

We're storing all of these regex patterns in memory

The 200 char limit was just an arbitrary number to limit the length of the search input

We could do the following -

const searchWords = searchTerm.split(/\s+/).filter(word => word.length > 0); if (searchWords.length > 10) { // Limit to first 10 words }

Let me know how we should proceed or what you suggest

aslilac · 2025-07-30T17:30:28Z

src/workspacesProvider.ts

+							// Handle JSON serialization errors gracefully
+							this.storage.output.warn(
+								`Failed to serialize metadata for agent ${agent.id}: ${error}`,
+							);


but now the metadata still gets cached even with a missing entry, right? this seems like a cache corruption bug

fixed this - de2dd41. We now only cache the data if all metadata is serialized successfully

src/workspacesProvider.ts

aslilac · 2025-07-30T17:39:27Z

src/workspacesProvider.ts

+				// Fall back to simple substring matching for this word
+				continue;


continue at the end of a loop doesn't really do anything

removed - de2dd41

aslilac · 2025-07-30T17:44:09Z

src/workspacesProvider.ts

+			regexPatterns.length > 0 &&
+			regexPatterns.some((pattern) => {
+				try {
+					return pattern.test(allText);


does test ever throw an error? it's only documented as returning a boolean on MDN and I can't even get it to throw a TypeError; it just coerces the value to bool.

Yes you are correct here is my understanding of what it does -

Converts the argument to a string using ToString()
Returns true if the regex matches, false otherwise
Never throws an error - even with invalid inputs

Yes, it you're right it never throws an error. That was just a bit of over engineering here. Will be removing this in next commit

removed - de2dd41

aslilac · 2025-07-30T18:31:21Z

src/commands.ts

+			quickPick.value = currentFilter;
+		}
+
+		quickPick.ignoreFocusOut = true; // Keep open when clicking elsewhere


this seems like an odd thing to set. can you explain your rationale?

Yes, here was my thought process on user behavior -

When a user clicks outside the Quickpick (like on the workspace list or elsewhere in VS Code), the quickpick automatically closes

They type "docker", see the filtered results, but accidentally click outside -> Quickpick closes

User clicks on a workspace to see details, but that closes the search input

User has to reopen the search every time they want to redefine their search

With the current approach it solves the above scenarios. The context is still preserved in state (private searchFilter) so the filtered results will not change if the input closes - its more so just a means for the user to not have to click on the search button again if they are not satisfied or have not completed their search

aslilac · 2025-07-30T18:34:23Z

package.json

+				{
+					"command": "coder.refreshWorkspaces",
+					"when": "coder.authenticated && coder.isOwner && view == allWorkspaces",
+					"group": "navigation"
+				},


feels a little weird to put this in the middle

where do you suggest we move it to? or should we remove it entirely?

aslilac · 2025-07-30T19:47:55Z

src/workspacesProvider.ts

+				const escapedWord = word.replace(/[.*+?^${}()|[\]\\]/g, "\\$&");
+				regexPatterns.push(new RegExp(`\\b${escapedWord}\\b`, "i"));


it's a bit odd to me to try escaping these symbols instead of interpreting them as word boundaries

You're totally right! I was trying to solve: when searching "container", it should show Docker workspaces (since Docker is related to containers). So I wanted fuzzy matching rather than strict exact word matching. The regex approach gives us that flexibility - users can search for "container" and it'll match "Docker" workspaces. I can change this to interpret word boundaries.

Co-authored-by: ケイラ <mckayla@hey.com>

…ntion, update search filter logic to regex word boundaries

feat: Add search filter to sidebar

bab6c21

matifali requested review from aslilac, code-asher and Copilot and removed request for aslilac and code-asher July 29, 2025 19:09

matifali assigned yelnatscoding Jul 29, 2025

Copilot AI reviewed Jul 29, 2025

View reviewed changes

src/workspacesProvider.ts Outdated Show resolved Hide resolved

src/workspacesProvider.ts Outdated Show resolved Hide resolved

src/workspacesProvider.ts Outdated Show resolved Hide resolved

src/workspacesProvider.ts Show resolved Hide resolved

yelnatscoding added 5 commits July 29, 2025 15:38

Merge branch 'main' into main

8f103e5

update CHANGELOG.md to include changes from Add search functionality PR

2d186c7

update CHANGELOG.md to include changes from Add search functionality PR

448d947

aslilac reviewed Jul 30, 2025

View reviewed changes

yelnatscoding and others added 2 commits July 30, 2025 13:22

Update CHANGELOG.md

a5c0ceb

Co-authored-by: ケイラ <mckayla@hey.com>

removed redundant null safety fallbacks, added cache corruption preve…

de2dd41

…ntion, update search filter logic to regex word boundaries

		// Fall back to simple substring matching for this word
		continue;

		const escapedWord = word.replace(/[.*+?^${}()\|[\]\\]/g, "\\$&");
		regexPatterns.push(new RegExp(`\\b${escapedWord}\\b`, "i"));

feat: Add search filter to sidebar #562

Are you sure you want to change the base?

feat: Add search filter to sidebar #562

Conversation

yelnatscoding commented Jul 29, 2025

Before search

After search term typed

Uh oh!

Copilot AI left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Pull Request Overview

Reviewed Changes

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

yelnatscoding Jul 30, 2025 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

yelnatscoding Jul 30, 2025 •

edited

Loading