VS Code Cluster Panel

The panel shows a group of code occurrences and lets you inspect the actual copies. This guide covers 0.35.0.

Open and compare

• Click a file link to open and select its code range. There is no separate Open button.
• Compare To Canonical opens the group's reference occurrence on the left and the clicked occurrence on the right. The canonical row is labelled and cannot compare with itself.
• For another pair, choose Select for Compare on the left-hand occurrence, then Compare with Selected on the other. Clear Selection cancels the choice. Selection clears after comparison or when you change clusters.
• Copy Context For AI supplies the finding's context for an agent.

Canonical means the reference used for navigation, not the best implementation. The diff title identifies both ranges and the engine's verdict for that pair, including exact-byte or indentation-only matches. Two ranges can be in the same file.

Read the finding

The clone kind distinguishes Identical code, Nearly identical code, Similar code, optional Same behavior, different code, and informational Same shape, different content. How It Works explains the Type I–IV mapping.

Mass is copied syntax-tree size multiplied by additional visible copies. Rank orders clones by mass, largest first. Neither is a confidence score. Occurrence count is the total number of locations, which can exceed the rows displayed in a large group. Cluster ID identifies the finding across surfaces.

Severity is the configured diagnostic level for the kind, not its mass rank. Identical and Nearly identical default to warning; Similar and Same behavior default to information. Shape-only has no diagnostic by default and never counts as duplication. Colour identifies kind.

Structural, token, content and embedding measurements describe a pair. They appear in an explicit comparison, not as a score for the entire cluster.

Use the sidebar

Top Offenders groups findings by Clone Category, Folder, Language, File or No Grouping. Clones stay in descending mass order. One grouping menu replaces separate language and sorting controls.

Duplication shows workspace, folder and file percentages from the same engine calculation used in reports. Session shows analysis state and embedding settings. The views refresh with the live analysis.

Help buttons open formatted explanations on hover or keyboard focus. Escape dismisses help; technical details stay collapsed until needed.

Keyboard shortcuts