A Visual Studio Code extension that plays a sound when a terminal command fails, terminal error output is detected or VS Code reports new editor errors.
ESFT is mainly used through the status bar menu. After installation, click the ESFT item in the VS Code status bar and configure everything from there.
- Install the extension.
- Click the ESFT item in the status bar:
- Open Quick Setup:
- Choose what should trigger sounds:
| Option | Use when |
|---|---|
| Terminal + Editor errors | You want sounds for failed terminal commands and new red editor errors. Recommended. |
| Terminal only | You only want sounds for terminal failures and terminal error output. |
| Editor red errors only | You only want sounds when VS Code shows new red editor diagnostics. |
The status bar menu contains the important actions:
| Menu item | What it does |
|---|---|
| Quick Setup | Chooses the best detection setup with one click. |
| Choose What Triggers Sounds | Switches between terminal errors, editor errors, or both. |
| Test Sound | Plays the currently selected sound. |
| Toggle Enabled | Turns ESFT on or off. |
| Choose Built-in Sound | Selects one of the included sounds. |
| Manage Custom Sounds | Imports, selects, renames, or deletes custom .wav sounds. |
| Manage Sound Rules | Plays different sounds for specific terminal error patterns. |
| Set Cooldown | Sets the delay between repeated sounds. |
| Show Trigger History | Shows why a sound was played. |
| Check Setup | Helps debug sound playback or detection problems. |
ESFT can react to:
- failed terminal commands
- common terminal error messages
- custom terminal error patterns
- new red VS Code editor diagnostics
- avoids false positives
Editor diagnostics are the red errors shown by VS Code language extensions, for example TypeScript, Python, Java or C/C++ errors in the Problems panel.
Use Check Setup from the status bar menu if something does not work.
It checks whether ESFT is enabled, which triggers are active, whether the selected sound exists, which sound backend is available and whether Terminal Shell Integration is likely active.
ESFT works best with the VS Code integrated terminal and Terminal Shell Integration enabled.
The extension does not monitor external terminal apps.
| Platform | Sound backend |
|---|---|
| Windows | PowerShell SoundPlayer |
| macOS | afplay |
| Linux | paplay, aplay, or ffplay |
On Linux, install at least one supported sound backend if sound playback does not work.
Some built-in sounds were sourced from Zedge.
All sound rights remain with their respective creators.
MIT
Created by Nillan Sivarasa.
For questions, feedback or issues, please open an issue on GitHub.