Developers repeat editing actions because their editor lacks usable macros
Developers doing repetitive edits and refactors want to record an action sequence, replay it, and bind it to a shortcut. In the cited VS Code requests, users describe missing macro recording, text insertion in command sequences, and editable recordings as reasons to repeat work or keep another editor installed. One signal is about recutils support rather than macros, so it does not fit this dominant problem.
For developers who automate repetitive code edits. Mentioned from Aug 2016 to Dec 2025 on GitHub and Hacker News.
5 different people described this problem in 3 separate discussions.
- Indie fit
- 5.0/10
- Pain
- 5.3/10
- Frequency
- 6.5/10
- Willingness to pay
- 0.0/10
- Momentum
- 5.0/10
- Who pays
- Professionals
- Competition
- Medium
- Build difficulty
- Medium
What people said
Quoted word for word. Follow a link to read the whole discussion.
VSCode missing macros is the only reason I still have Sublime. I do repetitive editing by recording then playing back macros almost daily
Major help when refactoring to have a recordable macro for repetitive edits
Build brief
See what to build and who will buy it
- 1 product idea with the smallest useful version and pricing
- 3 places to find your first customers
- 4 more quotes from people who have this problem
- Current workarounds, existing solutions and risks