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Overview

Draw Folder Structure collects anonymous performance and usage data to help improve functionality and stability. All telemetry is designed with privacy in mind and does not collect any personally identifiable information or sensitive project data.

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What is Collected

The extension collects the following types of data:

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Performance Metrics

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duration
number
Time taken to generate folder structure (in milliseconds)
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outputLength
number
Length of the generated Markdown output

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Usage Statistics

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style
string
The drawing style used for generation (e.g., “EmojiDashes”, “ClassicDashes”)
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isDirectory
boolean
Whether the selected item was a directory or file
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allowRecursion
boolean
Whether recursive folder exploration was enabled
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respectGitignore
boolean
Whether .gitignore rules were respected
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excludePatternsCount
number
Number of exclusion patterns configured

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Technical Context

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extension.name
string
Extension identifier: “drawfolderstructure”
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extension.version
string
Version of the Draw Folder Structure extension
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vscode.version
string
Version of VS Code being used
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vscode.language
string
VS Code language/locale setting
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os.platform
string
Operating system platform (e.g., “linux”, “darwin”, “win32”)
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os.arch
string
System architecture (e.g., “x64”, “arm64”)

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Error Information

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errorType
string
Type of error encountered (if any)
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exception
Error
Technical error information to improve stability (no file paths or content)

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What is NOT Collected

The following data is never collected:
  • File content or file names
  • Specific file paths
  • Folder names or structure details
  • Personally identifiable information (PII)
  • Authentication credentials
  • API keys or secrets
  • Any sensitive project data
  • User’s name, email, or location

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Tracked Events

The extension tracks the following events:

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Extension Lifecycle

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ExtensionActivated
event
Triggered when the extension is activated.Properties:
  • version: Current extension version
  • isFirstActivation: Whether this is the first time activating
  • previousVersion: Previously installed version (if any)
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ExtensionUpdated
event
Triggered when the extension is updated to a new version.Properties:
  • fromVersion: Previous version
  • toVersion: New version
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ExtensionDeactivated
event
Triggered when the extension is deactivated.Properties:
  • version: Current extension version

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Command Execution

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GenerateStructureCommand
event
Triggered when the “Generate Markdown structure” command is executed.Properties:
  • style: Drawing style used
  • isDirectory: Whether target was a directory
  • allowRecursion: Recursion setting
  • respectGitignore: Gitignore setting
  • excludePatternsCount: Number of exclusion patterns
  • success: Whether generation succeeded
  • errorType: Type of error (if failed)
Measurements:
  • duration: Time taken (ms)
  • outputLength: Length of output

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Telemetry Service

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TelemetryServiceInitialized
event
Triggered when the telemetry service initializes successfully.Properties:
  • initializationTime: ISO timestamp
  • hasClient: Whether Azure client initialized

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Implementation

The telemetry system is implemented using Azure Application Insights via the applicationinsights npm package.

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Service Location

The telemetry service is defined in src/services/telemetry.ts:1

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Key Features

The service disables most automatic collection features to ensure privacy:
appInsights
  .setup(connectionString)
  .setAutoCollectRequests(false)
  .setAutoCollectPerformance(false, false)
  .setAutoCollectExceptions(true)
  .setAutoCollectDependencies(false)
  .setAutoCollectConsole(false, false)
  .setAutoCollectPreAggregatedMetrics(false)
  .setSendLiveMetrics(false)
  .setInternalLogging(false, false)
  .start();
Only exception tracking is enabled to help identify and fix bugs.
Every telemetry event includes common properties for context:
this.client.commonProperties = {
  "extension.name": "drawfolderstructure",
  "extension.version": vscode.extensions.getExtension(
    "jmkrivocapich.drawfolderstructure"
  )?.packageJSON.version || "unknown",
  "vscode.version": vscode.version,
  "vscode.language": vscode.env.language,
  "os.platform": process.platform,
  "os.arch": process.arch,
};
All telemetry operations fail silently to ensure they never impact extension functionality:
public trackEvent(eventName: string, properties?: { [key: string]: string }) {
  if (this.isEnabled && this.client) {
    try {
      this.client.trackEvent({ name: eventName, properties });
    } catch (error) {
      // Silently fail
    }
  }
}

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API Methods

The telemetry service exposes the following methods: 
// Track custom events
trackEvent(
  eventName: string,
  properties?: { [key: string]: string },
  measurements?: { [key: string]: number }
): void

// Track exceptions
trackException(
  exception: Error,
  properties?: { [key: string]: string }
): void

// Track metrics
trackMetric(
  name: string,
  value: number,
  properties?: { [key: string]: string }
): void

// Flush pending telemetry
flush(): void

// Clean up resources
dispose(): void

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Privacy and Compliance

All telemetry data is:
  • Anonymous: No personally identifiable information
  • Aggregate: Used to understand overall usage patterns
  • Secure: Transmitted over encrypted connections
  • Purpose-limited: Used solely to improve the extension

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Data Retention

Telemetry data is stored in Azure Application Insights according to Azure’s data retention policies. For more details, see Azure Application Insights documentation.

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Opting Out

If you wish to disable telemetry:
  1. The extension respects VS Code’s global telemetry settings
  2. You can disable telemetry for all extensions in VS Code settings:
    • Open Settings (Ctrl+, or Cmd+,)
    • Search for “telemetry”
    • Set telemetry.telemetryLevel to off

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Source Code Reference

  • Telemetry service implementation: src/services/telemetry.ts:1
  • Event tracking in extension: src/extension.ts:1
  • Azure Application Insights setup details: AZURE_INSIGHTS_SETUP.md (in source repository)

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Questions or Concerns

If you have any questions or concerns about telemetry and privacy, please:

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