codelf

Codelf is a tool for developers who struggle with one of the most frustrating parts of writing code: choosing good names for variables, functions, and other identifiers. Developers have a long-running joke that naming things is one of the hardest problems in the field, and Codelf exists to make it less painful.

The tool works by searching across several large code hosting sites, including GitHub, Bitbucket, GitLab, and others, to find real-world examples of how other developers have named things in similar situations. You type in a concept or a word describing what you want, and it shows you actual variable names and function names from real codebases. This gives you a concrete reference rather than having to invent names from scratch.

Codelf is available in multiple forms. There is a Chrome browser extension, a plugin for the VS Code editor, a plugin for the Atom editor, and a plugin for Sublime Text. In each case, the basic flow is the same: select some text, trigger Codelf, and see naming examples from real projects. The VS Code and Atom plugins let you right-click selected text and open Codelf directly from your editor.

Beyond naming, the tool also includes a daily algorithm practice section called the Algorithm Copybook, and a feature for tagging and organizing your GitHub starred repositories. The naming search is the core feature; the others are additions built alongside it.

The project was created by a developer who goes by unbug, and the Chinese name of the tool translates roughly to variable naming wizard. The README is mostly screenshots and short setup instructions for each editor plugin.