Docstring Generator & Python Docstring Updater (Google, NumPy, Sphinx, JSDoc)

Docstring Generator & Python Docstring Updater (Google, NumPy, Sphinx, JSDoc), a VS Code extension by Zovo

Free docstring generator for Python: type """ under a def or class and press Enter. Google, NumPy, Sphinx (reST) and Epytext styles or your own template, filled from the signature: type hints, defaults, *args, **kwargs, positional-only and keyword-only parameters, return type, yield, raise, dataclass fields and __init__ arguments. Updates a python docstring when the signature changes and keeps your text. JSDoc with TypeScript types for JS and TS. No sign-in, works offline.

Free, MIT license. Needs VS Code 1.90.0 or newer. Extension ID zovo.zovo-docstring-generator, version 0.2.1.

Free, no sign-in, works offline. No network calls, no telemetry, no Python install needed.

Type """ on the line under a def or class and press Enter. The docstring is filled from the signature: parameters, type hints, defaults, return type, what the function yields and what it raises. When you change the signature later, Update Docstring fixes the docstring and keeps the text you wrote.

Questions people ask

What you get

• Four styles and your own: Google (default), NumPy, Sphinx (reST) and Epytext, or a custom Mustache template file.
• Read from the real signature, with a bundled parser (tree-sitter), not with regular expressions:
• type hints, including str | None, list[int] and dict[str, list[int]]
• defaults (Defaults to 2., default 2, , optional)
• *args and **kwargs, positional-only / and keyword-only * parameters
• signatures over many lines, with comments inside
• return type, yield (a Yields section with the item type of Iterator[T])
• raise X in the body; raises inside nested functions are left out, and raise err in except ValueError as err becomes ValueError
• self and cls skipped, @staticmethod kept, @property gets a summary only
• Classes: the __init__ arguments go in the class docstring (not the base classes). Dataclass, attrs, pydantic and NamedTuple fields, and self.x = ... attributes from __init__, go under Attributes.
• Update Docstring, after the signature changed:
• a renamed parameter keeps its description
• a new parameter gets a placeholder
• a removed parameter disappears if it only had a placeholder; if it has your text, it stays and is marked [removed from the signature]
• types follow the hints; missing Returns, Yields and Raises sections are added
• the summary, examples and notes are not touched, and each docstring keeps its own style
• Whole file: Update All Docstrings in File and Add Missing Docstrings in File. Turn on zovoDoc.updateOnSave to update when you save.
• Light bulb: on a def or class line, Generate docstring or Update docstring (renamed a to alpha; added beta) shows what will change.
• Module docstrings: at the top of the file, without an indent.
• Notebooks: works in the Python cells of Jupyter notebooks too.
• JSDoc for JavaScript and TypeScript: type /** above a function and pick JSDoc with types, or run Generate JSDoc. You get @param {type} from TypeScript (or from the default value in JavaScript), [optional=default], destructured properties, @returns, @throws {Error}, @yields and @template. Run it again after a change to update it.
• Large files: only the function you document is parsed. In 4 real VS Code test runs on a 10,407-line file, a docstring took 0.2 to 3.2 ms, and Update All Docstrings in File checked all 1,735 definitions in 92 to 146 ms.

Why this one

The most installed Python docstring extension on the Marketplace has had no release since February 2022. Its open issues ask for these things. Each row is checked in this extension's tests and in the real VS Code gate:

This extension is not made by, and does not replace, any other publisher's extension. If you used a custom template there, the common Mustache tags ({{summaryPlaceholder}}, {{#args}}, {{#kwargs}}, {{var}}, {{typePlaceholder}}, {{descriptionPlaceholder}}, {{#returns}}, {{#exceptions}}, {{#yields}}) work here too.

Update keeps your text

The four styles

Commands

Settings

Custom template

Set zovoDoc.style to custom and point zovoDoc.customTemplatePath to a file like this:

{{summaryPlaceholder}}

{{#parametersExist}}
Args:
{{#params}}
    {{var}} ({{typePlaceholder}}): {{descriptionPlaceholder}}
{{/params}}
{{/parametersExist}}
{{#returnsExist}}

Returns:
{{#returns}}
    {{typePlaceholder}}: {{descriptionPlaceholder}}
{{/returns}}
{{/returnsExist}}

Lists: params (all), args (no default), kwargs (with default), attributes, exceptions, returns, yields. In a list: var (with * or **), name, type, typePlaceholder, default, descriptionPlaceholder. Flags: parametersExist, argsExist, kwargsExist, attributesExist, exceptionsExist, returnsExist, yieldsExist. Also {{^flag}} (when not), {{! comments}} and {{&default}}.

Privacy

The extension never opens a network connection. The parser is bundled (tree-sitter, MIT). Nothing is collected. In Restricted Mode, a template path from the workspace settings is ignored.

Works in

VS Code 1.90 or newer, so it also installs in Cursor, Windsurf, VSCodium and other editors built on VS Code. Tested in VS Code 1.142 with Pylance on and off, and in the Python cells of a Jupyter notebook.

Guides

• Generate Python docstrings in VS Code