ClipboardCopy

Copy file and folder contents to clipboard directly from VS Code Explorer context menu with enhanced security, performance, and intelligent file pattern filtering.

✨ Features

• 📋 One-Click Copy: Right-click any file or folder → instant clipboard copy
• 🎯 Smart Filtering: Advanced pattern matching (*.js, *.{py,ts}, [a-z]*)
• 🚫 Intelligent Exclusions: Hierarchical .gitignore, VS Code excludes, and custom patterns
• 📁 Bulk Operations: Copy multiple files and entire folders with sub-directory support
• 🎨 Context-Aware: Smart menu labels adapt to your selection (single file/folder vs multiple items)
• 🔄 Mixed Selections: Seamlessly handle files and folders together in one operation
• ⚙️ Configurable: Set file patterns in VS Code settings or runtime prompts
• 🔒 Secure: Input validation prevents malicious patterns and directory traversal
• ⚡ Fast: Concurrent processing for optimal performance with multi-folder support
• 🌍 Cross-Platform: Works seamlessly on Windows, macOS, and Linux

🚀 Getting Started

Installation

Install directly from the VS Code Marketplace or:

1. Open VS Code
2. Press Ctrl+Shift+X (Extensions view)
3. Search for "ClipboardCopy"
4. Click Install

Usage

The extension shows context-aware commands based on your selection:

Single File:

• Right-click any file in Explorer → "Copy File to Clipboard"

Single Folder:

• Right-click any folder in Explorer → "Copy Folder to Clipboard"
• Choose recursive (with subdirectories) or non-recursive

Multiple Items (files, folders, or mixed):

• Select multiple items (Ctrl+click or Shift+click)
• Right-click → "Copy Content to Clipboard"
• Processes all files and folders intelligently with pattern filtering

Configure File Patterns:

{
    "clipboard-copy.allowedFilePatterns": "*.py,*.js,*.ts,*.md"
}

🚫 Exclude Filtering

The extension automatically excludes unwanted files using three smart filtering mechanisms:

1. .gitignore Support (Default: Enabled)

Automatically respects .gitignore files throughout your entire project (hierarchical support):

• Workspace root .gitignore: Applies to all files
• Subdirectory .gitignore: Adds exclusions for that directory and its children
• Patterns combine naturally (child .gitignore patterns add to parent patterns)

Examples of excluded files:

• node_modules/ → excluded
• dist/, build/ → excluded
• .env, *.log → excluded

{
    "clipboard-copy.respectGitignore": true  // default
}

2. VS Code Excludes (Default: Enabled)

Honors VS Code's files.exclude and search.exclude settings:

{
    "clipboard-copy.respectVSCodeExcludes": true,  // default
    "files.exclude": {
        "**/.git": true,
        "**/node_modules": true
    },
    "search.exclude": {
        "**/dist": true
    }
}

3. Custom Exclude Patterns

Add your own patterns to exclude:

{
    "clipboard-copy.customExcludePatterns": "*.test.js,*.spec.ts,__pycache__"
}

All three filters work together to keep unwanted files out of your clipboard!

📖 Examples

Basic File Patterns

// Source code files
"clipboard-copy.allowedFilePatterns": "*.py,*.js,*.ts,*.jsx,*.tsx"

// Documentation files
"clipboard-copy.allowedFilePatterns": "*.md,*.txt,*.rst,*.doc"

// Web development
"clipboard-copy.allowedFilePatterns": "*.html,*.css,*.js,*.json"

// Advanced patterns
"clipboard-copy.allowedFilePatterns": "*.{js,ts},test*.py,src/**/*.md"

Exclude Patterns in Action

Scenario 1: Copying a folder with root .gitignore containing node_modules/ and *.log

my-project/
├── .gitignore       ← contains: node_modules/, *.log
├── src/
│   ├── app.js
│   └── utils.js
├── node_modules/    ← excluded by .gitignore
│   └── ...
├── debug.log        ← excluded by .gitignore
└── README.md

Result: Only src/app.js, src/utils.js, and README.md are copied!

Scenario 2: Hierarchical .gitignore (subdirectory patterns)

my-project/
├── .gitignore       ← contains: *.log
├── src/
│   ├── app.js
│   └── debug.log    ← excluded by root .gitignore
├── tests/
│   ├── .gitignore   ← contains: *.tmp
│   ├── test.js
│   └── temp.tmp     ← excluded by tests/.gitignore
└── README.md

Result: Copies src/app.js, tests/test.js, and README.md (respects both .gitignore files!)

Full Configuration Example

{
    // Include patterns (what to copy)
    "clipboard-copy.allowedFilePatterns": "*.js,*.ts,*.py",

    // Exclude patterns (what to skip)
    "clipboard-copy.respectGitignore": true,
    "clipboard-copy.respectVSCodeExcludes": true,
    "clipboard-copy.customExcludePatterns": "*.min.js,*.bundle.js,temp"
}

Pattern Filtering in Action

When you select mixed files like app.js, README.md, main.py with pattern *.py,*.js:

• ✅ Copies: app.js, main.py
• ⚠️ Filters out: README.md
• 📋 Result: "2 files copied to clipboard (1 filtered out)"

Multi-Selection Examples

Multiple Files (3 .js files):

• 📋 "3 files copied to clipboard"

Multiple Folders (2 folders with recursive):

• 📋 "15 files from 2 folders copied to clipboard"

Mixed Selection (2 files + 1 folder):

• 📋 "8 files copied, 5 from 1 folder to clipboard"

📋 Output Format

Single File:

console.log('Hello World');

Multiple Files:

--- File: src/app.js ---
console.log('Hello World');

--- File: src/main.py ---
print('Hello World')

�️ Requirements

• VS Code: Version 1.93.0 or higher
• No additional dependencies required for end users

�️ Security & Limitations

Security Features:

• Input validation prevents malicious patterns
• No directory traversal attacks (../, ~)
• Safe pattern matching only

Current Limitations:

• Pattern matching on file names only (not full paths)
• Binary files copied as text (may appear garbled)
• Basic brace expansion support {a,b,c}

🤝 Contributing

Contributions welcome! Please see our GitHub repository for contribution guidelines.

📝 License

MIT License - see LICENSE.md for details.

📈 Release Notes

Latest: Version 0.0.11

• 🐛 Critical Fix: Fixed hierarchical .gitignore to properly find root patterns when copying subfolders
• 🔧 Anchored Patterns: Fixed support for patterns with leading / (e.g., /.next/, /dist/) in subdirectory .gitignore files
• ⚡ Performance: Added ignore instance caching for optimized pattern matching
• 🏗️ Architecture: Refactored to test each .gitignore separately with proper relative paths

See CHANGELOG.md for complete version history.

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🐛 Found an issue? Report it on GitHub for quick support.