Copy Groups

*# Copy Groups

Copy Groups is a VS Code extension that prepares code context for AI assistants in one click. Organise files into named groups, control exactly how much code is extracted, attach prompt templates, and copy everything to your clipboard — ready for ChatGPT, Claude, or any LLM.

Features

File Groups

Create reusable collections of related files. Bookmark the ones you use most.

• Create group — Ctrl+Shift+G or the + button in the sidebar
• Add files — right-click any file in the explorer → Add File to Group, or use Ctrl+Shift+A
• Copy group — click the group name or press Ctrl+Shift+C; formatted markdown lands on your clipboard

Context Modes

Control what gets copied for each group — without touching the files.

Right-click a group → Set Context Mode to change it any time.

Per-File Context Modes — fine-grain control within a group:

• Expand any group in the sidebar to see individual files, each showing its current mode
• Hover a file row to reveal inline icon buttons: ⌃ / ⌄ to cycle modes, 🗑 to remove
• Right-click a file for more options: Set File Mode (pick from a list), Open File, Remove from Group
• Click any file to open it in the editor
• Per-file modes are respected when copying and exporting

Preprompt Templates

Attach an LLM instruction template to a group. When you copy, the template wraps your code context automatically.

Right-click a group → Set Preprompt to choose from built-in templates:

• Security Review — highlights vulnerabilities and security concerns
• Architecture Analysis — analyzes design patterns and structure
• Performance Optimization — reviews for performance opportunities
• Documentation Generation — drafts comprehensive documentation

Custom Preprompts — create, edit, and manage your own templates:

• Command palette: Ctrl+Shift+P → Create Custom Preprompt
• Define name, template text (with {{variable}} substitution), and mode
• Use {{context}} to position file content inside your template — if omitted, file content is appended automatically
• Stored in ~/.vscode-copygroups/ — shared across all VS Code instances
• Edit and delete custom templates via command palette

Quick Copy (no groups needed)

• Right-click files in the explorer → Copy Context — copies selected files instantly
• Right-click a folder → Copy Context — recursively copies all files in the folder

Project Tree & Neighbor Context

Give the LLM more awareness of what surrounds the code you copy.

• Project file tree — when enabled, an ASCII directory tree is prepended to every copy, showing the overall project layout
• Neighbor files — when enabled, each directory's un-copied siblings are listed (or included with extracted content) after the main file sections

Both are off by default and controlled via VS Code settings (see Configuration).

Copy History

Every copy is recorded in the Copy History panel. Re-copy, favourite, annotate, or delete past operations. Right-click a history entry to re-extract with a different context mode.

Add history files to a group — right-click any history entry or individual file within it:

• Add All Files to Group — adds every file from that snapshot to a group you pick
• Add File to Group — adds just that one file
• Duplicates are skipped automatically

Getting Started

1. Install the extension
2. Open a project in VS Code
3. Click the Copy Groups icon in the Activity Bar
4. Press Ctrl+Shift+G to create your first group
5. Right-click files in the explorer → Add File to Group
6. Click the group to copy it to clipboard

Multi-Window Synchronization

Your groups, settings, and custom preprompts sync automatically across all open VS Code instances:

• Create a group in Window A → instantly visible in Window B
• Edit context modes in any window → all windows update within ~100ms
• Custom preprompts stored in ~/.vscode-copygroups/ → shared globally
• Works without any manual intervention or configuration

Keyboard Shortcuts

Output Format

Copied content is formatted as markdown with syntax-tagged code fences, ready for any LLM:

# Files from Group: Auth Module

Context Mode: `skeleton`
Files: 3

---

## src/auth/guard.ts

```typescript
import { Injectable } from '@nestjs/common';
export class AuthGuard { ... }
```

## src/auth/service.ts

```typescript
export class AuthService {
  async validateToken(token: string): Promise<User> { ... }
}
```

Configuration

All settings live under copygroups.* and can be edited in VS Code's Settings UI (Ctrl+,) or directly in settings.json. Defaults work out of the box — no setup required.

Output enrichment

Limits & filtering

License

MIT — see LICENSE *