GitKeep Generator Extension for Visual Studio Code
Overview
The GitKeep Generator is a Visual Studio Code extension developed by Harsh Vandana Sharma. Designed to automate the creation of .gitkeep files in empty directories within your project, it leverages the .gitignore file to determine which directories are considered empty and thus require a .gitkeep file. This process helps maintain a clean and organized repository structure, ensuring that all directories tracked by Git are intentional.
Features
- Automatically generates
.gitkeep files in empty directories based on the .gitignore file.
- Supports recursive scanning of directories to find empty folders.
- Updates the
.gitignore file dynamically to reflect changes in the project structure.
Installation
To install the GitKeep Generator extension, follow these steps:
- Open Visual Studio Code.
- Go to the Extensions view by clicking on the square icon on the sidebar or pressing
Ctrl+Shift+X.
- Search for "GitKeep Generator".
- Click on the Install button next to the extension in the search results.
Usage
Once installed, the extension works automatically in the background. It monitors your workspace for changes and applies the following rules:
- If a new directory is created and is empty according to the
.gitignore file, a .gitkeep file is added to prevent the directory from being ignored by Git.
- If an existing empty directory is deleted, the corresponding
.gitkeep file is also removed.
- If the
.gitignore file is modified, the extension updates its internal list of ignored patterns accordingly.
Commands
The extension provides a command to manually trigger the generation of .gitkeep files across the entire workspace:
- Command ID:
extension.addGitKeep
- Description: Generates
.gitkeep files in empty directories based on the current .gitignore settings.
Troubleshooting
- Ensure that the
.gitignore file is correctly formatted and located at the root of your project.
- If the extension does not seem to be working, verify that your workspace folders are correctly set up in VS Code.
- Check the Output panel in VS Code for any errors or warnings related to the extension.
Contributing
Contributions to improve the GitKeep Generator extension are welcome. Please feel free to submit pull requests or open issues on the GitHub repository.
License
This extension is released under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for more details.
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