folder2chat

A Visual Studio Code extension that helps you generate structured reports from project folders. Vibe-coding with friction if you will. I prefer to copy/paste from LLMs. Agents and auto-CLIs don't quite cut it for me yet. When I stop maintaining this tool (which I still use on a daily basis) you'll know I switched to agents.

jose (Sept. 2025)

Features

• Browse & Load a Folder
  Use the Browse or Refresh buttons to select a project folder and load its file tree.

• File Tree Navigation

  • Displays a collapsible directory tree.
  • Click folder icons/labels to expand or collapse directories.
  • Click file names or checkboxes to select files.

• Filtering

  • Extension chips are automatically populated from project files.
  • Click chips to filter the visible files by extension.
  • Selected chips persist until cleared.

• Selection Shortcuts

  • Select All or Select None buttons.
  • Expand/Collapse all directories.
  • Keyboard shortcuts:
    • A → Select All
    • N → Select None
    • G → Generate Report

• Report Generation

  • Click Generate to create a Markdown report.
  • Includes:
    • File contents (for selected files).
    • Optional Directory Tree section.
    • Optional Instructions section with agent rules.
  • If no files or options are selected, the report contains:

    Empty report!
    

  • Stats bubble shows counts for files, lines, bytes, and ~tokens (consistent across report and UI).

• Settings

  • Configure:
    • Max items per folder.
    • Default excluded folders (e.g., .git, node_modules).
    • Allowed text extensions.
  • Save settings to workspace or global scope.

• Layout & UX

  • Flexible layout: tree and report panels expand to use available vertical and horizontal space.
  • Toolbar stays sticky at the top with horizontal scroll for chips if crowded.
  • Buttons have improved padding so they don’t rest directly against card edges.

Screenshot

Here’s folder2chat in action inside VS Code:

Usage

1. Open VS Code and run the command:

folder2chat: Open

2. Load a folder with Browse or Refresh.
3. Adjust filters, expand/collapse directories, and select the files you want.
4. Choose whether to include the Tree and/or Instructions.
5. Click Generate to create the report.
6. Copy the result using the Copy button.

Development

• Clone the repo and run:

npm install
npm run compile

• Press F5 in VS Code to launch the extension in a development host window.

License

ISC