Explorer Folder Filter

Explorer Folder Filter temporarily focuses the native VS Code Explorer on folders whose names match a query.

It is useful in large workspaces where the folder tree is too broad to scan quickly.

Commands

No default keybindings are contributed. Assign your own shortcuts from VS Code's Keyboard Shortcuts editor if you want keyboard access.

Usage

Use the filter icon in the Explorer title bar to focus the Explorer on matching folders. When no filter is active, clicking the icon opens the folder-name prompt. When a filter is active, clicking it clears the filter and restores the previous workspace-folder files.exclude setting.

You can also run Focus Folder: Filter from the Command Palette to open the same prompt, or run Focus Folder: Clear Filter to clear the active filter. While a filter is active, the status bar item shows the current query and provides another clear action.

Behavior

When you run Focus Folder: Filter, the extension asks for a folder-name query, finds matching folders anywhere under the first workspace folder, and updates workspace-folder files.exclude so matching folders and their parent folders stay visible while unrelated sibling folders are hidden.

Existing files.exclude entries are preserved while the filter is active. Running Focus Folder: Clear Filter restores the exact original files.exclude map saved when the filter was first applied.

In multi-root workspaces, Explorer Folder Filter currently operates on the first workspace folder.

Notes

• Matching is case-insensitive substring matching against folder names.
• Matching folders keep their full contents visible.
• The status bar item provides a persistent clear action while a filter is active.
• The extension intentionally uses VS Code's native Explorer and files.exclude behavior instead of rendering a custom tree view.