Selection to File - VS Code Extension

A simple VS Code extension that allows you to quickly copy, move, append, or remotely copy selected text to files.

Features

• Copy selection to file: Copy selected text to a new file while keeping the original
• Move selection to file: Cut selected text and move it to a new file
• Append selection to file: Append selected text to an existing file (or create if it doesn't exist)
• Copy selection to remote file: Copy selected text to a file on a remote server via SSH
• Append selection to remote file: Append selected text to a remote file via SSH (or create if it doesn't exist)

All commands are available in the right-click context menu when you have text selected.

Usage

Local File Operations

1. Select the text you want to work with
2. Right-click to open the context menu
3. Choose one of:
   • "Copy selection to file" - copies the selection to a new file
   • "Move selection to file" - cuts and moves the selection to a new file
   • "Append selection to file" - appends the selection to an existing file (creates if doesn't exist)
4. Enter the file path relative to the current file or an absolute path
5. Press Enter to create/modify the file

Remote File Operations

1. Select the text you want to copy to a remote server
2. Right-click and choose either:
   • "Copy selection to remote file" - creates/overwrites remote file
   • "Append selection to remote file" - appends to existing remote file (creates if doesn't exist)
3. Enter the remote path in format: user@hostname:/path/to/file
4. Choose authentication method (Password or SSH Key)
5. Enter credentials (these can be saved for future use)
6. The file will be created/updated on the remote server

Important: Path Resolution

All relative paths are resolved relative to the current file's directory (where you're making the selection):

• Relative paths (e.g., ./utils/helper.js or ../shared/config.js) → relative to current file's directory
• Absolute paths (e.g., /home/user/code/file.js or C:\Code\file.js) → saved to exact location

Examples

When editing /home/user/projects/src/app.js:

• ./utils/helper.js → /home/user/projects/src/utils/helper.js
• ../shared/config → /home/user/projects/shared/config
• ../../lib/api → /home/user/lib/api
• /tmp/snippets/code.js → /tmp/snippets/code.js
• /etc/nginx/sites-available/mysite → /etc/nginx/sites-available/mysite

When editing C:\Projects\frontend\components\Button.js:

• ./styles.css → C:\Projects\frontend\components\styles.css
• ../utils/theme → C:\Projects\frontend\utils\theme
• C:\Temp\extract → C:\Temp\extract

Remote files:

• user@example.com:/home/user/project/config.json
• deploy@192.168.1.100:/var/www/html/index.html
• admin@server.local:/opt/app/settings.conf
• root@backup-server:/etc/nginx/nginx.conf
• pi@raspberrypi.local:/home/pi/scripts/startup

Features in Detail

Local Operations

• Automatic directory creation: If the directory doesn't exist, it will be created automatically
• File overwrite protection: For copy/move operations, you'll be asked to confirm overwrite
• Append mode: Appends to existing files with a newline separator, or creates new file if it doesn't exist
• Automatic file opening: Newly created/modified files open automatically (except append mode)
• No extension required: Files can be saved with or without extensions

Remote Operations

• SSH Authentication: Supports both password and SSH key authentication
• Credential Storage: Option to save credentials securely for future use
• Auto-retry: If saved credentials fail, they're cleared and you can re-enter them
• SFTP Transfer: Uses secure file transfer protocol for all remote operations
• Remote Append: Reads existing remote file content and appends to it
• No Extension Required: Remote files don't need to have a file extension

Requirements

• VS Code 1.74.0 or higher
• Node.js (for remote SSH operations)

Installation

From VS Code Marketplace

1. Open VS Code
2. Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X)
3. Search for "Selection to File"
4. Click Install

From VSIX file

1. Download the .vsix file
2. In VS Code, go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X)
3. Click the "..." menu and select "Install from VSIX..."
4. Select the downloaded .vsix file

Extension Settings

This extension doesn't require any configuration. It works out of the box!

Known Issues

• Remote operations require SSH access to the target server
• Large files may take time to transfer over SSH
• On Windows, use forward slashes (/) or escaped backslashes (\) in paths

Development

• Run npm test to execute tests.
• Run npm run vsix to build the extension.
• Run npm run release to release a new version.

Release Notes

[1.0.4] - 2025-06-02

• Removed ssh2, it was making the extension work
• Removed copy selection to remote file via SSH
• Removed append selection to remote file via SSH

[1.0.3] - 2025-06-01

• Files can be saved without extensions (both local and remote)

[1.0.2] - 2025-06-01

• All relative paths are relative to the current file's directory
• Support for absolute paths in all contexts

[1.0.1] - 2025-06-01

• Fixed command not found error

[1.0.0] - 2025-06-01

• Initial release
• Copy selection to file command
• Move selection to file command
• Append selection to file command
• Copy selection to remote file via SSH
• Append selection to remote file via SSH
• Right-click context menu integration
• Automatic directory creation
• File overwrite confirmation
• Automatic opening of newly created files
• File extension validation (local files only)
• SSH authentication (password and key-based)
• Credential storage for remote connections
• Support for remote files without extensions
• Works without requiring an open workspace
• Intelligent path resolution (workspace-relative or file-relative)
• Support for absolute paths in all contexts

Contributing

Feel free to submit issues and enhancement requests!

License

MIT