Virgo Minifier

The Ultimate File Minification Extension for Visual Studio Code

Virgo Minifier is a powerful, feature-rich Visual Studio Code extension that provides automatic and manual minification capabilities for CSS, JavaScript, HTML, JSON, XML, and SVG files. With real-time file system monitoring, intelligent debouncing, and comprehensive configuration options, Virgo Minifier seamlessly integrates into your development workflow to optimize your web assets with zero friction.

Features

Supported File Types

File Type	Extensions	Minification Engine
CSS	`.css`	clean-css
JavaScript	`.js`, `.mjs`, `.cjs`	terser
HTML	`.html`, `.htm`	html-minifier-terser
JSON	`.json`	Native JSON parser
XML	`.xml`	Custom XML minifier
SVG	`.svg`	Optimized SVG minifier

Key Features

Automatic Minification: Files are automatically minified when saved or created
Real-Time File Watching: Monitors file system events including saves, creates, and copies
Intelligent Debouncing: Prevents duplicate minifications during rapid file operations
Context Menu Integration: Right-click any supported file or folder to minify instantly
Bulk Operations: Minify entire folders or workspaces with a single command
Flexible Output Options: Create .min.* files or overwrite originals
Per-Type Configuration: Enable/disable minification for specific file types
Exclude Patterns: Skip files and folders using glob patterns
License Preservation: Optionally preserve copyright/license comments
Source Map Support: Generate source maps for JavaScript debugging
Progress Indicators: Visual feedback in status bar during operations
Detailed Logging: Comprehensive output channel for troubleshooting

Installation

Visual Studio Code

Open Visual Studio Code
Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
Search for "Virgo Minifier"
Click Install

Cursor

Virgo Minifier is available on the Open VSX Registry, which Cursor uses by default:

Open Cursor
Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
Search for "Virgo Minifier"
Click Install

Windsurf

Virgo Minifier is available on the Open VSX Registry, which Windsurf uses by default:

Open Windsurf
Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
Search for "Virgo Minifier"
Click Install

Google Antigravity

Virgo Minifier is available on the Open VSX Registry, which Antigravity uses by default:

Open Antigravity
Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
Search for "Virgo Minifier"
Click Install

Quick Start

Install the extension
Open a workspace containing your web project
Create a configuration file (optional but recommended):
- Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P)
- Run Virgo Minifier: Create Configuration File
Start coding! Files will be automatically minified on save

That's it! Virgo Minifier works out of the box with sensible defaults.

Configuration

Virgo Minifier uses a .virgo-minifier.json configuration file in your workspace root. This file allows you to customize every aspect of the minification process.

Creating the Configuration File

You can create a configuration file in two ways:

Using the Command Palette:
- Press Ctrl+Shift+P (or Cmd+Shift+P on macOS)
- Type and select Virgo Minifier: Create Configuration File
Manually: Create a .virgo-minifier.json file in your workspace root

Configuration Options

Here's a complete example with all available options:

{
    "autoMinify": true,
    "minifyOnSave": true,
    "minifyOnCreate": true,
    "showNotificationOnAutoSave": false,
    "notificationDuration": 3,

    "minifyCSS": true,
    "minifyJS": true,
    "minifyHTML": true,
    "minifyJSON": true,
    "minifyXML": true,
    "minifySVG": true,

    "outputSuffix": ".min",
    "overwriteOriginal": false,
    "outputDir": "",

    "removeComments": true,
    "preserveLicense": true,
    "preserveLineBreaks": false,

    "skipMinified": true,

    "cssOptions": {
        "level": 2,
        "format": "none",
        "compatibility": "*"
    },

    "jsOptions": {
        "compress": true,
        "mangle": true,
        "sourceMap": false,
        "keepFunctionNames": false,
        "keepClassNames": false
    },

    "htmlOptions": {
        "collapseWhitespace": true,
        "removeAttributeQuotes": false,
        "removeOptionalTags": false,
        "minifyCSS": true,
        "minifyJS": true
    },

    "exclude": [
        "node_modules/**",
        "*.min.*",
        "dist/**",
        "build/**",
        "out/**",
        "src/**",
        ".vscode/**",
        ".git/**",
        ".virgo-minifier.json"
    ]
}

Option Reference

General Options

Option	Type	Default	Description
`autoMinify`	boolean	`true`	Enable/disable automatic minification
`minifyOnSave`	boolean	`true`	Minify files when they are saved
`minifyOnCreate`	boolean	`true`	Minify files when they are created or copied
`showNotificationOnAutoSave`	boolean	`false`	Show status bar notification after auto-minification
`notificationDuration`	number	`3`	Duration in seconds to show notifications
`skipMinified`	boolean	`true`	Skip files that are already minified (`.min.*`)

File Type Options

Option	Type	Default	Description
`minifyCSS`	boolean	`true`	Enable CSS minification
`minifyJS`	boolean	`true`	Enable JavaScript minification
`minifyHTML`	boolean	`true`	Enable HTML minification
`minifyJSON`	boolean	`true`	Enable JSON minification
`minifyXML`	boolean	`true`	Enable XML minification
`minifySVG`	boolean	`true`	Enable SVG minification

Output Options

Option	Type	Default	Description
`outputSuffix`	string	`".min"`	Suffix added to minified filenames (e.g., `style.css` → `style.min.css`)
`overwriteOriginal`	boolean	`false`	If `true`, overwrites the original file instead of creating a new one
`outputDir`	string	`""`	Custom output directory for minified files (relative to source file's folder)

Comment Options

Option	Type	Default	Description
`removeComments`	boolean	`true`	Remove all comments from minified output
`preserveLicense`	boolean	`true`	Preserve license/copyright comments at the top of files
`preserveLineBreaks`	boolean	`false`	Keep some line breaks for readability

CSS-Specific Options (`cssOptions`)

Option	Type	Default	Description
`level`	number	`2`	Optimization level: `0` (no optimizations), `1` (safe optimizations), `2` (aggressive optimizations)
`format`	string	`"none"`	Output format: `"none"` (minified), `"beautify"` (formatted), `"keep-breaks"` (preserve line breaks)
`compatibility`	string	`"*"`	Browser compatibility mode (e.g., `"ie11"`, `"*"` for all browsers)

JavaScript-Specific Options (`jsOptions`)

Option	Type	Default	Description
`compress`	boolean	`true`	Enable compression (dead code removal, constant folding, etc.)
`mangle`	boolean	`true`	Mangle variable and function names
`sourceMap`	boolean	`false`	Generate source map files (`.js.map`)
`keepFunctionNames`	boolean	`false`	Preserve function names (useful for stack traces)
`keepClassNames`	boolean	`false`	Preserve class names

HTML-Specific Options (`htmlOptions`)

Option	Type	Default	Description
`collapseWhitespace`	boolean	`true`	Remove unnecessary whitespace
`removeAttributeQuotes`	boolean	`false`	Remove quotes around attribute values where possible
`removeOptionalTags`	boolean	`false`	Remove optional HTML tags (e.g., `</body>`)
`minifyCSS`	boolean	`true`	Minify inline CSS in `<style>` tags
`minifyJS`	boolean	`true`	Minify inline JavaScript in `<script>` tags

Exclude Patterns

The exclude option accepts an array of glob patterns to skip during minification:

{
    "exclude": [
        "node_modules/**",
        "**/vendor/**",
        "*.min.*",
        "**/*.min.*",
        "legacy/**/*.js",
        "tests/**"
    ]
}

Commands

Access these commands via the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P):

Command	Description
`Virgo Minifier: Minify Current File`	Minify the currently active file
`Virgo Minifier: Minify All Files in Workspace`	Minify all supported files in the workspace
`Virgo Minifier: Create Configuration File`	Create a `.virgo-minifier.json` file with defaults
`Virgo Minifier: Toggle Auto-Minify`	Enable/disable automatic minification

Right-click any supported file or folder in the Explorer to access:

Minify with Virgo Minifier - Minify the selected file
Minify Folder with Virgo Minifier - Minify all supported files in the folder

VS Code Settings

In addition to the project-level .virgo-minifier.json file, you can configure global settings in VS Code:

{
    "virgoMinifier.enable": true,
    "virgoMinifier.showStatusBar": true
}

Setting	Type	Default	Description
`virgoMinifier.enable`	boolean	`true`	Enable/disable the extension globally
`virgoMinifier.showStatusBar`	boolean	`true`	Show minification status in the status bar

Status Bar

The status bar displays the current state of Virgo Minifier with real-time feedback:

Icon	Meaning
⚡ Virgo Minifier	Auto-minify is enabled
🚫 Virgo Minifier	Auto-minify is disabled (yellow background)
🔄 Minifying (n)	Minification in progress (n files)
✓ filename.css -42.5%	Successful minification (file name + size reduction)
⚠ filename.css	Minification failed (red background)

After a successful minification, the status bar shows the file name and size reduction percentage for the configured notificationDuration (default: 3 seconds), then returns to the default state.

Click the status bar item to toggle auto-minify on/off.

Use Cases

Development Workflow

Auto-minify on save: Enable autoMinify to automatically create minified versions as you work
Preview production size: See real-time file size savings in the output log
Source maps for debugging: Enable jsOptions.sourceMap to debug minified JavaScript

Build Integration

Set outputDir to your build folder (e.g., "dist")
Keep overwriteOriginal: false to preserve source files
Use exclude patterns to skip test files and development assets

Legacy Project Migration

Use the Minify Workspace command to bulk-process existing files
Configure exclude patterns to skip third-party libraries
Set preserveLicense: true to keep copyright notices

Performance

Virgo Minifier is designed for optimal performance:

Debounced file watching: Prevents duplicate operations during rapid saves
Configuration caching: Config files are cached for 5 seconds
Concurrent processing: Multiple files can be processed simultaneously
Incremental operation: Only changed files are reprocessed

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Q: My files aren't being minified automatically

A: Check the following:

Ensure autoMinify: true in your config
Verify the file type is enabled (e.g., minifyCSS: true)
Check that the file doesn't match an exclude pattern
Make sure virgoMinifier.enable is true in VS Code settings

Q: SVG files are not minified when I press Ctrl+S

A: This is not a bug. VS Code opens SVG files in preview mode by default (showing the image visually), not as a text document. In preview mode, the save event is not triggered for text-based extensions.

Solutions:

Open SVG as text: Right-click the SVG file → Open With... → Text Editor, then save with Ctrl+S
Use context menu: Right-click the SVG file in Explorer → Minify with Virgo Minifier
Set default editor (recommended): Add this to your VS Code settings to always open SVG files as text:
```
"workbench.editorAssociations": {
    "*.svg": "default"
}
```

Q: The minified output is the same as the original

A: This can happen with already optimized files. Check:

The file isn't already minified (.min.*)
The content contains minifiable elements (whitespace, comments, etc.)

Q: I'm getting syntax errors after minification

A: Try these solutions:

Ensure your source file has valid syntax
For JavaScript, try setting mangle: false in jsOptions
For CSS, reduce level to 1 for safer optimizations

Viewing Logs

Open the Output panel (View → Output)
Select "Virgo Minifier" from the dropdown
Review timestamped log entries for details

About Virgo Internet Services

Virgo Minifier is developed and maintained by Mustafa Odabaşı, Software Developer at Virgo Internet Services Ltd. — delivering high-quality web solutions since 1997.

📧 Contact: modabasi@virgo.com.tr

Support

If you find this extension useful, consider supporting its development:

Enjoy using Virgo Minifier! If you find it helpful, please consider leaving a review on your marketplace of choice.

Virgo Minifier

Virgo Internet Services Ltd.

Virgo Minifier

Features

Supported File Types

Key Features

Installation

Visual Studio Code

Cursor

Windsurf

Google Antigravity

Quick Start

Configuration

Creating the Configuration File

Configuration Options

Option Reference

General Options

File Type Options

Output Options

Comment Options

CSS-Specific Options (cssOptions)

JavaScript-Specific Options (jsOptions)

HTML-Specific Options (htmlOptions)

Exclude Patterns

Commands

Context Menu

VS Code Settings

Status Bar

Use Cases

Development Workflow

Build Integration

Legacy Project Migration

Performance

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Viewing Logs

About Virgo Internet Services

Support

CSS-Specific Options (`cssOptions`)

JavaScript-Specific Options (`jsOptions`)

HTML-Specific Options (`htmlOptions`)