IgnoreKit

Add files and folders to ignore files from the VS Code Explorer.

IgnoreKit keeps ignore-file edits close to the file you are working with. Right-click a generated file, build folder, local config, package artifact, or extension packaging file and add it to the correct ignore file without opening that file by hand.

Features

• Add files and folders from the Explorer context menu.
• Remove entries that IgnoreKit previously added.
• Always supports the workspace .gitignore.
• Detects existing package-level .npmignore and .vscodeignore files.
• Shows a picker when more than one ignore file applies.
• Creates .gitignore when needed.
• Never creates .npmignore or .vscodeignore automatically.
• Avoids duplicate entries.
• Uses portable /-separated ignore paths.
• Adds trailing slashes for folders.
• Supports multi-root workspaces.

Commands

Right-click a file or folder in the Explorer and choose:

• Add to Ignore File...
• Remove from Ignore File...

If one ignore file applies, IgnoreKit updates it immediately. If multiple ignore files apply, IgnoreKit asks which file you want to update.

Installation

Install IgnoreKit from Visual Studio Marketplace in VS Code.

Supported Ignore Files

IgnoreKit looks upward from the selected file or folder to find the nearest package.json. Package ignore files are only offered from that nearest package root, so unrelated packages in the same workspace are left alone.

IgnoreKit does not scan or update paths inside node_modules.

Managed Section

IgnoreKit preserves the rest of your ignore file and writes to its own managed section:

# IgnoreKit
# Added from VS Code Explorer
dist/
# End IgnoreKit

The remove command only removes entries from this section. It does not delete rules that you wrote manually elsewhere in the file.

Package Awareness

For package ignore files, IgnoreKit detects common JavaScript package managers from lock files in the nearest package root:

• Bun: bun.lock or bun.lockb
• pnpm: pnpm-lock.yaml
• Yarn: yarn.lock
• npm: package-lock.json

Package manager detection is used for clearer picker labels. It does not change which ignore files are created.

Examples

Adding dist/ in a package that already has .npmignore may offer both:

• .gitignore
• .npmignore (npm package)

Adding .env at the workspace root writes:

/.env

Adding a folder writes:

dist/

Privacy

IgnoreKit runs locally in VS Code. It does not send file paths, project data, or ignore-file contents to any external service.

Development

npm install
npm run lint
npm test -- --run
npm run compile

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome. Please keep changes focused, add tests for behavior changes, and run the validation commands before opening a pull request.

License

MIT. See the LICENSE file in this repository.