Zeq's Project Dashboard
A start page for VS Code. When you open VS Code with no folder or workspace, it shows your recent projects so you can jump straight back in. Pin favourites, keep a note for each project, and run a project's package.json scripts without opening the folder first.
Getting started
Install the extension and start VS Code with nothing open. The Projects tab opens by itself. You can also open it any time from the Command Palette with Open Project Dashboard.
Features
- Recent projects: the folders and workspaces from VS Code's own Open Recent list, newest first.
- Pinned projects: pin a project with the star and it stays at the top.
- Project details: each card shows the git branch (read from
.git/HEAD, no git process is started), when you last opened it, and badges for what it contains: Node, TypeScript, Rust, Go, Python, .NET, Java, Docker, Tauri, Godot and others.
- Notes: a short note per project, saved as you type.
- Run scripts: pick a script from the project's
package.json and run it in a new terminal. The package manager (pnpm, yarn, bun or npm) is chosen from the lockfile.
- Open and manage: open in this window or a new window, reveal in the file explorer, copy the path, or remove an entry from the list.
- Search: filter by name, path, kind, branch or note. Press
/ to focus the search box and Enter to open the first match.
- Skills tab: lists the agent skills on your machine, from
~/.claude/skills, ~/.agents/skills and ~/.codex/skills and from the same folders in each listed project, grouped by home folder or project. Each shows its name, description and which agent folder it is in. Search them, open SKILL.md beside the dashboard, reveal the folder, or copy the path.
- Tiles or rows: switch both tabs between a tile grid and compact rows with the actions on the right. On narrow editors the rows stack so nothing is cut off.
- Collapsible groups: Pinned, Recent, Personal and each project's skills are groups you can fold with a click, or all at once with Collapse all / Expand all. Groups are always shown open while you search. Your layout, open tab and folded groups are remembered.
- Quick actions: Open Folder, Open Workspace and Clone Repository.
- Follows your VS Code theme and works offline.
A skill is a folder containing a SKILL.md. Its name and description come from the YAML front matter at the top of that file; skills without front matter show the folder name and no description. Skills are re-scanned every time you switch to the tab.
Missing folders are dimmed so you can remove them.
Settings
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
zeqsProjectDashboard.showOnStartup |
noFolder |
noFolder opens the dashboard when VS Code starts with no folder, workspace or editors open. always opens it on every start. never only opens it from the command. |
zeqsProjectDashboard.maxProjects |
30 |
Maximum number of unpinned projects to list. |
Notes
- Only local folders and
.code-workspace files are listed. Remote and virtual workspaces are skipped.
- VS Code has no public API for its recent list. The extension reads it through the internal command
_workbench.getRecentlyOpened. If that ever stops working, the dashboard still lists the projects it has seen you open.
- Pins, notes and removed entries are stored in VS Code's extension storage on your machine. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Develop
pnpm install
pnpm run build # then F5 ("Run Extension")
pnpm test
pnpm run package # produces a .vsix
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