E2B Sandbox Explorer

A VS Code extension that lets you connect to E2B sandboxes and interact with them directly from your editor. Browse files, edit code, search, and run terminal commands - all within VS Code.

Install from VS Code Marketplace

Quick Start

1. Set API Key: Open E2B view → Click "Set API Key" → Enter your key from e2b.dev
2. Connect: Click the plug icon next to a running sandbox → Choose directory path
3. Browse & Edit: Navigate files in the tree view, click to open and edit
4. Search: Use the search icon to quickly find files with fuzzy search
5. Terminal: Click terminal icon for interactive shell access

Features & Usage

🔑 1. Set Your E2B API Key

First time setup:

1. Open the E2B Sandboxes view in the activity bar (cloud icon)
2. Click "Set API Key" or press Ctrl+Shift+P and run "E2B: Set API Key"
3. Enter your E2B API key (get one at e2b.dev)

Tip: You can also set the E2B_API_KEY environment variable or configure it in Settings.

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🔌 2. Connect to E2B Sandboxes

Features:

• List all your running E2B sandboxes
• Connect to multiple sandboxes simultaneously
• Visual connection status indicators
• Choose custom directory paths
• Search and filter sandboxes by ID, name, or template
• Copy sandbox IDs and template IDs to clipboard

How to connect:

1. Your running sandboxes appear in the E2B Sandboxes view
2. Click the Connect icon (plug) next to a sandbox
3. Enter the directory path you want to browse (default: /home/user)
4. The sandbox files will appear in the Files view

Sandbox Management:

• Search/Filter: Click the filter icon to search sandboxes by ID, name, or template
• Copy IDs: Right-click any sandbox to copy its ID or template ID to clipboard

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📁 3. File Management

Features:

• Browse sandbox files in a dedicated tree view
• Create, edit, delete, and rename files and folders
• Full VS Code editor integration with syntax highlighting
• Files accessible via e2b:// URI scheme
• Changes sync automatically to the sandbox

How to manage files:

• Navigate: Click through folders in the Files view
• Open files: Click any file to open it in the editor with full syntax highlighting
• Edit & Save: Make changes and save (Ctrl+S / Cmd+S) - syncs automatically to sandbox
• Create: Click the New File or New Folder icons in the toolbar
• Delete: Right-click on files/folders and select "Delete"

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4. Settings

Access via: Preferences > Settings > Extensions > E2B Sandbox Explorer

Or press Ctrl+Shift+P (or Cmd+Shift+P) and type "Preferences: Open Settings (UI)", then search for "E2B".

Available Settings

e2b.apiKey (string)

• Your E2B API key
• Optional - falls back to E2B_API_KEY environment variable if not set
• Can be updated anytime through the Settings UI or command palette

e2b.searchIgnorePatterns (array of strings)

• File and directory patterns to ignore during file search (when not using git)
• Default includes common patterns for all major languages/frameworks
• Customize to add project-specific patterns or remove defaults
• Only applies to non-git directories (git repos always respect .gitignore)

🔍 5. Smart File Search

Features:

• Fast file indexing with real-time progress (10-100x faster than recursive API calls)
• Git Integration: Automatically respects .gitignore in git repositories
• Built-in Filters: Ignores common dependency directories (node_modules, venv, target, etc.)
• Smart Caching: Results cached for 5 minutes for instant subsequent searches
• Auto-invalidation: Cache updates when files are created/deleted
• Context-aware: Search entire sandbox or specific directories
• Fuzzy search through all indexed files

How to search:

1. Click the search icon next to a sandbox or folder (inline or right-click menu)
2. If cached results exist, choose to use them or refresh
3. Files are indexed with progress tracking ("Indexing X / Y files")
4. Use the fuzzy search picker to find and open files

Search automatically:

• Git repos: Uses git ls-files (respects .gitignore)
• Non-git: Uses find with smart ignore patterns
• Shows file count: "Search 142 files in /home/user"
• Results cached for 5 minutes

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💻 5. Integrated Terminal

Features:

• Interactive PTY sessions directly in VS Code
• Multiple terminals per sandbox
• Full shell support with proper input/output handling
• Seamless integration with VS Code's terminal UI

How to use:

• Click the terminal icon in the Files view toolbar
• Or right-click a connected sandbox and select "Open Terminal"
• Use like any VS Code terminal - fully interactive shell with your sandbox environment
• Open multiple terminals per sandbox as needed

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⚙️ 6. Disconnect & Manage

How to disconnect:

• Click the disconnect icon in the Files view toolbar
• Or right-click a connected sandbox and select "Disconnect"
• All terminals for that sandbox will be properly cleaned up

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⚡ Performance Highlights

This extension is optimized for speed and efficiency:

• Fast Indexing: Uses bash commands (find/git ls-files) instead of recursive API calls - 10-100x faster
• Intelligent Caching: File indexes cached with 5-minute TTL, auto-invalidated on changes
• Progress Tracking: Real-time progress for long operations with cancel support
• Context-Aware: All operations scoped to selected sandbox/directory
• Multi-Sandbox: Connect to multiple sandboxes simultaneously without performance degradation

Installation

From VS Code Marketplace (Recommended)

Option 1: Install via VS Code

1. Open VS Code
2. Press Ctrl+Shift+P (or Cmd+Shift+P on Mac)
3. Type "Extensions: Install Extensions"
4. Search for "E2B Sandbox Explorer"
5. Click Install

Option 2: Install via Command Line

code --install-extension bhavaniravi.e2b-sandbox-explorer

Option 3: Install via Web

• Visit the marketplace page
• Click the "Install" button

From VSIX (Development/Testing)

1. Download the latest .vsix file from releases
2. Open VS Code
3. Press Ctrl+Shift+P (or Cmd+Shift+P on Mac)
4. Type "Extensions: Install from VSIX"
5. Select the downloaded file

From Source (Development)

# Clone the repository
git clone <repository-url>
cd e2b-vscode

# Install dependencies
bun install

# Compile the extension
bun run compile

# Open in VS Code
code .

# Press F5 to launch Extension Development Host

Environment Variables

• E2B_API_KEY: Your E2B API key (fallback if not set in settings)

File Search Ignore Patterns

The extension automatically ignores common dependency and build directories during file search. These patterns are fully customizable via the e2b.searchIgnorePatterns setting.

Default Ignore Patterns

JavaScript/TypeScript: node_modules, .next, .nuxt, dist, build, out, .cache, .parcel-cache, .turbo, coverage, .npm, .pnpm-store, .local

Python: __pycache__, venv, .venv, env, .pytest_cache, .mypy_cache, .tox, .hypothesis, *.egg-info, .eggs

Rust: target

Go: vendor

Java/Kotlin: .gradle, .mvn

Ruby: .bundle

PHP: vendor

Version Control: .git, .svn, .hg

IDEs: .idea, .vscode, .vs

Other: .DS_Store, Thumbs.db, tmp, temp, .tmp, .temp

Note: In git repositories, .gitignore rules always take precedence over these patterns.

Customizing Ignore Patterns

1. Open VS Code Settings (Ctrl+, or Cmd+,)
2. Search for "E2B Search Ignore Patterns"
3. Click "Edit in settings.json" to modify the array
4. Add or remove patterns as needed

Example: Add custom build directories for your project:

{
  "e2b.searchIgnorePatterns": [
    "node_modules",
    "dist",
    "my-custom-output",
    "generated-files",
    "*.log"
  ]
}

Commands

All commands are accessible via Ctrl+Shift+P (or Cmd+Shift+P):

• E2B: Set API Key - Configure your E2B API key
• E2B: Connect - Connect to a sandbox
• E2B: Disconnect - Disconnect from sandbox(es)
• E2B: Open Terminal - Open terminal in sandbox
• E2B: Search Files - Search files in sandbox/directory
• E2B: Search Sandboxes - Filter sandboxes by ID, name, or template
• E2B: Clear Sandbox Filter - Remove active sandbox filter
• E2B: Refresh - Refresh sandbox list

Context menu commands (right-click):

• Copy Sandbox ID - Copy sandbox ID to clipboard
• Copy Template ID - Copy template ID to clipboard

Development

Prerequisites

• Bun v1.3.5 or higher
• VS Code 1.80.0 or higher

Build Commands

# Install dependencies
bun install

# Compile extension
bun run compile

# Watch mode (auto-recompile on changes)
bun run watch

# Package extension
bun run package

Project Structure

src/
├── extension.ts              # Extension entry point
├── e2b/
│   └── client.ts            # E2B SDK wrapper with caching
├── providers/
│   ├── fileSystemProvider.ts    # e2b:// URI handler
│   ├── sandboxListProvider.ts   # Sandbox tree view
│   └── fileTreeProvider.ts      # File tree view
├── commands/
│   └── index.ts             # All command handlers
└── terminal/
    └── sandboxTerminal.ts   # PTY terminal implementation

Architecture Highlights

• No Workspace Integration: All files shown in custom activity bar views
• Multi-Sandbox Support: Connect to multiple sandboxes simultaneously
• Smart Caching: File indexes cached with automatic invalidation
• Bash Optimization: Uses find/git ls-files for fast indexing
• Context-Aware: Operations scoped to selected sandbox/directory

Troubleshooting

"E2B API key not configured"

• Set your API key via the command palette or environment variable
• Verify the key is correct at e2b.dev

Files not showing after connection

• Check that the directory path exists in the sandbox
• Try refreshing the Files view (refresh icon)
• Verify sandbox is still running

Search is slow

• First search builds the index (may take a few seconds)
• Subsequent searches use cache (instant)
• Large directories (>10k files) may take longer
• Consider searching specific subdirectories

Cache not invalidating

• Cache auto-invalidates on file create/delete/rename
• Manual refresh: disconnect and reconnect
• Cache expires after 5 minutes automatically

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

Links

• E2B Documentation
• E2B Website
• VS Code Marketplace
• Changelog
• Report Issues
• Source Code