Project Lobby Start

Your recent projects and favorites, one shortcut away.

Project Lobby Start is a compact start page for VS Code. Open folders and workspaces from your existing recent history, pin favorites to a separate bar, and switch projects using the keyboard.

Features

• Your actual recent projects. Reads the same folders and workspaces as File → Open Recent.
• A separate favorites bar. Pin projects without changing the order of your recent history.
• Open here or in a new window. Both actions are available on every project.
• Keyboard navigation. Search, use the arrow keys, and press Enter to open a project.
• Number shortcuts. Open the first nine recent results or favorites directly.
• Remove stale entries. The trash button removes a recent entry without deleting files or removing a favorite.
• A quiet start page. Opens automatically only in windows without an open folder or workspace. Search receives focus immediately.
• Ten languages. Follows your VS Code display language, with English as the fallback.

Getting started

Install Project Lobby Start from a VSIX using Extensions: Install from VSIX…, then reload VS Code. Open the Command Palette and run Project Lobby Start: Show projects (translated to your display language).

You can also press Cmd+K, then Cmd+L on macOS, or Ctrl+K, then Ctrl+L on Windows/Linux.

Star a project to add it to the favorites bar. Click a favorite to open it, or Shift-click to open it in a new window. Paths are displayed below project names, and distinct icons identify folders and workspaces.

Keyboard shortcuts

Number shortcuts are active only while Project Lobby Start has focus. Recent-result numbers follow the search filter; favorite numbers follow the favorites bar. Missing positions do nothing. User keybindings and operating-system shortcuts can take precedence. Customize bindings in VS Code's Keyboard Shortcuts editor.

Settings

lavoriRecenti.showOnStartup controls whether Project Lobby Start appears automatically in empty windows. Turn it off in Settings or use the checkbox at the bottom of the page. The setting retains its original identifier for compatibility.

Languages

English, Italian, French, German, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese. Use Configure Display Language in VS Code to change language. Project names and paths are never translated.

Privacy

Project Lobby Start does not send your project history to external services and does not include telemetry. Favorites and fallback history are stored locally in the current VS Code profile. Removing a recent entry changes VS Code's recent history; it never deletes the folder or workspace file. Opening a remote project delegates the connection to VS Code and its remote extensions.

Requirements and limitations

• VS Code 1.85 or later on desktop. Designed for macOS, Windows, and Linux; direct manual testing so far has been on macOS.
• Only folders and workspaces are listed, not individual files.
• Recent history uses VS Code's internal _workbench.getRecentlyOpened command. Remote opening also uses _files.windowOpen. These commands can change in future VS Code releases.
• If recent history cannot be read, the extension shows up to 100 projects it has recorded itself and displays a notice.
• Simultaneous writes from multiple VS Code windows may overwrite changes to favorites or fallback history.
• Translations are initial translations and have not yet undergone native-speaker review.

Development

No dependency installation or compilation is needed to run the extension. Open this repository in VS Code and press F5. Choose Avvia Project Lobby Start to launch without a debugger, or Debug Project Lobby Start to use breakpoints.

npm run check
npm test
npx @vscode/vsce package --out project-lobby-start-0.8.0.vsix

Packaging runs syntax checks and tests automatically. Tests cover history, favorites, navigation, removal, localization, and fallback behavior with simulated VS Code APIs and DOM objects.

See publishing instructions, release notes, and the Italian guide.

Feedback

Report problems or suggest improvements on GitHub Issues.

License

MIT © 2026 camavi.