 |
Max Editor for VS CodeMaximize the editor by hiding all VS Code side panels with a single click (or keyboard shortcut), then restore everything exactly as it was. |
Features
- One-click maximize — hides the sidebar, bottom panel, and secondary sidebar
- One-click restore — brings back only the panels that were open before maximizing
- Editor title button — maximize/restore icon lives directly in the editor tab bar
- Keyboard shortcut —
Cmd+Shift+M (Mac) / Ctrl+Shift+M (Windows/Linux)
- No native dependencies — pure JavaScript, works across all VS Code versions
Usage
Press Cmd+Shift+M (Mac) or Ctrl+Shift+M (Windows/Linux), or click the maximize button in the editor title bar (shown circled below):
The extension reads your panel state when VS Code opens, hides everything on maximize, and restores only the panels that were originally visible on restore.
Requirements
Commands
- Max Editor: Toggle Maximize Editor — toggles between maximized and normal layout
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Shortcut |
Action |
Cmd+Shift+M / Ctrl+Shift+M |
Toggle maximize |
Known Limitation: Panel State Tracking
Note: VS Code does not currently expose a public API for reading whether the sidebar, bottom panel, or auxiliary bar are visible at runtime.
To work around this, Max Editor reads VS Code's internal storage database (state.vscdb) at startup to seed the initial panel state. This works correctly in the common case — but if you manually toggle a panel after opening VS Code and before pressing maximize, the extension won't detect that change, and may incorrectly restore that panel on unmaximize.
We've filed a feature request with the VS Code team to expose this information through the public Extension API:
Once that API ships, Max Editor will be updated to track panel state perfectly in real time.
Workaround for now: if you manually toggle panels before maximizing, toggle them back first, then use Max Editor — the startup-probed state will be accurate.
How it works
At activation, the extension probes VS Code's workspace storage database to read the last-known visibility of each panel. When you maximize:
- The current layout is saved
workbench.action.closeSidebar, workbench.action.closePanel, and workbench.action.closeAuxiliaryBar are run to hide all panels- Focus returns to the active editor
On restore, only the panels that were open before maximizing are brought back.
Development
npm install
npm run compile # one-shot bundle to dist/extension.js
npm run watch # incremental rebuild
npm run test:unit # run SQLite reader unit tests (no VS Code host needed)
npm test # full integration test suite
npm run package:vsix # produce a .vsix to install locally
Press F5 in VS Code to launch an Extension Development Host with the extension active.
License
MIT
