Project Settings Sync

🇯🇵 日本語のドキュメントはこちら (Read in Japanese)

A VS Code extension that powerfully supports development in Monorepo or Multi-project configurations.

It automatically syncs sub-project settings to the root based on the currently open file or directory, seamlessly switching the development context (settings, search scope, and appearance).

✨ Features

1. Settings Sync

   • Automatically reads .vscode/settings.json from sub-directories (projects) and merges them into the root workspace settings.
   • Problem Solved: By default, VS Code only recognizes .vscode/settings.json at the project root. Settings located in sub-directories (e.g., projectXxx/.vscode/settings.json) are ignored when working from the parent directory. This extension solves this issue.
   • Simply switching tabs automatically applies project-specific settings, such as formatters and linters.
   • Automatically rewrites relative paths in settings.json (e.g., node_modules/...) to root-relative paths (e.g., apps/app1/node_modules/...) to ensure they work correctly.

2. Focus Mode

   • Automatically excludes files outside the active project from search results (Cmd+P, Quick Open, and full-text search).
   • Eliminates noise from duplicate filenames or unrelated code in other projects.

3. Project Badge

   • Displays a "Badge" (icon or short text) next to the folder in the Explorer and on the open tab.
   • Allows you to instantly recognize which project's files you are currently working on.

⚙️ Configuration (Usage)

Below is an example configuration for a project structure like this:

.vscode/
└─ settings.json
project1/
├─ .vscode/
│  └─ settings.json
└─ aaa.txt
admin-project/
└─ projectX
   ├─ .vscode/
   │  └─ settings.json
   └─ bbb.txt

Add the following configuration to your root .vscode/settings.json:

{
  // Settings for project paths and badges to enable the extension for
  "projectSettingsSync.mappings": [
    {
      "path": "project1",
      "badge": {
        "root": "🟦", // Badge to display on the project root folder (optional)
        "file": "🔵"  // Badge to display on the file/tab (optional)
      }
    },
    {
      "path": "admin-project/projectX",
      "badge": "🟥"   // Badge to display on both directory and files (optional)
    }
  ],

  // Delay time (ms) before starting the update process after switching tabs - Default: 500
  "projectSettingsSync.debounceDelay": 200,

  // Whether to reset applied settings when opening a file outside the projects - Default: false
  // false: Maintains the previous project settings
  // true: Automatically cleans up settings to restore the initial state
  "projectSettingsSync.autoCleanup": false,

  // Whether to enable Focus Mode (Search Scope Control) - Default: false
  // false: All files are searchable
  // true: Only files within the open project will appear in search results
  "projectSettingsSync.focusMode": true
}

🎥 Demo

In this demo, different color themes are applied to workbench.colorCustomizations.titleBar.activeBackground for each project. As you can see, the settings are automatically synced and the color theme changes instantly when switching tabs!

⚠️ Known Issues & Troubleshooting

Conflict with i18n-ally

If you are using the i18n-ally extension in sub-projects, its settings (such as framework detection) may not be applied correctly when switching projects with this extension.

This can be resolved by configuring the following setting:

• Explicitly set "i18n-ally.enabledFrameworks" in the settings.json of each sub-project (or the root directory).

If the extension is not working correctly

If settings are not syncing or you encounter unexpected behavior, please check the extension logs.

1. Open the Command Palette (Cmd + Shift + P / Ctrl + Shift + P).
2. Search for and select "Output: Focus on Output View".
3. Select "Project Settings Sync" from the dropdown menu in the Output panel to view the logs.