Project Favorites

Organize your codebase with smart file groups

Stop hunting for files. Create smart groups that organize your project by features, modules, or any logical structure that makes sense for your workflow.

Get Started • Features • Documentation • Examples

✨ Why Project Favorites?

Working on a large project? Constantly switching between the same set of files? Project Favorites lets you organize your files into logical groups so you can:

🎯 Jump to relevant files instantly - No more searching through deep folder structures
🔄 Switch contexts quickly - Open all files for a feature with one click
👥 Share with your team - Commit groups to Git and everyone gets the same organization
🌍 Work anywhere - Relative paths work across different machines and operating systems
📁 Stay organized - Create hierarchical structures with subgroups

Perfect for:

Full-stack features (frontend + backend + tests + docs)
Microservices architectures
Monorepos with multiple packages
Legacy codebases with scattered files
Any project where you need to work on related files together

🚀 Features

📂 Smart File Organization

Create Groups & Subgroups - Organize files hierarchically by feature, module, or any structure
Add Files & Folders - Include entire folders that expand to show their contents
Drag & Drop - Reorder items and move files between groups effortlessly
Relative Paths - Works across different machines and operating systems

⚡ Productivity Boosters

Open All Files - Open all files in a group with one click (configurable limit)
Quick Add - Right-click any file or use Ctrl+Alt+F to add to a group
Context Menus - Available in Explorer, Editor tabs, and Tree view
Keyboard Shortcuts - Speed up your workflow with customizable shortcuts

🔧 Flexible & Powerful

Workspace Storage - Share groups with your team via Git (.vscode/project-favorites.json)
Import/Export - Share configurations between projects
Multiple Sort Options - Date created, alphabetical, custom, or recent
Rich UI - File icons, tooltips, and visual feedback
Multi-select - Bulk operations support

📦 Installation

From VS Code Marketplace

Open Extensions in VS Code (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
Search for "Project Favorites"
Click Install
Restart VS Code if prompted

From Command Line

code --install-extension jshwek.project-favorites

From VSIX

Download the latest .vsix file from Releases and install manually.

📖 Usage

Quick Start

Open Project Favorites - Click the star icon in the Activity Bar
Create a Group - Click the + icon or press Ctrl+Alt+N
Add Files - Right-click any file → "Add to Project Group"

Adding Files to Groups

From Explorer

Right-click any file
Select "Add to Project Group"
Choose existing group or create new

From Editor

Press Ctrl+Alt+F / Cmd+Alt+F
Select group from quick picker
File is added instantly

Managing Groups

Action	Method
Create Group	Click `+` icon or `Ctrl+Alt+N`
Create Subgroup	Right-click group → "Create Subgroup"
Rename Group	Click edit icon or right-click → "Rename"
Delete Group	Click trash icon or right-click → "Delete"
Add Folder	Right-click folder in Explorer → "Add Folder to Group"
Open All Files	Click files icon or `Ctrl+Alt+O`
Drag & Drop	Drag files/folders to reorder or move between groups

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl+Alt+F` / `Cmd+Alt+F`	Add current file to group
`Ctrl+Alt+O` / `Cmd+Alt+O`	Open all files in selected group
`Ctrl+Alt+N` / `Cmd+Alt+N`	Create new group

Tip: Customize shortcuts in Keyboard Shortcuts (Ctrl+K Ctrl+S)

🎯 Use Cases

🏗️ Full-Stack Feature Development

Organize all files related to a feature in one place:

📁 Sales Feature
  ├── 📁 Frontend
  │   ├── SalesPage.tsx
  │   ├── SalesForm.tsx
  │   └── sales.css
  ├── 📁 Backend
  │   ├── salesRoutes.ts
  │   ├── salesController.ts
  │   └── salesModel.ts
  ├── 📁 Database
  │   └── sales-queries.sql
  └── 📁 Tests
      ├── sales.test.ts
      └── sales-integration.test.ts

One click opens all files. One commit shares with your team.

Working across multiple services?

📁 User Service
  ├── user-service/src/index.ts
  ├── user-service/src/handlers.ts
  └── user-service/tests/

📁 Auth Service
  ├── auth-service/src/index.ts
  ├── auth-service/src/middleware.ts
  └── auth-service/tests/

🐛 Bug Investigation

Group all files related to a bug:

📁 Bug [#123](https://github.com/jshwek/vscode-project-favorites/issues/123): Login Issue
  ├── components/LoginForm.tsx
  ├── services/authService.ts
  ├── utils/validation.ts
  └── tests/login.test.ts

When done, delete the group or keep it for future reference.

📚 Documentation & Config

Keep important files accessible:

📁 Project Setup
  ├── package.json
  ├── tsconfig.json
  ├── .env.example
  ├── README.md
  └── docker-compose.yml

⚙️ Configuration

Access settings via Ctrl+, / Cmd+, and search for "Project Favorites":

Storage Location

"projectFavorites.storageLocation": "workspace"  // or "global"

workspace (default): Stored in .vscode/project-favorites.json
- ✅ Share with team via Git
- ✅ Different groups per project
- ❌ Not available in other workspaces
global: Stored in VS Code's global storage
- ✅ Available across all projects
- ❌ Cannot share with team

Sort Order

"projectFavorites.sortOrder": "dateCreated"  // alphabetical, custom, recent

dateCreated (default): Files shown in the order they were added
alphabetical: Sorted by filename
custom: Manual ordering via drag & drop
recent: Most recently added first

Other Settings

{
  "projectFavorites.openAllFilesLimit": 10,        // Max files to open at once (1-50)
  "projectFavorites.confirmDelete": true,          // Show delete confirmation
  "projectFavorites.showFileIcons": true,          // Show file type icons
  "projectFavorites.enableDragAndDrop": true       // Enable drag & drop
}

💡 Tips & Tricks

Commit .vscode/project-favorites.json to Git:

git add .vscode/project-favorites.json
git commit -m "Add project favorites for Sales feature"
git push

Team members pull and get the same organization!

🎨 Color-Code Groups (Coming Soon)

While not yet available, we're working on custom colors for groups.

🔍 Quick File Switching

Use VS Code's Quick Open (Ctrl+P) in combination with groups for maximum productivity.

📦 Export/Import Groups

Transfer your group configurations between projects or share templates with your team.

Exporting Groups

Click the Export icon (📤) in the Project Favorites toolbar
- Or right-click in the Project Favorites view → Export Groups
Choose where to save the JSON file (e.g., my-favorites.json)
The exported file contains all your groups, subgroups, and file references

What's Exported:

{
  "version": "1.0.0",
  "groups": [
    {
      "id": "...",
      "name": "My Feature",
      "files": [...],
      "folders": [...],
      "subgroups": [...],
      "description": "...",
      "createdAt": 1234567890,
      "updatedAt": 1234567890
    }
  ]
}

Importing Groups

Click the Import icon (📥) in the Project Favorites toolbar
- Or right-click in the Project Favorites view → Import Groups
Select a previously exported JSON file
Choose how to handle the import:
- Merge with existing groups: Keeps your current groups and adds new ones
- Replace existing groups: Removes all current groups and uses imported ones

Common Use Cases:

📋 Template Sharing: Export a standardized project structure for your team
🔄 Project Migration: Move your favorite groups to a new project
💾 Backup: Save your configuration before major changes
🎯 Feature Templates: Create reusable group structures for common features

Note: Imported file paths are relative, so they work best when importing to projects with similar structures.

🤝 Contributing

We love contributions! Here's how you can help:

See CONTRIBUTING.md for development setup.

🗺️ Roadmap

✅ Version 0.0.1 (Current)

[x] Group management with subgroups
[x] File and folder support
[x] Drag and drop reordering
[x] Import/Export functionality
[x] Keyboard shortcuts
[x] Context menu integration
[x] Multiple sort options
[x] Workspace storage for team sharing

🔜 Upcoming Features

[ ] Custom group colors and icons
[ ] File search within groups
[ ] Group templates
[ ] Smart suggestions based on file relationships
[ ] Activity bar badges showing file counts
[ ] Recent groups quick access
[ ] Group descriptions with markdown support

Vote on features or suggest your own!

🐛 Troubleshooting

Files Not Opening

Problem: Files don't open when clicked

✅ Verify files exist at their original locations
✅ Check you have read permissions
✅ Try "Refresh" in the Project Favorites view

Groups Not Saving

Problem: Changes aren't persisting

✅ Check storage location setting
✅ Ensure .vscode folder isn't read-only
✅ Try switching to global storage temporarily

Performance Issues

Problem: Extension feels slow

✅ Reduce openAllFilesLimit setting
✅ Avoid adding very large folders
✅ Disable drag & drop if not needed

Still having issues? Open an issue and we'll help!

📄 License

MIT License - feel free to use in personal and commercial projects.

📊 Stats

GitHub issues GitHub pull requests

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Made with ☕, Claude Code and TypeScript

Project Favorites

jshwek

Project Favorites

Organize your codebase with smart file groups

✨ Why Project Favorites?

🚀 Features

📂 Smart File Organization

⚡ Productivity Boosters

🔧 Flexible & Powerful

📦 Installation

From VS Code Marketplace

From Command Line

From VSIX

📖 Usage

Quick Start

Adding Files to Groups

Managing Groups

Keyboard Shortcuts

🎯 Use Cases

🏗️ Full-Stack Feature Development

🔧 Microservices Navigation

🐛 Bug Investigation

📚 Documentation & Config

⚙️ Configuration

Storage Location

Sort Order

Other Settings

💡 Tips & Tricks

🔗 Share with Your Team

🎨 Color-Code Groups (Coming Soon)

🔍 Quick File Switching

📦 Export/Import Groups

Exporting Groups

Importing Groups

🤝 Contributing

🗺️ Roadmap

✅ Version 0.0.1 (Current)

🔜 Upcoming Features

🐛 Troubleshooting

Files Not Opening

Groups Not Saving

Performance Issues

📄 License

📊 Stats