Workspace Maestro

Conduct your multi-root workspace from the status bar

If you live in a multi-root workspace and constantly add, remove, or temporarily silence folders in your .code-workspace file, Workspace Maestro turns that chore into a single click.

It adds a small 📁 n/m button to the status bar. Click it and a checklist pops up listing every folder in your workspace file — both the active ones and the ones you previously commented out. Tick to bring a folder in, untick to comment it out. Press Enter and the file is updated in place; VS Code reloads the folders instantly.

No more hand-editing JSON, hunting for the right { "path": ... } block, or breaking commas.

✨ Features

• 📋 One checklist for every folder — active and commented-out folders in one place, in their original order.
• 🖱️ Toggle from the status bar — a quick-pick with checkboxes; check to enable, uncheck to comment out.
• ✍️ Keeps your style — toggling only adds/removes // markers. Your settings, tasks, launch, section-divider comments, blank lines, and indentation are preserved byte-for-byte.
• ✅ Always-valid JSON — commas between active folders are fixed up automatically.
• ⚡ Instant reload — VS Code re-reads the workspace folders the moment the file is saved.
• ⌨️ Keyboard friendly — open the checklist with Cmd+K F / Ctrl+K F.

🎬 How it works

Checked = the folder is an active entry in the folders array. Unchecked = the folder object is commented out — exactly the way you'd write it by hand.

Unchecking organization turns this:

{
	"path": "organization"
},

into this:

// {
// 	"path": "organization"
// },

…and re-checking it puts it right back. Everything else in the file stays untouched, including dividers like // ======== REPORTING ========.

🚀 Quick start

1. Open a multi-root workspace (a saved .code-workspace file).
2. Click the 📁 n/m button in the status bar (or press Cmd+K F / Ctrl+K F).
3. Check/uncheck folders and press Enter.

⚙️ Extension settings

📋 Requirements

• VS Code: 1.80.0 or later
• A saved .code-workspace file (multi-root workspace). A single open folder or an unsaved/untitled workspace shows a hint instead.

💡 About the popup

VS Code doesn't let extensions render a fully custom panel anchored to the status bar (the Copilot-style popover is built into the product, not a public API). Workspace Maestro uses the closest native, supported control — a multi-select Quick Pick with checkboxes — which opens as an overlay when you click the status-bar button.

🛠️ Development

git clone https://github.com/marcin-zajac/workspace-maestro.git
cd workspace-maestro
npm install

npm run compile   # build (or: npm run watch)
npm test          # run the logic tests
npm run icon      # regenerate icon.png from icon.svg

# Press F5 in VS Code to launch an Extension Development Host.

📝 License

MIT License — see the LICENSE file.

🐛 Issues & feedback

Found a bug or have an idea? Please open an issue.

🔄 Version history

0.1.0 (Initial release)

• Status-bar checklist of all workspace folders (active and commented-out)
• Toggle folders on/off by commenting/uncommenting in place
• Preserves formatting, comments, and dividers; fixes commas automatically
• Configurable status-bar alignment and a keyboard shortcut