Code Dump to TXT/MD
Export your workspace into a single .txt, .md, .json, or .pdf file for AI tools, documentation, or archiving.
Visual walkthrough
Quick start
- Right-click a folder in the VS Code Explorer.
- Choose Export Code to TXT/MD.
- Select extensions, template, and output format.
- Save the file.
Command palette
- Press
Ctrl+Shift+P (Cmd+Shift+P on macOS).
- Run Code Dump: Export Current Workspace.
- Follow the prompts.
Complete usage guide
Installation
- Open VS Code.
- Go to the Extensions view.
- Search for Code Dump to TXT/MD and install the extension.
Available commands
- Export Code to TXT/MD: standard export with extension/format selection.
- Code Dump: Export Current Workspace: quick export of the entire workspace.
- Code Dump: Manage Profiles: profile management (create, edit, delete).
Export webview (step-by-step)
- File extensions: choose the extensions to export.
- Use search to filter extensions.
- Enable Selected only to show only the checked ones.
- Profile: apply a saved profile. The Manage button opens the Profile Manager.
- Preset:
- Standard: normal export.
- AI Export Pack: forces JSON format and the ai-ready template.
- Template: defines the output structure.
- Output format:
.md, .txt, .json, .pdf.
- Options:
- Exclude empty files
- Preview files before export
- Open file after export
- Output path:
- Choose... to select the destination.
- Recent paths to reuse recent locations.
- Copy to copy the path.
- Log:
- Always visible.
- Info/Verbose selector to filter messages.
Profile Manager
- Open Code Dump: Manage Profiles or use Manage in the webview.
- Each profile can save:
- extensions
- template
- format
- preset
- preview/empty/privacy options
- Saved directly in
codeDump.userProfiles.
Log and notifications
- The webview log is always available.
codeDump.logVerbose enables detailed per-file and per-step logs.codeDump.showNotifications enables/disables VS Code toasts.
What you get
Markdown / Text export
- One file (or chunked parts) with your code.
- Optional metadata per file.
- Token estimates shown during export.
JSON export (structured)
Includes per-file metadata and optional dependency graph.
External dependency lists are generated from project manifests and require exporting the full project to ensure all manifests are included.
Example JSON metadata:
{
"metadata": {
"exportedAt": "2026-01-29T12:34:56.000Z",
"sourceFolder": "my-project",
"totalFiles": 42,
"totalSize": 123456,
"totalLines": 7890,
"estimatedTokens": 30864,
"extensions": [".ts", ".md"],
"version": "1.0",
"dependencies": {
"src/index.ts": ["src/utils.ts", "src/types.ts"],
"src/utils.ts": ["src/types.ts"]
}
},
"files": []
}
AI Context Optimizer
Reduce token usage automatically during export.
{
"codeDump.aiContextOptimizer": {
"enabled": true,
"maxTokenBudget": 100000,
"removeComments": true,
"removeDocstrings": true,
"minifyWhitespace": true,
"truncateLargeFiles": true,
"maxLinesPerFile": 500,
"prioritizeRecentFiles": true
}
}
What it does:
- Removes redundant comments.
- Removes docstrings/doc comments when enabled.
- Minifies extra whitespace.
- Truncates large files with a
// ... truncated ... marker.
- Prioritizes entry points and recent files when the token budget is tight.
AI Export Pack
Generate an AI-ready bundle in one click:
- JSON export with
contextSummary, optimization stats, and optional dependency graph.
- Dependency graph now understands tsconfig/jsconfig path aliases (e.g.
@/components/*).
- Markdown export with a context summary and a ready-to-use AI prompt template.
- Preset defaults:
ai-ready template, .json output, preview enabled, empty files skipped.
What's included in contextSummary:
- Included/excluded file lists with reasons (e.g.
gitignore, sensitive, token-budget).
- Token budget used for selection.
- Auto-generated prompt template you can paste into an AI chat.
Privacy Mode
Mask sensitive data during export with regex-based redaction.
- Masks emails, common tokens (JWT/Bearer/prefixes), and API keys/secrets.
- Generates a report with total masks, per-type counts, and per-file stats.
- Toggle it directly in the export webview.
PDF Export
Use .pdf output to generate a Markdown-like PDF, useful as a NotebookLM source.
If pdf-lib is not installed yet, run npm install after pulling updates.
The extension bundles pdf-lib in the VSIX to avoid activation errors.
pdf-lib requires tslib, which is also bundled.
pdf-lib standard fonts are bundled as well.
@pdf-lib/standard-fonts requires pako, which is bundled too.
NotebookLM Enterprise Upload
If you have NotebookLM Enterprise, you can upload the exported file directly.
Enable it in settings and use the webview checkbox.
How to obtain an access token
NotebookLM Enterprise uses a Google OAuth access token. You can use one of the following methods:
1) gcloud CLI (fastest)
- Login with your Google account:
gcloud auth login
- Get a token:
gcloud auth print-access-token
- Paste the token into
codeDump.notebooklmEnterprise.accessToken or set
NOTEBOOKLM_ACCESS_TOKEN as an environment variable.
2) Google Cloud OAuth client (automation)
- Create an OAuth client in Google Cloud Console.
- Run the OAuth flow in your app/server to obtain an access token.
- Use the token in
codeDump.notebooklmEnterprise.accessToken or via
NOTEBOOKLM_ACCESS_TOKEN.
3) Service account (advanced)
If your organization allows it, you can use a service account to obtain a token
and inject it at runtime (e.g., CI/CD). This requires appropriate permissions
for NotebookLM Enterprise in your Google Cloud project.
Notes:
- Consumer NotebookLM does not expose a stable public API/token.
- Tokens expire; refresh them when uploads start failing.
Troubleshooting
- Token expired: regenerate the token (gcloud or OAuth flow) and update the setting/env var.
- Missing scopes: ensure the OAuth token includes the required scopes for NotebookLM Enterprise/Discovery Engine.
- Permission denied: verify the account has access to the target project and NotebookLM notebook.
- Invalid notebook ID: double-check
notebookId, projectNumber, and location.
Example:
{
"codeDump.notebooklmEnterprise": {
"enabled": true,
"projectNumber": "123456789012",
"location": "global",
"endpointLocation": "us-",
"notebookId": "your-notebook-id",
"accessToken": "ya29...your_token..."
}
}
User Profiles
Create personalized presets and switch them in the export webview.
You can create/edit them from Code Dump: Manage Profiles.
Example:
{
"codeDump.userProfiles": [
{
"id": "frontend",
"name": "Frontend",
"extensions": [".ts", ".tsx", ".css", ".scss"],
"template": "ai-ready",
"outputFormat": ".md",
"skipEmpty": true,
"showPreview": true,
"exportPreset": "standard",
"privacyModeEnabled": true
}
]
}
Settings
Add these to your settings.json:
{
"codeDump.defaultExtensions": [".ts", ".js", ".py"],
"codeDump.outputFormat": ".md",
"codeDump.openAfterExport": true,
"codeDump.copyToClipboard": false,
"codeDump.showNotifications": false,
"codeDump.logVerbose": false,
"codeDump.compactMode": false,
"codeDump.dryRun": false,
"codeDump.skipEmptyFiles": "ask",
"codeDump.showTokenEstimate": true,
"codeDump.includeMetadata": false,
"codeDump.includeDependencyGraph": true,
"codeDump.aiContextOptimizer": {
"enabled": false,
"maxTokenBudget": 100000,
"removeComments": true,
"removeDocstrings": true,
"minifyWhitespace": true,
"truncateLargeFiles": true,
"maxLinesPerFile": 500,
"prioritizeRecentFiles": true
},
"codeDump.privacyMode": {
"enabled": false,
"maskEmails": true,
"maskTokens": true,
"maskApiKeys": true,
"placeholder": "[REDACTED]",
"customPatterns": []
},
"codeDump.userProfiles": [],
"codeDump.notebooklmEnterprise": {
"enabled": false,
"projectNumber": "",
"location": "global",
"endpointLocation": "us-",
"notebookId": "",
"accessToken": ""
}
}
UI notes: the export dialog now only shows the output path (no redundant file name field).
The dialog also provides a copy button, remembers the last output path, and lets you choose whether to open the exported file.
The dialog includes a read-only operation log with detailed export steps and errors.
Log lines are timestamped for quick tracing.
Smart filters
{
"codeDump.smartFilters": {
"autoExclude": ["node_modules", "dist", "build", ".git", "coverage"],
"maxFileSize": "1MB",
"skipBinaryFiles": true,
"excludePatterns": ["*.log", "*.tmp", "*.cache"]
}
}
Tips
- Use JSON export if you want to feed data into tools or build custom pipelines.
- Enable AI Context Optimizer to stay within model limits.
- Use Compact Mode to shrink output further.
- Add
.codedumpignore for project-specific exclusions.
- Set
codeDump.showNotifications to true if you want VS Code toast notifications (default is off; use the webview log instead).
- Set
codeDump.logVerbose to true for per-file and per-step logging in the webview log (default is off).
- The export webview now includes a quick summary, extension search and filtering, recent paths, and a log level selector.
- Profiles can be managed via Code Dump: Manage Profiles or the Manage button in the export webview.
Troubleshooting
- Empty export: check selected extensions,
.gitignore/.codedumpignore, or "Exclude empty files".
- Log too noisy: disable
codeDump.logVerbose or set the filter to Info.
- NotebookLM upload fails: verify token, permissions, and notebook ID.
FAQ
Where are profiles stored?
In the codeDump.userProfiles setting.
How do I reduce export size?
Enable AI Context Optimizer and/or Compact Mode.
Can I avoid notifications?
Yes, keep codeDump.showNotifications set to false.
Development
npm install
npm run compile
npm run package
Tests include privacy masking and filter exclusion coverage:
npm test
These tests are resilient to whitespace-only changes in optimized output.
Truncation tests validate markers rather than specific line positions.
Internal note: export orchestration and integrations live in src/exportWorkflow.ts.
Internal note: filesystem access is async with a controlled concurrency limit (CONCURRENCY_LIMIT) to avoid blocking the Extension Host.
Internal note: webview assets are now split into media/main.js and media/style.css.
License
MIT. See LICENSE.
