Direct File Copy

Copy files and folders from VS Code as real system-clipboard file objects — so you can paste the actual files, not just their text or path, into any app that accepts files.

Paste the copied files straight into:

File managers — macOS Finder, Windows File Explorer, Linux Nautilus / Thunar / PCManFM
Chat & collaboration apps — Slack, Microsoft Teams, Discord
AI chat — paste files into a ChatGPT or Claude conversation (web or desktop app)
Browsers & upload dialogs — any file-drop field or upload prompt

Usage

Select one or more files/folders, then either:

Right-click → "Copy as File Object", or
Press the keyboard shortcut (see below).

Then paste (Cmd/Ctrl+V, or drop onto a target) wherever you need the files.

You can copy from several places:

Explorer — one or multiple selected files/folders.
Editor — right-click in the text area, or on the tab header, to copy the open file.
Source Control — right-click changed files in the Git view to copy exactly what you changed (deleted files are skipped automatically).

Trigger it with nothing selected and it falls back to the file open in the active editor.

Keyboard shortcut

Platform	Default	Active when
Windows / Linux	`Alt` + `C`	the Explorer or the active editor is focused
macOS	`Ctrl` + `C`	the Explorer or the active editor is focused

macOS uses Ctrl+C instead of Alt+C because Alt+C types ç in the editor on international layouts. Ctrl+C is free on macOS since the system copy is Cmd+C.

Change the shortcut

Open Keyboard Shortcuts — press Ctrl+K Ctrl+S (macOS: Cmd+K Cmd+S), or run "Preferences: Open Keyboard Shortcuts" from the Command Palette.
Search for Copy as File Object.
Click the pencil icon next to it and press your new key combination.

Prefer editing JSON? Open "Preferences: Open Keyboard Shortcuts (JSON)" from the Command Palette and add an entry:

{
  "key": "ctrl+alt+c",              // your preferred combination
  "command": "copy-file-object.copy",
  "when": "filesExplorerFocus || editorTextFocus"
}

Platform support

Platform	How it works	Requirements
macOS	Native `NSPasteboard` / `NSURL` objects via AppleScript	None (built in)
Windows	PowerShell (`-STA`) + .NET `SetFileDropList`	None (built in)
Linux	`x-special/gnome-copied-files` via `wl-copy` (Wayland) or `xclip` (X11)	`wl-clipboard` or `xclip`
WSL2	Converts WSL paths with `wslpath` and writes to the Windows host clipboard via host PowerShell	WSL2 with Windows interop enabled (the default)

Remote sessions where the clipboard can't reach your machine (SSH, Dev Containers) are detected and reported clearly, with a pointer to the Explorer's built-in "Download…". WSL1, or WSL2 with interop disabled in /etc/wsl.conf, is not supported and reports a clear error.

Settings

Setting	Default	Description
`directFileCopy.notificationStyle`	`popup`	How to confirm a successful copy: `popup` (information notification) or `statusBar` (transient status bar message, auto-dismisses after 3s).

Requirements (Linux only)

Install either wl-clipboard (Wayland) or xclip (X11):

Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt install wl-clipboard xclip
Fedora/RHEL: sudo dnf install wl-clipboard xclip
Arch Linux: sudo pacman -S wl-clipboard xclip

License

MIT

Copy as File Object

mjk