File Exporter for AI Chatbots - VS Code Extension

Export multiple files at once to feed AI chatbots like ChatGPT, Claude, LMArena, and more!

📌 Overview

File Exporter for AI Chatbots is a powerful Visual Studio Code extension that streamlines sharing your codebase with AI assistants. Select multiple files from an intuitive sidebar, customize the output format, and export everything in a clean, AI-optimized format. Perfect for getting contextual help from ChatGPT, Claude, LMArena, and other AI coding assistants.

🚀 Features

Core Functionality

✅ Interactive File Tree - Browse and select files from a dedicated sidebar with checkboxes
✅ AI-Optimized Output - Clean, structured format designed for chatbot consumption
✅ Export To TXT - Save as a .txt file for easy sharing

Smart File Management

✅ Hover-to-Ignore - Quickly ignore/unignore files with hover buttons (no right-clicking needed)
✅ Smart Filtering - Automatically ignores node_modules, .git, build files, and other noise
✅ Custom Ignore Patterns - Add your own patterns to filter out unwanted files
✅ Toggle Ignored View - Show/hide ignored files to see what's being filtered

AI-Friendly Features

✅ Binary File Handling - Safely handles images, executables with size information instead of corrupted text
✅ Size Limits - Prevents token limit issues with configurable file size limits (default: 1MB)
✅ Project Structure - Maintains relative paths so AI understands your project layout

Performance & UX

✅ Lightning Fast - Optimized for large codebases with async file processing
✅ Selective Export - Pick exactly which files to include, bulk select/unselect options
✅ Live File Watching - Automatically refreshes when files are added/removed

🛠️ Installation

From VS Code Marketplace

Open VS Code
Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
Search for File Exporter for AI Chatbots
Click Install
Look for the export icon (📤) in the Activity Bar

From VSIX File

Download the .vsix file from releases
Open VS Code Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)
Run Extensions: Install from VSIX...
Select the downloaded file

📖 How to Use

Basic Usage

Open the sidebar - Click the export icon (📤) in the Activity Bar
Select files - Click on files/folders to toggle selection (✅ = selected, ⭕ = not selected)
Export - Click "Export for AI Chatbot" button
Choose action - Select "Copy to Clipboard" for instant pasting, or "Save to File"

Advanced Features

Export Formats

Full Format (default): Includes headers, separators, file metadata, and project structure
Simple Format: Just relative paths and file content - minimal format for token efficiency

File Management

Hover to ignore: Hover over any file and click the remove (🚫) button to ignore it
View ignored files: Click the eye (👁️) button to toggle visibility of ignored files
Bulk operations: Use "Select All" and "Unselect All" buttons for quick selection

Configuration

Access settings via the gear (⚙️) button or File > Preferences > Settings > Extensions > File Exporter:

Export Format: Choose between "full" and "simple" output formats
Ignore Patterns: Customize which files/folders to automatically ignore
Max File Size: Set maximum file size to export (prevents token limits)

⚙️ Configuration Options

{
  "fileExporter.exportFormat": "full", // "full" or "simple"
  "fileExporter.includeLineNumbers": false,
  "fileExporter.maxFileSize": 1048576, // 1MB in bytes
  "fileExporter.ignorePatterns": [
    "node_modules", ".git", ".vscode", "*.log", "*.tmp",
    "dist", "build", "out", "*.min.js", "*.bundle.js"
  ]
}

🎯 Perfect For

Code Reviews - Export relevant files for AI-assisted code review
Debugging Help - Share problematic code with context for AI debugging
Architecture Discussions - Export project structure for AI consultation
Learning - Get AI explanations of codebases by sharing relevant files
Documentation - Generate documentation by sharing code with AI writing assistants

📊 Export Format Examples

Full Format (Default)

================================================================================
EXPORTED FILES FOR AI CHATBOT
Export Date: 7/31/2025, 2:30:45 PM
Total Files: 3
================================================================================

File: src/components/Header.tsx
----------------------------------------
import React from 'react';

export const Header = () => {
  return <h1>My App</h1>;
};

================================================================================

Simple Format

src/components/Header.tsx:
import React from 'react';

export const Header = () => {
  return <h1>My App</h1>;
};

src/utils/helpers.ts:
export function formatDate(date: Date) {
  return date.toISOString();
}

🔧 Troubleshooting

Files not showing up?

Check if they're being filtered by ignore patterns
Toggle "Show Ignored Files" (👁️ button) to see filtered items

Export too large?

Adjust max file size in settings
Unselect large or binary files

🛠️ Development & Contributing

We welcome contributions! Here's how to get started:

Setup

git clone https://github.com/mahmadabid/File-Exporter-Vscode-Extension
cd File-Exporter-Vscode-Extension
npm install

Development

npm run watch    # Compile TypeScript in watch mode
F5              # Launch extension in new VS Code window

Contributing

🐛 Bug Reports: Open an issue with reproduction steps
💡 Feature Requests: Describe your use case and proposed solution
🔧 Pull Requests: Fork, create feature branch, and submit PR

📜 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - feel free to use, modify, and distribute.

File Exporter for AI Chatbots

Muhammad Ahmad