Quick Directory Navigation: Click folders to navigate, use ".." to go up, and open files instantly. The view displays intuitive icons and shows your current path relative to the project root.
Flexible Sorting Options: Toggle between 4 sort orders (folders-first with name/date, ascending/descending). Your preference is automatically saved and restored across VSCode restarts.
Project Root Protection: Safely navigate within your project - you cannot accidentally move above the project root directory.
Seamless VSCode Integration: Adds a native "Quick Explorer" panel to your Explorer sidebar with quick access to extension settings via the gear icon.
Installation
From VSIX File
Download the latest .vsix file from the Releases page
Open VSCode
Go to Extensions view (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
Click the "..." menu and select "Install from VSIX..."
Select the downloaded .vsix file
From Source
Clone this repository:
git clone https://github.com/NaokiIshimura/vscode-quick-explorer.git
cd vscode-quick-explorer
Install dependencies:
npm install
Compile the extension:
npm run compile
Press F5 to open a new VSCode window with the extension loaded
Usage
Open the Explorer sidebar in VSCode
Find the "Quick Explorer" panel
Click on folders to navigate into them
Click on ".." to go to the parent directory
Click on files to open them in the editor
Click the sort icon in the view header to toggle between sort orders:
Folders first, then by name (A-Z)
Folders first, then by name (Z-A)
Folders first, then by modification time (oldest first)
Folders first, then by modification time (newest first)
The view title shows your current location relative to the project root
Settings
This extension provides the following configuration options:
quickExplorer.defaultPath: Default directory to open on startup
Type: string
Default: "" (uses workspace root or home directory)
Description: Specify an absolute path or a relative path from the workspace root. If empty, the workspace root or home directory will be used.
quickExplorer.defaultSortOrder: Default sort order for files and folders
Description: Determines how files and folders are sorted in the explorer. This setting is automatically updated when you toggle the sort order using the sort icon.
To configure these settings:
Click the gear icon in the Quick Explorer view header, or
Go to File > Preferences > Settings and search for "Quick Explorer"
Requirements
VSCode version 1.105.0 or higher
Development
Project Structure
vscode-quick-explorer/
├── src/
│ ├── extension.ts # Extension entry point
│ ├── quickExplorerViewProvider.ts # TreeDataProvider implementation
│ ├── quickExplorerTreeItem.ts # Tree item implementations
│ ├── fileSystemService.ts # File system operations
│ ├── types.ts # Type definitions and helper functions
│ └── test/ # Test files
│ ├── __mocks__/ # VSCode API mocks
│ └── *.test.ts # Unit tests
├── out/ # Compiled JavaScript files
├── package.json # Extension manifest
└── tsconfig.json # TypeScript configuration
Build Commands
npm run compile - Compile TypeScript to JavaScript
npm run watch - Watch mode for development
npm run lint - Run ESLint
npm test - Run tests
npm run test:watch - Run tests in watch mode
npm run test:coverage - Run tests with coverage report
