Git Change Groups
Group your git changes into collapsible groups to de-clutter the Source Control view.
Ever have files like .env or local config tweaks that always show up in Changes but
you never intend to commit? Change Groups adds a view to the Source Control sidebar where you
can move those files into groups (a default Ignored group is provided) and collapse
them out of sight. Group assignments are sticky — .env stays in Ignored the next time
it changes.
Features
Groups
- Change Groups view in the Source Control sidebar showing Staged Changes, Changes, and
your custom groups — each collapsible with a file count.
- Default "Ignored" group, collapsed by default — park files like
.env or .DS_Store
there and stop seeing them.
- Sticky assignments: groups remember their files by path, so a grouped file goes back
to its group every time it changes again (and after staging/unstaging round-trips).
- Create / rename / delete groups via the view toolbar and the group right-click menu
(deleting a group moves its files back to Changes).
- Reorder groups by drag & drop, or with Move Group Up / Down in the group
right-click menu.
File actions (hover over a file)
- Open File, Discard Changes, Stage Changes — like the built-in view.
- Add to Group (next to the familiar
+) — pick an existing group or just type a new
name in the picker to create it on the fly.
- Remove from Group (
− on grouped files) — moves the file back to Changes.
- Multi-select works for all of the above.
- Click a file to open its diff; drag files between groups (dropping on Staged Changes
stages them).
- Stage All Changes in Group (
+) — stages only that group's files. Available on
Changes and every custom group.
- Stash All Changes in Group (stash icon) — stashes only that group's files
(untracked included), with an optional stash message. The stash lands in the regular
git stash list, and popped files return to their groups.
- Unstage All Changes (
− on Staged Changes) — unstages everything; files return to
the groups they came from.
- Stage All Changes (
+ on Staged Changes and in the view title bar) — stages every
change in the repository across all groups, untracked files included.
- Stash All Changes (stash icon in the view title bar) — stashes everything in the
repository (staged, unstaged and untracked) with an optional message.
Repository awareness
- Follows the repository selection in the built-in Repositories section: one repo
selected shows a flat list; several selected show one section per repository.
- Groups are per-repository — each repo keeps its own groups, order and file
assignments, so switching repositories shows that repo's groups only.
Everything else works like normal Source Control — committing, branches, sync and the rest
stay with the built-in git extension, which Change Groups drives through the official
vscode.git API.
How it works with the built-in Source Control
VS Code does not let extensions modify the built-in git Changes list, so Change Groups
adds its own view right below it (same sidebar). Suggested setup: collapse the built-in
repository section and use the Change Groups view to browse changes; keep using the built-in
commit message box and toolbar as usual. You can drag the views to reorder them within the
sidebar.
Groups and assignments are stored per-workspace (in VS Code workspace state) — nothing is
written into your repository.
Development
cd change-groups
npm install
npm run compile
Open the change-groups folder in VS Code and press F5 to launch an Extension
Development Host with the extension loaded.
Run the test suite (plain mocha — the vscode module is mocked, no VS Code download
needed):
npm test
Tests live in src/test/ and cover the group store (create/rename/delete/reorder,
assignments, persistence) and the tree provider (sections, file placement, repository
selection, tree item rendering, drag & drop, refresh wiring).
To install it permanently:
npx @vscode/vsce package
code --install-extension change-groups-0.0.1.vsix
