Integrated Browser Activity Bar Button with Bookmarks
Adds a Browser icon to the Activity Bar and opens VS Code's built-in Integrated Browser (introduced in v1.109, January 2026) with bookmark support.
If the demo does not play inline, open or download the video: Demo video.
Features
Activity Bar integration: Quick access to the browser from the sidebar.
Bookmarks: Save favorite tabs with custom names.
Local HTML support: Absolute filesystem paths are converted to valid file: URLs before opening.
Clipboard local-file opener: The Open Local File from Clipboard button opens a local file path from the clipboard as a proper file: URL.
Explorer and tab actions: Open local HTML files directly from Explorer, from an editor tab context menu, or from an editor title-bar button.
Persistent storage: Favorites persist across VS Code sessions.
One-click open: Launch saved sites directly from the sidebar.
Usage
Click the Browser icon in the Activity Bar.
Click the Open Local File from Clipboard button in the sidebar title to open the current clipboard contents when it contains an absolute local file path or a file:// URL.
Click the + button in the sidebar title to add a favorite.
Enter the URL (for example, https://google.com).
Enter a descriptive name (for example, Google).
Click any favorite to open it in the integrated browser.
Click the trash icon to delete a favorite.
Click the globe button in the editor title bar when an HTML tab is active to open that page in the integrated browser.
Right-click a local .html, .htm, or .xhtml file in Explorer or on an editor tab and choose Open HTML File in Integrated Browser.
You can also paste an absolute local path such as /mnt/merged_ssd/WILLCLOUD/willcloud_application_structure.html; the extension now opens it as a file: URI instead of rewriting it to http://....
The clipboard button is useful when the integrated browser's own address bar rewrites a pasted local path to http://....
Testing & Packaging
To test: Press F5 to launch an Extension Development Host.
