VS Code Extension Manager

Seamlessly export and import your VS Code extensions AND settings between editors and machines.

Migrate your complete development environment between VS Code, Cursor, and VSCodium with a single file. No more manually reinstalling extensions or reconfiguring settings on a new machine.

✨ Features

🎯 Unified Export/Import

Export both your extensions and user settings (settings.json) into a single portable JSON file.

🖥️ Sidebar UI

Manage your extensions visually with a dedicated sidebar panel:

• Checkboxes to select/deselect individual extensions
• Status indicators showing installation progress (✓ Success, ✗ Failed, ⟳ Installing)
• Rich tooltips with extension details (ID, publisher, version, description)

🚀 Cross-Editor Support

Works across the entire VS Code family:

• VS Code / VS Code Insiders
• Cursor
• VSCodium

Automatically detects your editor and uses the correct CLI command.

⚡ Smart Installation

• Skips Already Installed: Won't reinstall what you already have
• Progress Tracking: Real-time progress notifications
• Cancellable: Stop the installation at any time
• Detailed Logs: Full output in the "Extension Manager" output channel

⚙️ Settings Sync

• Exports your complete settings.json (handles comments and trailing commas)
• Imports settings by merging with your existing configuration
• Special "VS Code Settings" item appears in the sidebar when loading a file with settings

📖 Usage

Exporting (Extensions + Settings)

1. Open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P)
2. Run Extension Manager: Export Extensions
3. Choose a save location
4. Your vscode-extensions.json now contains:
   • Metadata (timestamp, source editor)
   • All installed extensions with details
   • Your complete user settings

Importing via Sidebar (Recommended)

1. Click the Extension Manager icon in the Activity Bar (sidebar)
2. Click Load Extensions File (or use Command Palette: Load File)
3. Select your exported .json file
4. Review the list - check/uncheck extensions and settings as needed
5. Click Install Selected to begin installation

Importing via Command Palette (Quick)

1. Open the Command Palette
2. Run Extension Manager: Import Extensions
3. Select your file and confirm installation

🎨 Sidebar Commands

⚙️ Configuration

Tip: You usually don't need to change this. The extension automatically detects the correct CLI based on your editor.

📋 Export File Format

{
  "meta": {
    "exportedAt": "2025-12-15T10:00:00.000Z",
    "source": "Visual Studio Code"
  },
  "extensions": [
    {
      "id": "esbenp.prettier-vscode",
      "version": "11.0.0",
      "displayName": "Prettier - Code formatter",
      "publisher": "esbenp",
      "description": "Code formatter using prettier"
    }
  ],
  "settings": {
    "editor.fontSize": 14,
    "editor.tabSize": 2
  }
}

📦 Requirements

• VS Code 1.60.0 or higher (or compatible editor)
• Works natively with Cursor and VSCodium

📝 Release Notes

0.0.3

• ✨ Settings Sync: Export and import settings.json alongside extensions
• 🎨 Sidebar UI: New visual interface with checkboxes and status indicators
• 🔧 Improved JSONC Parsing: Handles comments and trailing commas in settings
• 📊 Rich Tooltips: See extension details on hover

0.0.2

• 🖥️ Sidebar TreeView for extension management
• ✅ Checkbox-based selection
• ⏳ Progress indicators during installation
• 🔍 Already-installed detection

0.0.1

• 🚀 Initial release
• 📦 Export/Import functionality
• 🔧 Smart CLI detection

🐛 Known Issues

• Settings export may be empty when running in Extension Development Host (F5 debug mode) because it uses a separate, empty profile.

🤝 Contributing

Found a bug or have a feature request? Open an issue on GitHub.

📄 License

MIT © Ranjeeth Dev