Context Commander lets you define custom bindings that appear in the Explorer context menu when you right-click a file or folder. Each binding can run one or more VS Code commands in sequence, optionally filtered by file extension, language ID, glob pattern, or directory status.
Features
- QuickPick picker — a single "Context Commander..." entry appears in the right-click menu and shows only the bindings that apply to the selected file
- Sequential command execution — run multiple commands one after another, awaiting each before the next starts
- Variable substitution in args — use
${file}, ${workspaceFolder}, ${relativeFile}, and more
- Fine-grained filtering — show bindings only for specific file extensions, language IDs, glob patterns, or directories
- Settings UI — manage bindings with a visual editor (
Context Commander: Open Settings from the Command Palette)
- Slot mode (opt-in) — up to 10 bindings appear as individual menu entries instead of behind the picker
Settings WebView — bindings list:
Settings WebView — edit binding form:
Installation
Search for Context Commander in the VS Code Extensions view (Ctrl+Shift+X), or install from the Marketplace.
Configuration
Add bindings to your settings.json under contextCommander.bindings, or use the visual editor via Context Commander: Open Settings in the Command Palette.
Full example
// .vscode/settings.json (or User settings)
"contextCommander.bindings": [
{
"label": "Convert to PDF",
"when": { "fileExtensions": [".md", ".markdown"] },
"commands": [
{ "command": "extension.markdown-pdf.pdf" }
]
},
{
"label": "Copy File Path",
"commands": [
{ "command": "copyFilePath" }
]
},
{
"label": "Run Python File",
"when": { "fileExtensions": [".py"] },
"commands": [
{ "command": "python.execInTerminal", "args": ["${file}"] }
]
},
{
"label": "Open in Terminal Here",
"when": { "isDirectory": true },
"commands": [
{ "command": "openInTerminal" }
]
},
{
"label": "Format + Stage for Git",
"when": { "fileExtensions": [".ts", ".js"] },
"commands": [
{ "command": "editor.action.formatDocument" },
{ "command": "git.stage" }
]
}
]
Binding properties
| Property |
Type |
Required |
Description |
label |
string |
✅ |
Display name in the picker |
commands |
array |
✅ |
Ordered list of commands to run |
commands[].command |
string |
✅ |
VS Code command ID |
commands[].args |
array |
— |
Arguments passed to the command |
when.fileExtensions |
string[] |
— |
Only show for these extensions (e.g. [".md"]) |
when.languageIds |
string[] |
— |
Only show for these language IDs (e.g. ["python"]) |
when.glob |
string |
— |
Only show when workspace-relative path matches glob |
when.isDirectory |
boolean |
— |
true = directories only; false = files only |
group |
string |
— |
Menu group in slot mode (default: "navigation") |
enabled |
boolean |
— |
Set false to disable without deleting (default: true) |
Variable Substitution
String arguments in commands[].args support these tokens:
| Token |
Resolves to |
${file} |
Absolute path of the right-clicked file |
${fileBasename} |
Filename with extension |
${fileBasenameNoExtension} |
Filename without extension |
${fileDirname} |
Parent directory path |
${fileExtname} |
Extension including the leading dot |
${workspaceFolder} |
Workspace root path |
${relativeFile} |
Workspace-relative path |
Slot Mode (opt-in)
By default Context Commander uses a QuickPick picker so the menu stays clean regardless of how many bindings you have. If you prefer individual menu entries for each binding, enable slot mode:
"contextCommander.slotMode": true
In slot mode, up to 10 enabled bindings appear as separate Explorer context menu entries. Reload the window after changing this setting.
Limitation: VS Code requires menu entries to be declared statically, so slot mode entries always show for all files (the binding's when filters are still enforced at execution time — a mismatch shows an informational message rather than silently running).
Known Limitations
- Dynamic labels in slot mode — VS Code does not support runtime-changeable menu labels. Slot entries are displayed as "Binding 1", "Binding 2", etc. Use picker mode (default) if you want labeled entries.
- Language ID detection — for files not currently open in an editor, language ID is inferred from the file extension using a built-in lookup table. Unusual or custom language associations may not match.
- Command compatibility — some commands require an active text editor. Context Commander opens the right-clicked file before running commands; binary files or files that cannot be opened as text may require args-based invocation instead.
Contributing
Issues and pull requests welcome at github.com/shadowbq/vscode-context-commander.
git clone https://github.com/shadowbq/vscode-context-commander
cd vscode-context-commander
npm install
npm run compile
# Press F5 in VS Code to launch the Extension Development Host
License
MIT © shadowbq
