Curate files for AI context. Select files from your workspace and external folders, then copy their paths to paste into AI coding assistants like Claude, ChatGPT, or Copilot.
When working with AI coding assistants, you often need to share multiple files as context. Scrolls makes this effortless:
- Check the files you want to share
- Copy paths with a single keystroke
- Paste into your AI assistant
No more hunting through the file explorer or manually typing paths.
Features
- Dedicated Sidebar — Activity bar panel with file tree
- Three View Modes — Flat list, tree hierarchy, or grouped by source
- Checkbox Selection — Native VS Code checkboxes with multi-select
- Token Estimates — See approximate token count per file (hover tooltip)
- Smart Filter — Quick search with folder browsing
- External Sources — Include files from outside your workspace
- Vim-style Shortcuts — Fast keyboard-driven workflow
- Session Persistence — Checked files remembered between sessions
- Real-time Updates — File changes tracked automatically
Quick Start
- Click the Scrolls icon in the activity bar (scroll icon)
- Check files you want to include
- Press
A to copy absolute paths (or Shift+A for relative)
- Paste into your AI assistant
Keyboard Shortcuts
When Scrolls panel is focused:
| Key |
Action |
Space |
Toggle checkbox |
Enter / V |
Open file |
Shift+V |
Open markdown preview |
C / Shift+C |
Copy path (absolute/relative) |
A / Shift+A |
Copy all checked paths |
X |
Clear all checked |
F / Shift+F |
Open/clear filter |
T |
Toggle view mode |
R |
Reveal in file explorer |
? |
Show shortcuts |
Global shortcuts (work from anywhere):
Ctrl+Alt+C A — Copy absolute pathsCtrl+Alt+C R — Copy relative paths
On macOS, use Cmd instead of Ctrl.
Configuration
Settings in .vscode/settings.json:
{
"scrolls.sources": [
"**/*.md",
"**/*.ts",
{ "path": "C:/Docs/notes", "pattern": "**/*.md" },
{ "path": "C:/Docs/single-file.txt" }
],
"scrolls.exclude": [
"**/node_modules/**",
"**/.git/**"
]
}
Sources
The scrolls.sources array accepts:
- Glob patterns — Match workspace files:
"**/*.md", "src/**/*.ts"
- External folders — Object with
path and optional pattern:
{ "path": "/absolute/path/to/folder", "pattern": "**/*.md" }
- External files — Object with just
path:
{ "path": "/absolute/path/to/file.txt" }
Default: ["**/*.md"]
Exclude
The scrolls.exclude array contains glob patterns to exclude from all sources.
Default: ["**/node_modules/**", "**/.git/**"]
View Modes
Click the tree icon or press T to cycle:
- Flat — Simple list of all files
- Tree — Hierarchical folder structure
- Grouped — Files organized by source (workspace vs external)
Adding Sources
Click + in the panel header:
- Pattern — Glob pattern for workspace files
- Folder — External folder (with optional filter pattern)
- File — Single external file
Folders inside your workspace are automatically converted to glob patterns.
Token Estimates
Hover over any file to see estimated token count (~Xk tok). The badge tooltip shows total tokens for all checked files — useful for staying within AI context limits.
Safety Features
- Large directory warning — Prompted before adding folders with 500+ files
- Missing file indicator — Deleted files shown with warning icon
- Inaccessible source alerts — Notified when external sources become unavailable
Requirements
License
MIT
