A VSCode extension to explore Markdown documents with a metadata-driven tree view.
Supports both ta-tocgen and Docusaurus metadata formats.
Features
- File Tree -- Tree view reflecting display name, sort order, and hidden state from metadata
- Active Files -- Flat list of files marked
active: true (ta-tocgen mode only)
- Metadata -- Key/value metadata display for the selected item
ta-tocgen Mode
Folder: _toc-metadata.md
- title: Display Name
- order: 10
- hidden: true
File: <!-- toc-metadata --> block (display name taken from H1)
<!-- toc-metadata
- order: 20
- active: true
-->
# File Display Name
Docusaurus Mode
Folder: label and position from _category_.json
File: frontmatter -- sidebar_label > title > H1 for display name, sidebar_position for order, draft for hidden
Settings
| Key |
Default |
Description |
markdownMetadataExplorer.rootPath |
"" |
Root folder path (workspace-level) |
markdownMetadataExplorer.mode |
auto-detect |
Metadata reading mode (auto-detect / ta-tocgen / docusaurus) |
markdownMetadataExplorer.excludeDisplayName |
README*.md,... |
Glob patterns for files that always display their real filename |
markdownMetadataExplorer.watchFiles |
true |
Auto-refresh on .md file changes |
markdownMetadataExplorer.showMarkdownAndMetadataOnly |
false |
Show only .md and metadata files |
markdownMetadataExplorer.hideMetadataFile |
false |
Hide metadata files (_toc-metadata.md / _category_.json) from the File Tree |
markdownMetadataExplorer.initialExpandDepth |
3 |
Maximum folder depth for initial expansion (-1 for unlimited) |
markdownMetadataExplorer.showPreviewOnKeyboardSelection |
true |
Show a preview in the editor when navigating files with arrow keys (focus stays in File Tree) |
Editor Integration
- Click -- Opens the file in the editor without moving focus away from the File Tree (same behavior as the standard Explorer)
- Arrow key selection -- When
showPreviewOnKeyboardSelection is enabled (default), the selected file is shown as a preview in the editor (focus stays in File Tree)
Operations
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Key |
Action |
Alt+Shift+E |
Reveal and focus the active editor file in the File Tree. If the file is a hidden metadata file (_toc-metadata.md / _category_.json), reveals the parent folder instead |
Right-click a node in the File Tree to access the following actions.
| Action |
Target |
Multi-select |
| New Folder |
Folder |
-- |
| New File |
Folder |
-- |
| New File (Sibling) |
File |
-- |
| Reveal in File Explorer |
File / Folder |
-- |
| Copy Basename |
File / Folder |
Copies all selected items, newline-separated |
| Copy Relative Path |
File / Folder |
Copies all selected items, newline-separated |
| Copy Full Path |
File / Folder |
Copies all selected items, newline-separated |
| Rename |
File / Folder |
-- |
| Delete |
File / Folder |
-- |
When multiple items are selected (Ctrl+Click / Shift+Click), only Copy actions are shown.
When a selected item has no metadata, the Metadata pane shows an action link.
- File -- Click "Add metadata block" to insert a
<!-- toc-metadata block at the end of the file (ta-tocgen mode) or frontmatter at the top (Docusaurus mode)
- Folder -- Click "Create metadata file" to create
_toc-metadata.md (ta-tocgen mode) or _category_.json (Docusaurus mode)
Both initialize with order: 0 only.
Copy Relative Path
- Base folder is the File Tree root (
rootPath setting, or workspace root if not set)
- Path separator is always
/ regardless of OS
