Local History Files is a Visual Studio Code extension that automatically creates local backups of your files.
Every time you save a file, or even delete it, a copy is stored in a special hidden folder inside your project.
This allows you to recover deleted files or roll back to a previous version without relying on Git or external version control.
✨ Features
📂 Automatic file history
A snapshot is saved on every file save.
A snapshot is saved when a file is deleted.
🗂 Project-based storage
All versions are stored locally in the .history-files folder inside your project.
The folder structure mirrors your project’s layout, making it easy to find files.
🗑 Safe from Git
Add .history-files to .gitignore so history does not pollute your repository.
⚙️ Configurable history size
By default, up to 30 versions per file are kept.
You can change this limit in the extension settings.
🔍 Tree view in Explorer
Browse and compare file versions directly from a dedicated tree view.
Restore deleted files or clean up old history entries with one click.
🚀 Installation
Install the extension from the VS Code Marketplace (link will be added when published).
Restart VS Code.
A new view “Local History Files” will appear in the Explorer sidebar.
🛠 Usage
Save a file → a new history entry is created automatically.
Delete a file → a copy is kept in .history-files so it can be restored later.
Right-click on a history entry → compare with the original file or restore it.
Clean history → manually remove deleted entries or configure auto-cleanup rules.
⚙️ Configuration
You can adjust settings in settings.json:
{
// Maximum number of history versions per file
"localHistoryFiles.maxEntries": 30
}
Future options may include:
Retention time in days
Excluded file patterns
📌 Important Notes
All history is stored locally only.
History files can grow in size over time — use the cleanup action or adjust settings if needed.
Recommended: add the following line to your project’s .gitignore:
bash
Copy code
/.history-files
💡 Why use Local History Files?
Recover lost work even if you forgot to commit to Git.
Restore accidentally deleted files.
Keep a lightweight backup of changes between Git commits.
