Go Package View

A VS Code extension that adds a virtual directory tree to the Explorer sidebar, showing Go package dependency relationships starting from the main package.

Instead of navigating by filesystem layout, you navigate by import dependencies, making it easy to understand how packages relate to each other.

Comparison

File Explorer (filesystem)	Go Packages (dependency tree)

The File Explorer shows the project by filesystem layout. The Go Packages view shows the same project by import dependency, starting from the main package as the root and expanding through its imports recursively.

Features

• Dependency tree view — automatically detects the main package(s) and builds a virtual directory tree from their import graph
• Library mode — for projects without a main package, builds a reverse dependency tree showing "what imports this package"
• Colored icons — blue folders for module-internal packages, orange folders for third-party dependencies
• Open .go files — click any file in the tree to open it in the editor
• Right-click actions — Copy Import Path, Open in Terminal, New File, New Subdirectory, Delete Folder, Reveal in Finder
• Auto-refresh — watches go.mod, go.sum, and .go files; automatically rebuilds the tree when dependencies change

Requirements

• Go 1.21+ installed and in $PATH
• A Go project with a go.mod file

Usage

1. Open any Go project folder in VS Code
2. The Go Packages section appears at the bottom of the Explorer panel
3. Click the expand arrow on a package node to see its imports and source files
4. Click a .go file to open it in the editor
5. Right-click a package or file node for additional operations

Right-click menu

Configuration

Development

Project structure

├── src/
│   ├── extension.ts       ← extension entry point, command registration
│   ├── goListRunner.ts    ← `go list -json` execution & parsing
│   ├── dataStore.ts       ← in-memory cache & tree building
│   ├── treeProvider.ts    ← VS Code TreeDataProvider
│   ├── types.ts           ← shared type definitions
│   └── log.ts             ← console.log wrapper
├── icons/                 ← SVG icons for tree nodes
├── docs/                  ← documentation images
├── dist/                  ← build output
├── package.json           ← VS Code extension manifest
├── tsconfig.json
└── build.js               ← esbuild config

Build & debug

npm install
npm run build        # dist/extension.js
npm run watch        # incremental rebuild

Press F5 to launch the Extension Development Host window. Open the Developer Tools (CMD+Shift+I) to see [GoPkgView] log output.

How it works

1. Extension activation triggers go list -json -deps ./... in the project root
2. Output is parsed by tracking {/} brace depth (handles multi-line JSON)
3. Packages with Name === "main" become root nodes; if none found, the extension switches to library mode (reverse dependency tree)
4. Tree nodes are built lazily from an in-memory Map<string, PackageInfo>
5. File changes trigger a debounced refresh of the entire tree

License

MIT