Project Pilot

A modern, powerful project manager for Visual Studio Code that supports local folders, workspace files, and SSH remote projects with a beautiful React-based interface.

📦 Installation

Install from VS Code Marketplace:

• Visual Studio Marketplace

Install from Open VSX Registry (for Cursor and other editors):

• Open VSX Registry

Project Pilot's main interface showing projects in grouped view with customizable colors and tags

✨ Features

🎯 Core Functionality

• Local Project Management: Add and manage local folder projects
• Workspace File Support: Import and manage .code-workspace files
• SSH Remote Projects: Connect to and manage remote projects via SSH
• Modern React UI: Beautiful, responsive interface with grid and list views
• Smart Search: Search by name, description, path, or tags
• Project Cards: Customizable project cards with colors, icons, and tags

🛠️ Advanced Features

• Auto-tag Detection: Automatically detects project types and suggests relevant tags
• Configuration Management: Import/export configurations with validation and backup
• Cross-platform Support: Works seamlessly on Windows, macOS, and Linux
• Backup System: Automatic backups with configurable retention
• SSH Connection Testing: Test SSH connections before opening projects
• Project Descriptions: Add detailed descriptions with hover tooltips

🎨 User Experience

• Dual View Modes: Switch between grid and list views in Manager
• Tree/List Toggle: Outline view supports both flat and grouped display
• Smart Filtering: Filter by tags, project types, and search terms
• Clickable Icons: Direct project opening from list view icons
• Keyboard Shortcuts: Quick access to common actions
• Hover Tooltips: Rich information display on hover
• Theme Integration: Full VSCode theme support for seamless experience

🚀 Quick Start

Installation

1. Install the extension from the VS Code marketplace
2. Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P)
3. Run Project Pilot: Show Manager to open the main interface
4. Or click the Project Pilot icon in the Activity Bar (left sidebar)

First Steps

1. Add your first project: Click the + Add button or use Ctrl+P Ctrl+L
2. Customize your project: Add descriptions, tags, and custom colors
3. Organize with groups: Create groups like "Work", "Personal", "Learning"
4. Switch views: Toggle between grid/list in Manager and tree/flat in Outline

Adding Projects

Easy project creation with multiple options and smart defaults

Local Folders

• Command: Project Pilot: Add Local Folder
• Shortcut: Ctrl+P Ctrl+L / Cmd+P Cmd+L
• Select any folder on your system to add as a project

Current Folder

• Command: Project Pilot: Add Current Folder
• Shortcut: Ctrl+P Ctrl+C / Cmd+P Cmd+C
• Add the currently open workspace folder as a project

Workspace Files

• Command: Project Pilot: Add Workspace File
• Select any .code-workspace file to add as a project

SSH Remote Projects

• Command: Project Pilot: Add SSH Remote
• Enter SSH connection string in format: user@hostname:/path
• Supports vscode-remote URI format

Managing Projects

Project Cards

Each project is displayed as a customizable card with:

• Name: Click to edit inline
• Description: Add detailed project descriptions
• Path: File system or SSH path
• Type: Local, Workspace, or SSH
• Color: Custom color coding
• Icon: Upload custom icons (converted to Base64)
• Tags: Organize with custom tags

View Modes

• Grid View: Card-based layout for visual browsing
• List View: Compact list with detailed information
• Toggle: Switch views using the toolbar buttons

Outline view with tree structure showing grouped projects

Interface Views

Project Pilot provides multiple ways to view and organize your projects:

Manager View

• Grid View: Visual card-based layout with project previews
• List View: Compact list with detailed project information
• Grouped Display: Organize projects by custom groups
• Search & Filter: Find projects quickly by name, tags, or groups

Outline View

• Tree Structure: Hierarchical display of grouped projects
• Flat List: Simple list view of all projects
• Quick Access: Click any project to open directly
• Toggle Views: Switch between tree and list modes

Search & Filter

• Global Search: Search across names, descriptions, paths, and tags
• Tag Filter: Filter by specific tags
• Sort Options: Sort by name, type, or recent additions

⚙️ Configuration

Access settings via File > Preferences > Settings > Project Pilot:

• Default View: Set default view mode (grid/list)
• Auto Backup: Enable automatic configuration backups
• Max Backups: Number of backup files to retain (1-20)
• Show Type Icons: Display type icons in tree view
• Auto Detect Tags: Automatically suggest tags for new projects

🔧 Commands

📁 Configuration Files

Location

Configuration files are stored locally in VS Code's global storage on your machine:

• Windows: %APPDATA%/Code/User/globalStorage/project-pilot/data/projects.json
• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/project-pilot/data/projects.json
• Linux: ~/.config/Code/User/globalStorage/project-pilot/data/projects.json

💡 Note: All project configurations (including SSH remote projects) are stored locally. This means you have a unified project list regardless of which remote servers you connect to.

Format

{
  "projects": [
    {
      "id": "unique-id",
      "name": "Project Name",
      "description": "Project description",
      "path": "/path/to/project",
      "type": "local",
      "color": "#3b82f6",
      "tags": ["react", "frontend"],
      "icon": "data:image/png;base64,..."
    }
  ],
  "metadata": {
    "version": "1.0.0",
    "exportDate": "2024-01-01T00:00:00.000Z",
    "projectCount": 1
  }
}

🌐 SSH Remote Projects

📍 Important: Project Pilot runs locally on your machine. Even when managing SSH remote projects, all project configurations are stored locally. You don't need to install the extension on remote servers - just configure SSH access from your local machine.

Supported Formats

• Standard SSH: user@hostname:/path/to/project
• VS Code Remote URI: vscode-remote://ssh-remote+hostname/path

Requirements

• VS Code Remote-SSH extension installed
• SSH access configured on your system
• SSH keys or password authentication set up

Testing Connections

Use Project Pilot: Test SSH Connection to validate SSH project configurations before opening.

🔄 Import/Export

Exporting

1. Run Project Pilot: Export Configuration
2. Choose save location
3. Configuration saved with metadata and validation

Importing

1. Run Project Pilot: Import Configuration
2. Select JSON configuration file
3. Automatic validation and backup creation
4. Projects merged with existing configuration

Backup Management

• Automatic backups created before imports
• Configurable retention (1-20 files)
• Restore from any backup via command palette
• Backups include timestamp and metadata

🎨 Customization

Project Colors

Choose from color picker or use hex values:

• Local Projects: Default blue (#3b82f6)
• Workspace Files: Default green (#10b981)
• SSH Projects: Default amber (#f59e0b)

Icons

• Upload any image file (PNG, JPG, SVG)
• Automatically converted to Base64 for portability
• Displayed in both grid and list views

Tags

• Add multiple tags per project
• Auto-detection based on project contents
• Filter and search by tags
• Visual tag display with counts

🛠️ Development

Project Structure

project-pilot/
├── src/                    # Extension source code
│   ├── extension.ts       # Main extension entry point
│   ├── store.ts          # Configuration management
│   ├── managerViewProvider.ts  # Webview provider
│   └── outlineTreeProvider.ts  # Tree view provider
├── webview-ui/           # React frontend
│   ├── src/
│   │   └── ui/
│   │       └── App.tsx   # Main React component
│   └── package.json      # Frontend dependencies
├── package.json          # Extension manifest
└── README.md            # Documentation

Building

npm run build          # Build both extension and webview
npm run build:ext      # Build extension only
npm run build:webview  # Build webview only
npm run watch          # Watch mode for development

Quick Start for Development

1. Install dependencies and build:

npm install
npm run build

2. Launch the extension in a new VS Code window via Run and Debug: "Run Extension"

3. For webview UI development:

cd webview-ui
npm install
npm run dev

Then rebuild from the root to update the packaged assets:

npm run build:webview

Screenshots

• Manager View: media/demo/demo_manager.png - Main interface with grouped projects
• Add Project: media/demo/demo_add.png - Project creation modal with smart defaults
• Outline View: media/demo/demo_outline.png - Tree view with project hierarchy
• Overview: media/demo/demo.png - General interface overview

🤝 Contributing

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Test thoroughly on all platforms
5. Submit a pull request

📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

🐛 Issues & Support

Report issues on GitHub with:

• VS Code version
• Operating system
• Steps to reproduce
• Error messages (if any)

Enjoy managing your projects with Project Pilot! 🚀