Manage the folders in your multi-root workspace from a single status-bar button.

Workspace Maestro adds a status-bar control that lists every folder in your .code-workspace file and lets you enable or disable each one from a checklist. Disabling a folder comments it out in place instead of deleting it, so you can bring it back at any time without re-typing paths or fixing JSON by hand.

It is built for monorepos and large multi-root setups where you frequently focus on a subset of folders without permanently removing the rest.

Workspace Maestro folder checklist

Overview

A typical .code-workspace file mixes folders you are actively working on with folders you want to keep on hand but out of the way. Editing that list manually means locating the right { "path": "..." } block, commenting or deleting it, and keeping the surrounding commas valid.

Workspace Maestro replaces that workflow with a checklist:

Checked — the folder is an active entry in the folders array.
Unchecked — the folder object is commented out, exactly as you would write it by hand.

Toggling a folder changes only the relevant lines. Your settings, tasks, launch, blank lines, and indentation are preserved.

Features

Single checklist for every folder. Active and commented-out folders are listed together, in their original file order.
One-click toggling. Open the checklist from the status bar, check or uncheck folders, and apply the changes with a single keystroke.
Non-destructive disabling. Disabled folders are commented out rather than removed, so paths and names are never lost.
Formatting preserved. Toggling adds or removes // markers only; everything else in the file stays byte-for-byte identical.
Valid JSON, automatically. Commas between active folders are inserted or removed as needed.
Resilient to native edits. When VS Code rewrites the workspace file (for example, via File → Add Folder to Workspace) and strips comments, Workspace Maestro restores your previously disabled folders automatically.
Instant reload. VS Code re-reads the workspace folders as soon as the file is saved.
Keyboard friendly. Open the checklist with Ctrl+K F (Cmd+K F on macOS).

Getting started

Open a saved multi-root workspace (a .code-workspace file).
Click the folder button in the status bar, or press Ctrl+K F / Cmd+K F.
Check the folders you want active, uncheck the ones you want disabled, and press Enter.

The status-bar button shows the number of active folders out of the total, for example 3/5.

Workspace Maestro status-bar button

How toggling works

Unchecking a folder such as packages/api turns this:

{
	"path": "packages/api"
},

into this:

// {
// 	"path": "packages/api"
// },

Re-checking the folder restores it exactly. When you toggle folders from the checklist, the rest of the file — including blank lines and indentation — is left untouched.

Settings

Setting	Default	Description
`workspaceMaestro.statusBarAlignment`	`right`	Side of the status bar where the button appears (`left` or `right`). Reload the window after changing.

Requirements

Visual Studio Code 1.80.0 or later.
A saved .code-workspace file (a multi-root workspace). With a single open folder or an unsaved workspace, the extension shows a hint instead of the checklist.

How disabled folders are remembered

Disabled folders live as commented-out entries inside your .code-workspace file, so they travel with the workspace and remain under version control.

VS Code's own commands (such as adding or removing a folder) rewrite the workspace file and remove comments. To prevent disabled folders from being lost in that case, Workspace Maestro keeps a private snapshot in VS Code's workspace storage and re-inserts the missing entries after VS Code finishes its edit. This snapshot is local to your machine and is not committed to the repository; the .code-workspace file remains the source of truth.

Frequently asked questions

Why a Quick Pick instead of a custom popup? VS Code does not provide a public API for rendering a custom panel anchored to the status bar. Workspace Maestro uses a native multi-select Quick Pick, which opens as an overlay when you click the status-bar button.

Does it work with a single-folder project? No. The extension manages the folders array of a multi-root workspace and requires a saved .code-workspace file.

Will it reformat my workspace file? No. Only the lines of toggled folders change, plus comma fixes required to keep the JSON valid.

Contributing

git clone https://github.com/marcin-zajac/workspace-maestro.git
cd workspace-maestro
npm install

npm run compile   # build (or: npm run watch)
npm test          # run the logic tests

Press F5 in VS Code to launch an Extension Development Host with the extension loaded.

Bug reports and feature requests are welcome on the issue tracker.

Release notes

0.2.3

Refreshed the extension icon.
Repository hygiene: ignore .DS_Store, drop a stale packaged .vsix from the working tree.

0.2.2

Fix severe lag caused by a save/reload feedback loop on the workspace file.
Debounce workspace events and reliably ignore the extension's own edits.

0.2.1

Fix extension activation and status bar not appearing after workspace restore.
Prevent save/restore loop when the workspace file is updated internally.

0.2.0

Disabled folders restored automatically after VS Code rewrites the workspace file (add/remove folder, reformat).
Workspace state persistence for folder order and disabled-folder metadata.

0.1.0

Status-bar checklist of all workspace folders, active and commented-out.
Enable or disable folders by commenting and uncommenting them in place.
Formatting and indentation preserved; commas fixed automatically.
Configurable status-bar alignment and a keyboard shortcut.

License

Released under the MIT License.

Workspace Maestro