Nestify

Smart file nesting for the Explorer. Nest, unnest, and auto-nest related files — the VS Code companion to Nestify for Visual Studio.

Nestify builds on VS Code's native file-nesting engine (explorer.fileNesting.patterns), giving it the point-and-click workflow it is missing: no more hand-editing settings JSON.

Features

• Nest under... — Right-click one or more files and pick the parent to nest them under. With multiple files selected, any of them can be the parent.
• Unnest — Remove the nesting relationship for the selected files.
• Auto-nest — Apply built-in naming rules so related files nest automatically, now and as new files are created:
  • C# implementations nest under their interfaces (UserService.cs → IUserService.cs)
  • Markdown documentation nests under the matching code file (UserService.md → UserService.cs; also .vb, .ts, .tsx, .js, .jsx)
  • Minified/bundled JS nests under its source (app.min.js → app.js, app.bundle.js → app.js, app.bundle.min.js → app.bundle.js)
• Remove auto-nest rules — Cleanly removes exactly the rules Auto-nest added, leaving your own patterns untouched.
• Toggle file nesting — Switch explorer.fileNesting.enabled on or off.

How it works

Nestify writes to the standard VS Code settings — nothing proprietary:

• Manual nesting adds exact-name entries to explorer.fileNesting.patterns (workspace settings when a workspace is open, user settings otherwise).
• Auto-nest adds glob rules with ${capture} placeholders.
• File nesting is enabled automatically the first time you nest something.

Because it's just settings, your nesting is visible in .vscode/settings.json, travels with the repository, and works for teammates who don't have Nestify installed.

Notes & limitations

• VS Code file nesting is single-level (a child cannot have its own children) and applies per file name pattern, not per project item — this differs from Visual Studio's DependentUpon nesting.
• Unnest removes exact-name entries (created by Nest under... or by hand). Files nested by glob rules are released with Remove auto-nest rules or by editing the pattern.
• Nesting only changes how files are displayed in the Explorer — files on disk and build configs are never touched.

Commands

Requirements

• VS Code 1.85 or later

License

MIT