Right-click compression for VS Code / VSCodium, with .gitignore-aware, per-workspace and global ignore rules.
Features
| Where | What |
|---|---|
| Explorer, right-click any folder | Compress as .zip |
| Explorer view title bar (icon) | Compress Workspace as .zip — zips every workspace root folder |
| Command Palette | SnapZip: Open Settings — visual UI to configure output location, compression level, and ignore patterns |
Ignore rules (in priority order, all combined)
- Global patterns (
snapZip.ignore.global) — applies to every workspace, ships with sensible defaults for secrets (.env,*.pem,id_rsa,.ssh/**,.git/**, etc.) and common build folders (node_modules/,dist/,build/,out/,target/, etc.) - Workspace patterns (
snapZip.ignore.workspacePatterns) — custom globs, scoped to the current workspace only .gitignorefiles (toggle:snapZip.ignore.useGitignore, default on) — root.gitignore,.gitignorein every parent folder of the target, and any nested.gitignorefiles inside the folder being zipped
Note: In all pattern lists and settings UI, lines starting with # are treated as comments and ignored.
Output location
snapZip.output.location:
parentFolder(default) — zip is saved next to the folder being compressedworkspaceRoot— zip is always saved in the workspace root
Managing patterns
| Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
SnapZip: Open Settings |
open visual settings panel |
SnapZip: Add Ignore Pattern (This Workspace) |
add one pattern to this workspace |
SnapZip: Add Ignore Pattern (Global, All Workspaces) |
add one pattern for every workspace |
SnapZip: Manage Ignore Patterns |
view/remove existing patterns |
SnapZip: Copy Workspace Ignore Patterns to Clipboard |
clone patterns out |
SnapZip: Paste/Apply Ignore Patterns From Clipboard to This Workspace |
clone patterns into another workspace |
Global patterns live in user settings (settings.json), so they apply everywhere automatically. Workspace patterns live in .vscode/settings.json, so the copy/paste commands are there for moving them between projects manually.
Notes / limitations
.gitignorescoping is a close approximation of git's real per-directory precedence (handles anchored/path, plain names matching any depth, and negation!) — good enough for export purposes, not a full git implementation.- Symlinks are archived as their target file content.
Links & License
| Resource | Link |
|---|---|
| VS Code Marketplace | SnapZip on VS Code Marketplace |
| Open VSX Registry | SnapZip on Open VSX |
| Author | the-long-ride |
| Repository | github.com/the-long-ride/SnapZip |
| Issue Tracker | GitHub Issues |
| Changelog | CHANGELOG.md |
| License | MIT License |