⚠ Preview version — some features may be missing or incomplete.
Dual-pane file manager for VS Code, inspired by Total Commander and Midnight Commander. Browse local and remote filesystems with two side-by-side panels.
Features
- Dual-pane layout — two independent file panels side by side.
- Browse root — entry point listing all available filesystem providers.
- Local filesystem — navigate, list, and browse local files and drives.
- Docker containers — browse files inside running or stopped containers.
- SSH remotes — browse files on remote servers over SSH (saved connections persist globally).
- GitHub repositories — browse repository contents via the GitHub API (saved repos persist globally).
- Open in editor — click any file to open it in a VS Code tab.
- Directory tree — view file sizes, modification dates, and permissions.
- Keyboard navigation — arrow keys, Enter to open, Backspace to go up, Tab to switch panels.
- Active pane switching — Tab or click to focus the other panel.
- File selection — Shift+Arrow to multi-select, Ctrl+A to select all.
- Send path to terminal — Ctrl+Enter to insert the focused file path into a dedicated terminal.
- Save-back to remote — edit remote files (Docker, SSH) locally; changes are saved back automatically.
Browsable Filesystems
| Provider | Root URI | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Local | file:// |
Local machine files and drives |
| Docker | docker:// |
Files inside Docker containers |
| SSH | ssh:// |
Remote servers via SSH |
| GitHub | github:// |
GitHub repositories via API |
Commands
| Command | Title |
|---|---|
smarterCommander.openPanels |
SmarterCommander: Open Panels |
smarterCommander.about |
SmarterCommander: About |
Usage
Run SmarterCommander: Open Panels from the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) to launch the file manager.
Navigating Filesystems
- Start at the Browse root — you'll see four providers: Local Filesystem, Docker Containers, SSH, GitHub.
- Click or press Enter on a provider to browse its contents.
- Use Backspace or Escape to go up one level.
- Type a URI (e.g.
file:///c:/projects) into the URL bar and press Go or Enter to jump directly.
Managing Connections
- SSH — select SSH in the browse root, then click ➕ Add SSH Connection. Enter a connection string in the format
user@host:port(e.g.[email protected]:22). Port and user are optional (defaults:root/22). - GitHub — select GitHub in the browse root, then click ➕ Add GitHub Repo. Enter a repository URL (e.g.
https://github.com/owner/repo). - Connections are stored in VS Code global settings and persist across workspaces.