CleanView

Hide files matching .gitignore patterns from VS Code Explorer for a cleaner workspace

CleanView automatically hides files and folders that match patterns in your .gitignore files, giving you a cleaner, more focused view of your project in the VS Code Explorer.

Features

• 🔍 Smart Gitignore Parsing: Uses spec-compliant gitignore pattern matching
• 👁️ Toggle Visibility: Easily show/hide gitignored files with commands or status bar
• 📁 Nested Support: Handles nested .gitignore files throughout your project
• ⚡ Auto-Updates: Automatically refreshes when .gitignore files change
• 🎛️ Configurable: Customize behavior with extension settings
• 📊 Status Indicator: Visual status bar showing active state and pattern count

Quick Start

1. Install the extension
2. Open a project with a .gitignore file
3. Use Ctrl+Shift+P → "CleanView: Toggle Hide Gitignored Files"
4. Or click the eye icon in the status bar

Commands

Command	Description
CleanView: Toggle Hide Gitignored Files	Show/hide gitignored files
CleanView: Refresh Gitignore Patterns	Manually refresh patterns
CleanView: Disable CleanView	Completely disable hiding

Settings

Setting	Description	Default
cleanview.autoHide	Automatically hide files on activation	true
cleanview.includeNestedGitignore	Include nested .gitignore files	true
cleanview.showStatusBar	Show status bar indicator	true
cleanview.customPatterns	Additional custom ignore patterns	[]

Status Bar

The status bar indicator shows:

• 👁️ CleanView - Inactive (files visible)
• 👁️‍🗨️ CleanView (12) - Active (files hidden, 12 patterns applied)

Click the indicator to toggle visibility.

How It Works

CleanView reads your .gitignore files and converts the patterns into VS Code's files.exclude setting temporarily. When you disable CleanView, it restores your original exclude settings.

Supported Patterns

• Standard gitignore patterns (*.log, node_modules/, /build)
• Nested .gitignore files in subdirectories
• Custom patterns from extension settings
• Negation patterns (!important.log) are handled correctly

Examples

Basic Usage

# .gitignore
node_modules/
*.log
.DS_Store
/build

CleanView will hide:

• All node_modules folders
• Any .log files
• .DS_Store files
• The build folder in the root

Custom Patterns

Add custom patterns in VS Code settings:

{
  "cleanview.customPatterns": [
    "*.tmp",
    "cache/",
    ".vscode/settings.json"
  ]
}

Requirements

• VS Code 1.74.0 or higher
• A workspace with .gitignore files (recommended)

Known Issues

• Large projects may take a moment to process complex gitignore patterns
• Pattern changes require manual refresh in some edge cases

Release Notes

1.0.0

• Initial release
• Core gitignore parsing and file hiding
• Status bar integration
• Configuration options
• File system watchers

Contributing

Found a bug or have a suggestion? Please open an issue.

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

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Enjoy a cleaner workspace with CleanView! ✨