vsredux

Turn a project's recommended extensions into the only extensions it loads.

VS Code's .vscode/extensions.json recommendations are just suggestions — every extension you've installed globally still loads in every window. vsredux promotes that list into an allow-list: it opens the project with only the recommended extensions enabled and every other one disabled, for that window only. Your global setup is left untouched.

Perfect for when a heavy editor profile — linters, AI assistants, language servers for languages this repo doesn't touch — gets in the way of one focused project.

Quick start

No install needed — run it from the project root with npx:

# 1. No recommendations list yet? Build one from what you already have installed:
npx @jurijsk/vsredux --init

# 2. Open the project with only those extensions enabled:
npx @jurijsk/vsredux --launch

# 3. ...or drop a double-click launcher in the project root (no terminal needed):
npx @jurijsk/vsredux

Step 1 writes .vscode/extensions.json listing every installed extension as a recommendation, each annotated with its name and description — read offline from the extension itself, no network and no AI. Then prune it to what the project needs and commit it; the curated set now travels with the repo. (It even offers to open the file so you can start pruning right away.)

Step 3 drops a launcher that re-opens the same focused window with one double-click — a .lnk on Windows, a .command on macOS/Linux — so a teammate never has to touch the terminal. It works whether you ran via npx or a local dev-dependency.

What stays enabled

The keep set is merged from two sources and matched case-insensitively:

1. .vscode/extensions.json → recommendations — the project's list (commit it).
2. An optional keep file — extras that aren't recommendations, one id per line (# / // start comments). Found at .vscode/extensions.keep.txt, or pass --keep-file <path>.

Tip: wire it into package.json

Add it as a dev-dependency so the commands travel with the repo and the whole team gets the same focused window:

// package.json
"scripts": {
  "code": "vsredux --launch",   // open the focused window
  "code:link": "vsredux"        // (re)generate the double-click launcher
}

Options

| Option | Description | | ---------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | --launch | Open the project now with only the curated set (instead of a launcher). | | --init | Generate .vscode/extensions.json from your installed extensions. | | --root <dir> | Project to operate on (default: current directory). | | --keep-file <path> | Extra ids to keep, one per line (default: .vscode/extensions.keep.txt). | | --name <name> | Launcher file name (default: vsredux); skips the interactive name prompt. | | --extensions-dir <d> | With --init, the extensions dir to read (default: ~/.vscode/extensions). | | --force | With --init, overwrite an existing .vscode/extensions.json. | | --dry-run | Preview only: print the launch command, or the generated file. | | -h, --help | Show help. |

Requirements

• Node.js >= 18.
• The VS Code code CLI (auto-detected on Windows; otherwise run Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH from VS Code).

Development

Built with Vite+: vp check (format, lint, types), vp test, vp pack (build to dist/).