👻 ghostpath

Auto-fill your VS Code active file's relative path in the terminal — via ghost suggestion and Tab completion.

How it works

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  VS Code Editor                         │
│  (ghostpath extension active)                │
│  Opens: src/components/Button.tsx  ───────────┐
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘     │
                                                 ▼
                                    /tmp/_ghostpath_active_file
                                    "src/components/Button.tsx"
                                                 │
┌─────────────────────────────────────────┐     │
│  Terminal (Zsh / PowerShell)            │◄────┘
│                                         │
│  $ node [Tab]                           │
│  $ node src/components/Button.tsx  ✅   │
│                                         │
│  RPROMPT: ↹ src/components/Button.tsx  │  ← ghost suggestion
└─────────────────────────────────────────┘

Installation

You can install ghostpath-cli either globally (recommended) or locally in a specific project workspace.

Global Installation:

npm install -g ghostpath-cli

Local Installation:

npm install ghostpath-cli

Whether installed globally or locally, it will automatically run a post-install script that:

1. Injects shell integration into your ~/.zshrc (macOS/Linux) and $PROFILE (Windows) securely using the exact absolute path of the installation.
2. Automatically attempts to install the companion VS Code Extension if you have the code CLI available.

VS Code Extension Setup

If the automatic installation doesn't work, the most reliable way to install the VS Code extension across all Operating Systems is manually via the VS Code interface.

1. Open Visual Studio Code.
2. Go to the Extensions panel (Ctrl+Shift+X or Cmd+Shift+X).
3. Click the ... menu at the top right and select Install from VSIX...
4. Navigate to your installed node_modules folder (either local or global) and locate node_modules/ghostpath-cli/vscode-extension/ghostpath-vscode.vsix.
5. Select the file to install it instantly.

Or manually copy vscode-extension/src/extension.js into your own extension.

Add to your VS Code settings.json:

{
  "ghostpath.enable": true,
  "ghostpath.useRelativePath": true
}

Usage

Zsh

Once set up, open any file in VS Code. In your terminal:

| Action | Result | |--------|--------| | Look at right prompt | See ghost: ↹ src/foo/bar.ts | | Press Tab (nothing typed) | Inserts src/foo/bar.ts | | Type node then press Tab | Inserts node src/foo/bar.ts | | Type anything + Tab again | Appends file path |

If you have zsh-autosuggestions installed, ghostpath also feeds into it as a suggestion strategy.

PowerShell

| Action | Result | |--------|--------| | Prompt shows [src/foo/bar.ts] dimmed | Ghost hint | | Type node then press Tab | Shows ghostpath path as first completion | | node, python, cat, code etc. | All support ghostpath tab completion |

CLI Commands

(Note: If installed globally, run these commands directly. If installed locally, prefix them with npx (e.g., npx ghostpath status).)

ghostpath setup          # Re-run shell integration setup
ghostpath status         # Show what file path ghostpath currently sees
ghostpath current        # Print the raw current file path (used by shell internally)
ghostpath setup --zsh    # Setup Zsh only
ghostpath setup --pwsh   # Setup PowerShell only

Manual Shell Setup

If the postinstall script didn't run automatically, or if you moved your installation path, you can use the built-in CLI to safely configure your shell integration correctly.

Simply run the built-in setup script:

npx ghostpath setup

This acts as a universal command that safely determines if you are running globally or locally, computes the exact directory, and gracefully sets up your shell scripts (.zshrc or $PROFILE) without you needing to do any copy-pasting.

Programmatic API

CommonJS:

const ghostpath = require('ghostpath-cli');

ES Modules (ESM):

import ghostpath from 'ghostpath-cli';

// Get current active file
const filePath = ghostpath.getCurrentFilePath();
console.log(filePath); // "src/components/Button.tsx"

// Watch for changes
const watcher = ghostpath.watchCurrentFile((newPath) => {
  console.log('Active file changed to:', newPath);
});

How the temp file works

The VS Code extension writes the active file's relative path (from workspace root) to:

• macOS/Linux: /tmp/_ghostpath_active_file
• Windows: %TEMP%\_ghostpath_active_file

The shell plugin reads this file on every prompt render and on Tab press. Zero dependencies, zero overhead.

Troubleshooting

Tab isn't working:

ghostpath status         # Check if ghostpath sees the active file
source ~/.zshrc     # Reload shell integration

Wrong path shown:

• Make sure the file is saved and in an open VS Code workspace
• Check ghostpath.useRelativePath is true in VS Code settings

PowerShell: module not loading:

Get-ExecutionPolicy    # Should be RemoteSigned or Unrestricted
Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser