How can I exclude a directory from Visual Studio Code "Explore" tab?

Use files.exclude:

  • Go to File -> Preferences -> Settings (or on Mac Code -> Preferences -> Settings)
  • Pick the workspace settings tab

  • Add this code to the settings.json file displayed on the right side:

    // Place your settings in this file to overwrite default and user settings.

{
    "settings": {
        "files.exclude": {
            "**/.git": true,         // this is a default value
            "**/.DS_Store": true,    // this is a default value

            "**/node_modules": true, // this excludes all folders 
                                    // named "node_modules" from 
                                    // the explore tree

            // alternative version
            "node_modules": true    // this excludes the folder 
                                    // only from the root of
                                    // your workspace 
        }
    }
}

If you chose File -> Preferences -> User Settings then you configure the exclude folders globally for your current user.


In newer versions of VS Code, you navigate to settings (Ctrl+,), and make sure to select Workspace Settings at the top right.

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Then add a files.exclude option to specify patterns to exclude.

You can also add search.exclude if you only want to exclude a file from search results, and not from the folder explorer.


tl;dr

  1. Press Ctrl + Shift + P or Command + Shift + P on mac
  2. Type "Workspace settings".
  3. Change exclude settings either via the GUI or in settings.json:

GUI way

  1. Type "exclude" to the search bar.
  2. Click the "Add Pattern" button. Add exclude pattern in VS Code settings

Code way

  1. Click on the little {} icon at the top right corner to open the settings.json: Click brackets icon to open settings.json

  2. Add excluded folders to files.exclude. Also check out search.exclude and files.watcherExclude as they might be useful too. This snippet contains their explanations and defaults:

    {
  // Configure glob patterns for excluding files and folders. 
  // For example, the files explorer decides which files and folders to show 
  // or hide based on this setting. 
  // Read more about glob patterns [here](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/editor/codebasics#_advanced-search-options).
  "files.exclude": {
    "**/.git": true,
    "**/.svn": true,
    "**/.hg": true,
    "**/CVS": true,
    "**/.DS_Store": true
  },
  // Configure glob patterns for excluding files and folders in searches. 
  // Inherits all glob patterns from the `files.exclude` setting.   
  // Read more about glob patterns [here](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/editor/codebasics#_advanced-search-options).
  "search.exclude": {
    "**/node_modules": true,
    "**/bower_components": true
  },
  // Configure glob patterns of file paths to exclude from file watching. 
  // Patterns must match on absolute paths 
  // (i.e. prefix with ** or the full path to match properly). 
  // Changing this setting requires a restart. 
  // When you experience Code consuming lots of cpu time on startup, 
  // you can exclude large folders to reduce the initial load.
  "files.watcherExclude": {
    "**/.git/objects/**": true,
    "**/.git/subtree-cache/**": true,
    "**/node_modules/*/**": true
  }
}

For more details on the other settings, see the official settings.json reference.

Tags:

Visual Studio Code

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