Dired - Directory Editor

Dired (Directory Editor) provides Emacs-style file management in VS Code. It displays directory listings in a webview panel where you can navigate, mark files, and perform bulk operations using familiar Emacs keybindings.

Opening Dired

Keybinding	Command	Description
`C-x d`	`scimax.dired.open`	Open dired (prompts for directory or uses workspace)
`C-x 5 d`	`scimax.dired.openOtherWindow`	Open dired in a new window (prompts for directory)
	`scimax.dired.openCurrent`	Open dired for current file's directory
	`scimax.dired.openWorkspace`	Open dired for workspace root

Navigation

Once in the dired panel, use these keys to navigate:

Key	Action
`n` or `j` or `Down`	Move to next file
`p` or `k` or `Up`	Move to previous file
`RET` or `o`	Open file/directory
`^`	Navigate to parent directory
`g`	Refresh directory listing
`<`	Go to first entry
`>`	Go to last entry

Marking Files

Mark files for batch operations:

Key	Action
`m`	Mark current file and move down
`u`	Unmark current file and move down
`U`	Unmark all files
`t`	Toggle all marks
`d`	Flag file for deletion
`% m`	Mark files matching regex pattern
`* e`	Mark edited files (git)
`* ?`	Mark untracked files (git)
`* c`	Mark files in conflict (git)
`M`	Mark files in this file's git state

Marked files appear with * indicator. Flagged files (for deletion) appear with D indicator.

File Operations

Operate on marked files (or current file if none marked):

Key	Action
`D`	Delete marked/flagged files (moves to trash by default)
`C`	Copy marked files (prompts for destination)
`R`	Rename/move marked files (prompts for destination)
`+`	Create new directory
`F`	Open the current directory in Finder/Explorer

Git Status and Version Control

Inside a git repository, dired shows a git status column: edited, edited, staged, edited, part staged, added, staged, removed, renamed, staged, untracked, ignored or conflict. Up-to-date files show nothing. A directory shows the strongest state of the files below it (conflict, then edited, then untracked), so you can see where the changes are. Turn the column off with scimax.dired.showGitStatus.

The C-x v commands act on the marked files, or on the file at point when nothing is marked:

Key	Action
`C-x v v`	Next action on the whole set (register, commit, resolve), see below
`C-x v =`	One multi-file diff of all their changes against HEAD
`C-x v l`	Commits touching any of them; the picked commit opens as a multi-file diff
`C-x v u`	Discard all their changes, after one confirmation
`C-x v i`	Add a `.gitignore` pattern for each (directories get a trailing `/`)
`C-x v g`	Blame the first file

C-x v v on several files works like Emacs vc-next-action on a fileset: every changed file must be in the same state. Untracked files are registered, edited files are committed in one commit (git commit -- files, so other staged files stay staged), conflicted files are marked resolved. With files in different states, it names the files in each state; mark one group with * e, * ? or * c and try again. Up-to-date files in the set are left out.

The listing refreshes after each command and keeps your marks. M-o also offers these commands, plus Stage / Unstage. To see every changed file in the repository in one list, use C-x v d (see Version Control).

Actions Menu (M-o or right-click)

Press M-o (Option+O on Mac), or right-click a row, to open a fuzzy picker of actions for that file. On . or .. the menu offers only the directory action.

Action	Description
Enter Directory	Enter the selected directory
Open in Editor	Open file in VS Code editor
Open in Finder/Explorer	Reveal in system file manager
Copy Path	Copy full path to clipboard
Copy File	Copy file to destination
Rename/Move	Rename or move file
Delete	Delete file (with confirmation)
Mark	Mark file for batch operations
Unmark	Remove mark from file
Flag for Deletion	Flag file for deletion
Open This Directory in Finder/Explorer	Open the current directory in the OS
VC: Next Action, Diff, Log, ...	Git commands on the marks (in a repository)

WDired Mode (Writable Dired)

WDired mode allows you to rename files by editing their names directly, like editing text:

Key	Action
`C-x C-q`	Enter wdired mode (names become editable)
`C-c C-c`	Commit renames
`C-c C-k`	Cancel and exit wdired mode

In wdired mode:

Edit filenames directly in the listing
Changes are highlighted
Press C-c C-c to apply all renames at once
Press C-c C-k to discard changes

Sorting and Filtering

Key	Action
`s`	Cycle sort field (name, size, date, extension)
`.`	Toggle showing hidden files (dotfiles)
`/`	Set filter pattern (regex)

Display Format

Each line shows:

drwxr-xr-x  4096  2024-01-15 10:30  Documents/
-rw-r--r--  1234  2024-01-14 09:15  file.txt
lrwxrwxrwx    12  2024-01-13 08:00  link -> target

First column: file permissions (d=directory, l=symlink, -=file)
Second column: file size
Third column: modification date/time
Fourth column: git status (only inside a git repository)
Last column: filename (directories end with /)

Configuration

Setting	Default	Description
`scimax.dired.showGitStatus`	`true`	Show the git status column in a repository
`scimax.dired.showHidden`	`false`	Show hidden files by default
`scimax.dired.confirmDelete`	`true`	Show confirmation before deleting
`scimax.dired.defaultSort`	`"name"`	Default sort field (name, size, mtime, extension)

Security

Dired includes security protections:

Path traversal prevention (no .. in filenames)
Filename validation (no path separators in names)
Delete operations use system trash by default
Regex patterns are validated to prevent ReDoS attacks