dot-code for Windows

This can’t just be my problem…

I spend a lot of time bouncing back and forth between different code repos on my machine. I work in Windows, so the quickest way to access all the stuff I want is to keep a File Explorer window open.

So I navigate to where I can see the folder I want to open in VS Code—or maybe just the two files I’m interested in—and then… what?

In principle, I can right-click on the folder and select Open with Code from the context menu. In practice, that option doesn’t show up in Windows 11, and I have to select Show more options or hit Shift-F10 to get there. And then use my mouse to select the menu item.

It’s a pain in the butt.

What I really wanted was a keyboard shortcut (I use Alt-Win-., but whatevs) that does three things:

• If I’m in a File Explorer directory and have nothing selected, it opens the directory in VS Code.

• If I have a subdirectory selected, it opens THAT directory in VS Code.

• If I have several things selected, it opens just THOSE things in VS Code.

Fat chance.

I did some searching around, and I found a well-established Windows scripting tool called AutoHotKey (AHK) with plenty of sample code out there.

Trouble is, AHK just released a new major version with a ton of breaking changes, and all the sample code is written in v1. Not my jam.

So I took a day, learned AHK v2, and wrote the darn thing myself. Installs in minutes with no config, works like a charm, and my daily frustration level is WAY down!

You’re welcome. 😎

See it on GitHub!

30 days later: Holy cow I use this thing ALL the time! Just goes to show, you just never know which one of you widgets will wind up being the killer app. Is it getting a lot of play? I dunno. Nor do I CARE, as long as I get to use it lol.