vscode disable empty folders (parent/child folders) merge/collapse/inline

Question

If child folder is empty, vscode get them merged like on screenshot. Is there an option to disable it? It's confusing and harder to use for me.

Java loves massive towers of nested folders, so if you frequently use Java (ugh), this might be a reasonable thing to turn on. But it's certainly a poor default. — Lily Finley
– Lily Finley, Commented May 22, 2024 at 22:07

Munsif Ali · Accepted Answer · 2025-02-14 18:10:50Z

359

Disable/uncheck Explorer: Compact Folders in your settings.

Related info from release notes: Is there a way to flatten or merge single-folder folders in vs code explorer?

Or directly in your settings.json, add "explorer.compactFolders": false.

To reach settings.json, use Ctrl+Shift+P to open the command palette, then type "settings.json" and hit enter (the item is called "Preferences: Open Settings(JSON)")

edited Feb 14 at 18:10

Munsif Ali

7,9377 gold badges35 silver badges66 bronze badges

answered Dec 19, 2019 at 18:47

Mark

191k32 gold badges557 silver badges580 bronze badges

Sign up to request clarification or add additional context in comments.

5 Comments

Mike Niebling Over a year ago

Also, if you use JSON settings, this property is "explorer.compactFolders": false.

Paranoid Android Over a year ago

I am wondering who thought that was a good idea in the first place...

drocha87 Over a year ago

It should be disable by default, because this is really annoying!

Eugene Over a year ago

Incredibly annoying feature

Anonymous Penguin Over a year ago

@Mirko for Java packages it is really useful, but I agree that it should be disabled by default

Jonathan Sanchez · Accepted Answer · 2020-04-21 21:24:00Z

In VsCode on MAC go to Code (top left hand corner)

Select Preferences
then Settings
then Search for compact folders
Uncheck the

Zayaan · Accepted Answer · 2022-02-24 11:29:51Z

In VsCode on WINDOWS go to File (top left hand corner)

Select Preferences
then Settings (or you can simply press Ctrl/Cmd+,)
then search for Compact Folders
Unckeck the option

Chukwuemeka Maduekwe · Accepted Answer · 2024-04-25 12:34:31Z

Press the ctrl + shift + p and type settings.json in the textbox then select Open User Settings (JSON), if you can't find User Settings press ctrl + , at the same time and select the top right icon with a tooltip of Open Settings (JSON)
In that particular file, paste "explorer.compactFolders": false to disable merging file names

starball · Accepted Answer · 2024-09-08 22:03:50Z

For the Explorer View, put the following in settings.json:

"explorer.compactFolders": false,

For the SCM (Source Control) View, add "scm.compactFolders": false,.

Collectives™ on Stack Overflow

vscode disable empty folders (parent/child folders) merge/collapse/inline

5 Answers 5

5 Comments

Comments

Comments

Comments

Comments

Linked

Hot Network Questions