VS Code Folder Templates: Boost Your Productivity!

Hey guys! Ever feel like you’re setting up the same folder structure over and over again for your projects in VS Code? I know I have! That’s why I’m super stoked to dive into how you can use folder templates to drastically speed up your workflow and keep your projects organized from the get-go. Trust me, once you get the hang of this, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it. Let’s get started!

Why Use Folder Templates in VS Code?

Okay, so before we jump into the “how,” let’s quickly cover the “why.” Folder templates are essentially pre-defined directory structures that you can quickly generate for new projects. Think of them as blueprints for your projects. Imagine you’re always creating web projects with src , dist , css , js , and img folders. Instead of manually creating these folders every single time , a folder template lets you generate them with a single command. This saves you a ton of time, reduces the risk of errors (like typos in folder names), and enforces consistency across all your projects.

Think about the time savings. Manually creating ten folders might take a few minutes, but those minutes add up, especially if you’re starting multiple projects a week. With folder templates, you reclaim that time, allowing you to focus on actual coding. Consistency is another huge win. When all your projects follow the same folder structure, it’s easier to navigate them, find files, and collaborate with others. Plus, if you’re working on multiple projects simultaneously (which many of us are), having a consistent structure reduces cognitive load – you don’t have to remember where everything is in each project.

But the benefits don’t stop there! Folder templates can also include pre-configured files , like index.html , style.css , or even basic configuration files. This means you can start coding immediately without having to set up the barebones of your project each time. For example, your index.html file could already contain the basic HTML structure, a link to your stylesheet, and a script tag for your JavaScript file. Your style.css could have some basic resets or common styles that you use in every project. This level of automation is a game-changer for productivity.

Creating Your First VS Code Folder Template

Alright, let’s get our hands dirty and create a folder template! There are a couple of ways to do this, but I’m going to show you the method that I find the most flexible and straightforward: using the yo command with plop . First, make sure you have Node.js and npm (Node Package Manager) installed on your system. If you don’t, head over to the official Node.js website and download the latest version. Once you have Node.js and npm installed, open your terminal and run the following command to install plop globally:

npm install -g plop

Plop is a micro-generator framework that makes it easy to create file and folder templates. It’s super lightweight and easy to use, making it perfect for our needs. Once plop is installed, create a new folder somewhere on your computer where you’ll store your templates. This could be in your Documents folder, your Dropbox , or anywhere else that makes sense for you. Inside this folder, create a new folder for your first template. For example, let’s create a template for a basic web project called web-template :

mkdir web-templates
cd web-templates
mkdir web-template
cd web-template

Now, inside the web-template folder, create the folder structure you want for your template. For example:

mkdir src
mkdir dist
mkdir css
mkdir js
mkdir img
touch index.html
touch css/style.css
touch js/script.js

You now have the basic folder structure and some empty files. You can customize these files with any boilerplate code you want. For example, you might add the basic HTML structure to your index.html file, some CSS resets to your style.css file, or some basic JavaScript code to your script.js file. The key here is to include everything you want to be automatically included in your new projects.

Next, you’ll need to create a plopfile.js in the web-template folder. This file tells plop how to generate your template. Here’s an example of a plopfile.js that generates the folder structure we just created:

module.exports = function (plop) {
  plop.setGenerator('web-template', {
    description: 'Creates a basic web project template',
    prompts: [
      {
        type: 'input',
        name: 'name',
        message: 'Project name:',
      },
    ],
    actions: [
      {
        type: 'add',
        path: '../../{{name}}/index.html',
        templateFile: 'index.html',
      },
      {
        type: 'add',
        path: '../../{{name}}/css/style.css',
        templateFile: 'css/style.css',
      },
      {
        type: 'add',
        path: '../../{{name}}/js/script.js',
        templateFile: 'js/script.js',
      },
    ],
  });
};

Let’s break down this plopfile.js . The module.exports is a function that takes plop as an argument. We then use plop.setGenerator to define our template. The first argument to setGenerator is the name of our template ( web-template ). The second argument is an object that contains the configuration for our template. The description is a short description of what the template does. The prompts is an array of questions that plop will ask the user when generating the template. In this case, we’re asking the user for the project name. The actions is an array of actions that plop will perform when generating the template. In this case, we’re adding the index.html , style.css , and script.js files to the new project folder. The path specifies where the file should be created, and the templateFile specifies the file to use as the template.

Using Your Folder Template in VS Code

Okay, now that we’ve created our folder template, let’s use it in VS Code! First, open your terminal and navigate to the folder where you want to create your new project. Then, run the following command:

plop web-template

plop will then ask you the questions you defined in your plopfile.js . In this case, it will ask you for the project name. Enter the project name and press Enter. plop will then generate the folder structure and files for your new project. You can now open the new project folder in VS Code and start coding!

But wait, there’s more! To make this even easier , you can create a VS Code task that runs the plop command for you. This allows you to generate your folder template with a single click in VS Code. To do this, create a .vscode folder in your project (if it doesn’t already exist) and create a tasks.json file inside the .vscode folder. Add the following configuration to your tasks.json file:

{
  "version": "2.0.0",
  "tasks": [
    {
      "label": "Generate Web Template",
      "type": "shell",
      "command": "plop web-template",
      "options": {
        "cwd": "${workspaceFolder}"
      },
      "problemMatcher": []
    }
  ]
}

This creates a new task called “Generate Web Template” that runs the plop web-template command in the current workspace folder. You can now run this task by pressing Ctrl+Shift+P (or Cmd+Shift+P on Mac) and typing “Run Task”. Select the “Generate Web Template” task, and plop will generate your folder template!

Advanced Folder Template Techniques

Once you’re comfortable with the basics of folder templates, you can start exploring some more advanced techniques. For example, you can use Handlebars templating in your template files to dynamically generate content based on user input. This allows you to create more flexible and customizable templates.

To use Handlebars templating, simply use the {{ }} syntax in your template files. For example, you can use {{name}} to insert the project name into your index.html file:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>{{name}}</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="css/style.css">
</head>
<body>
  <h1>Welcome to {{name}}!</h1>
  <script src="js/script.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

In your plopfile.js , you’ll need to make sure that the templateFile option points to a file that uses the .hbs extension. For example, if your index.html file is now called index.html.hbs , you would update your plopfile.js to look like this:

{
  type: 'add',
  path: '../../{{name}}/index.html',
  templateFile: 'index.html.hbs',
},

Another advanced technique is to use multiple prompts to gather more information from the user. For example, you might ask the user for their name, email address, and preferred programming language. You can then use this information to customize your template files.

Finally, you can create more complex folder structures by using nested folders and files in your template. This allows you to create templates for more complex projects, such as full-stack web applications or mobile apps.

Conclusion

So, there you have it! You’ve learned how to create and use folder templates in VS Code to boost your productivity and keep your projects organized. This is a super powerful technique that can save you a ton of time and effort in the long run. So, give it a try, experiment with different templates, and see how it can improve your workflow. Happy coding, folks!