Fresh File Explorer: The VS Code Extension That Makes Your Git History Obsolete

Tired of losing track of your work after every commit? Meet Fresh File Explorer, the VS Code extension that keeps your files organized and accessible no matter what.

The Problem Every Developer Faces

Every developer knows the frustration: you make a commit, your pending changes disappear, and suddenly you’ve lost the mental map of what you were working on. Or worse, you accidentally delete files and spend hours trying to resurrect them from git history.

Traditional file explorers show everything—every file in your project, including the ones that haven’t been touched since 2019. GitLens is powerful but overwhelming with its 25+ views. What if you just want to see what’s actually happening right now?

The Solution: Fresh File Explorer

Fresh File Explorer solves this by showing you only what matters: files that have been modified recently, pending changes, and deleted files that still need attention. It’s like having a personal assistant that knows exactly what you’re working on.

Key Features That Will Change Your Workflow

Time-Based Viewing: Switch between viewing pending (uncommitted) changes or files modified in configurable time periods. Set it to “Last 7 days” and your committed files still appear, organized by directory. No more losing track after commits!

Deleted File Support: Accidentally deleted some files and need them back? Deleted files appear right where they used to be in the tree, clearly indicated. Right-click → “Resurrect” and they’re back where they belong. Works on multiple files at once.

Heatmap Coloring: Toggle heatmap coloring to give files distinct colors based on their most recent edit. Brighter colors = more recent. This coloring applies to both the Fresh Files view and the File Explorer itself.

Pinned Items Section: At the top of the tree, there’s a special “pinned items” section. Pin that critical file you’ve had on your desktop for the last 6 years. It does not have to be from your workspace. Pin a deleted file. Pin a search editor. Create short notes and use it as a todo list. They can be reordered and marked as complete.

Sync Status Notifications: Displays info at the top of the tree view when you are behind/ahead of the remote (meaning you need to push/pull) or when you are behind/ahead of the base branch (meaning you need to merge). Both options can be individually disabled.

Advanced Filtering: Filter by Author to hide files from specific authors, or Filter by Commit to hide files from specific commits. Filters are temporary and reset when changing time windows.

Grouping Modes: Organize your files in different ways beyond the standard folder structure:

• File Structure – Traditional folder hierarchy
• Author – Files grouped by who last modified them
• Commit Hash – One group per commit
• Moon Phase – Files grouped by the moon phase when they were last modified
• Planetary Retrograde – Includes Pluto

Quick Open: Use “Fresh Files: Quick Open” to get a quick pick showing files from your Fresh File Explorer view. Type to filter by filename or path, then select a file to open it. Respects current time window, author and commit filters.

Search Features That Actually Work

Fresh File Explorer adds several search features that answer real developer questions:

• Search in Fresh Files: Where is x in my current work?
• Search in Found Files: I want to find y in all files that contain x.
• File History: What’s the full history of this file?
• Diff Search: When was x ever added or removed?
• Line / Function History: What’s the full history of this function or code block?

Real-World Scenarios Where Fresh File Explorer Shines

“I just cloned a large repo and don’t know where to start”: Open the Fresh Files panel, see all files modified in the last 30 days as a file tree. Immediate visual overview, familiar tree navigation.

“I swear this file was here at some point”: Deleted files appear right where they used to be. It’s still there, just marked as deleted. Zero friction.

“I accidentally deleted some files and need them back”: Deleted files are there, right-click → “Resurrect”. One-click restore. Works on multiple files at once.

“I made a commit and now I’ve lost track of what I was working on”: Set time window to “Last 7 days” – your committed files still appear, organized by directory. Commit freely, overview persists.

“Someone reformatted the entire codebase and now all the files are fresh”: Filter out the person doing the formatting, or the commit where it was done. Visual multi-select, instant feedback.

“Cool extension but I was looking for a todo list app”: Fresh File Explorer is also a todo list. Can’t miss it.

“Cool extension but can it group my files by moon phase”: Yes. It might even be the only piece of software that does that.

Not a GitLens Replacement

Fresh File Explorer is not a GitLens replacement. It’s a more focused, opinionated tool oriented around finding things you need right now. It doesn’t make commits, manage branches, stashes, tags…

Use Fresh File Explorer when: You want to see what’s actually happening in your codebase right now.

Use GitLens when: You need deep git history analysis, branch management, or complex commit workflows.

Configuration and Customization

Look under freshfileexplorer. to see all configurable settings. If you find a bug or have an idea for a faster horse, open an issue. For bug reports, it is extremely helpful if the problem is reproducible on a public repository.

The Verdict

This is above average for a VS Code extension. (a chatbot instructed to pretend to be Linus Torvalds)

Tags: #FreshFileExplorer #VSCodeExtension #Git #DeveloperTools #Productivity #CodeNavigation #FileManagement #OpenSource #GitHub #SoftwareDevelopment

Viral Sentences:

• “The VS Code extension that makes your Git history obsolete”
• “Accidentally deleted files? Resurrect them with one click”
• “See what’s actually happening in your codebase right now”
• “The only software that groups files by moon phase”
• “Commit freely, overview persists”
• “It’s also a todo list. Can’t miss it.”
• “Above average for a VS Code extension”

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