Customizing Your Visual Studio Code Experience with Colorful Folder Icons

The introduction of customizable folder icons in Visual Studio Code (VS Code) has been a long-awaited feature for many users. Initially, we planned to ship the application with a single, simple theme called Minimal, which featured a single file icon and basic folder open/closed icons. However, as we tested different icons and collaborated with Roberto Huertas to ensure that his key scenarios were supported, we stumbled upon the Seti UI icons, first popularized in Sublime Text.

With the release of VS Code 1.5, we are now able to support icons in the File Explorer. To access this feature, navigate to the 'File' menu and select 'Preferences,' or use the Command Palette (Windows/Linux: Ctrl+Shift+P) and search for 'File Icon Theme.' This development marks a significant milestone in our efforts to provide users with greater control over their VS Code experience.

The decision to introduce icon theming as an extension point was driven by user feedback. Roberto's vscode-icons extension, which had garnered over 200K downloads, 170 reviews, and a 5-star rating, demonstrated the demand for this feature. Moreover, the extension's popularity on User Voice, where it received almost 2500 votes, further solidified our commitment to providing users with the customization options they desired.

In the past, we had considered implementing icons in the File Explorer, but ultimately decided against it due to concerns about maintaining over 100 icons and keeping them in sync with the Visual Studio IDE. To us, icons felt heavy and provided little value. However, user feedback and internal discussions led us to revisit this decision, resulting in the integration of customizable folder icons.

The ability to customize your VS Code experience with colorful folder icons is just one example of our ongoing efforts to address user feedback and provide a more personalized interface. By giving users greater control over their environment, we aim to make VS Code an even more effective tool for developers worldwide.

Colorful folder icons