Why are we here
Sometimes you just need to bounce between tiny utility files, configs, and snippets. The constant tab switching drives me nuts.
I looked around for a solution, but couldn’t find anything that worked the way I wanted. I’m not committed enough to go full keyboard-only IDE (Vim-like), though some of those ideas were very appealing.
What I really wanted was a single file or view where I could edit multiple files at once. I also wanted it integrated into a familiar environment, because my goal is to produce, not just learn a new tool.
So… I did what any developer eventually does: I built it myself.
👉 Introducing MultiFile Canvas – a VS Code extension that lets you merge multiple files into a single view.
🚀 How it works
- Create a .mf file (like project.mf)
- Add dividers like:
---- main.js ----
---- lib/utils.js ----
---- index.js ----
- Files load directly under the merged view
- Edit inside your .mf, and saving writes back to the originals
- If originals change, your view updates
- Rename references to copy or load different files
Basically: no more endless tab flipping when juggling small files.
🎯 Why I made this
I originally built MultiFile Canvas just for my own workflow, but I figured someone else might also find it useful.
It’s lightweight, simple, and does exactly what I needed.
You can check it out here:
👉 Marketplace link
If you give it a try, let me know what you think! Feedback is very welcome.
Please note this is my first extension, and I built it in just two days.