Allow to open multiple workspaces in the same window

[kdubuc]

Workspace feature is great because we can grouping projects in a top context (microservices projects in a big API workspace). But, only one workspace can be open. This feature can be powerful if multiple workspaces can be open at the same time (in the same window).

And another request : it will be great if :

• Right click on the workspace name should open menu with a "settings" item (which open xxxx.code-workspace).
• Workspace settings should contain a name attribute (to clearly identify the workspace in the left pane in VS Code)

[amandaporto]

Agree, this functionality is really lacking. Working with multiple repos/folders where you want to keep a certain separation from one another (while maintaining easy access) is a bit of a pain right now.

[develleoper]

To clarify, this story is specifically not relating to multi-root workspaces, but rather requesting the ability to display multiple separate workspaces within the same OS window, correct? Asking because I noticed the github issue has the #multi-root label, which I believe may be inaccurate.

[zbentley]

@develleoper that was my assumption as well, and the duplicate issue that was closed in favor of this one also seems to indicate that. I'm not the reporter though.

[MikeChipshop]

Seconding (and the rest!) this.

The ability to have collapsible Workspace folders open in the app at the same time would be a godsend. Currently I'm having to negate this by adding different folders to the initial workspace, but this is far from ideal.

Having the ability to have multiple workspaces open at once would make this an absolute project management powerhouse!

[mookman288]

From a new user perspective, this was my step-by-step experience:

1. Create new workspace.
2. Attempt to rename the workspace to . This failed (see @kdubuc second request.)
3. Add all of the projects for that particular client to this workspace.
4. Attempt to create a second workspace for a different client. This failed.

Coming from Eclipse, my first instinct is to be able to create individual project folders for each project, and I organized that by heading. I agree with @MikeChipshop that multiple workspaces open at once would increase project management utility.

[siran]

I second the proposal.

[coffeeislife12]

I am working with python and I don't want to share my python virtualenv between each project (folders) inside a workspace. As python interpreter setting is applied to a workspace, I need the ability to have multiple workspaces show up in single vscode instance(screen) for better management

[zjp]

The UI makes this idea very intuitive. Before googling how to do this, I thought it was already built-in.

[bigwhitetuna]

Agreed! This would be awesome! I look forward to hearing more about its progress.

[globalfaisal]

It would definitely be very handy to have this feature.

[outpoints]

Support!

[rayholtz]

I am also in favor of this feature. I run VSCode on a vertical monitor, and there's a lot of vertical screen space that could be taken up by multiple workspaces. Thanks!

tl;dr, +1

[HansHovanitz]

I came across this while googling how to do it.

This feature would be very helpful!

[mittalyashu]

We can set the custom settings for each workspace and have multiple workspaces opened inside a single instance of VS Code can make it bit complicated.

Apart from that, it is a good idea to have this feature.

[shane-smith]

@mittalyashu - it is already possible to set custom settings for a folder, and to have multiple folders open inside a workspace. I'm guessing it would need to take a similar approach.

[csears123]

I also agree with this request, to allow multiple workspaces to be opened in the same window. I am constantly switching between projects, and at times work on multiple projects simultaneously. Re-adding a previous folder to a workspace loses the 'name' property I assigned that folder in the workspace settings before removing it. Assigning custom names to my projects is needed for organizing similar named folders across separate projects. Using a workspace to organize all my projects would be a better structure, if allowed to be open in the same window.

I also see added benefits with customizing workspace settings separately for each project for deployment configurations, instead of having to customize every folder individually for deployment.

[mittalyashu]

@shane-smith

it is already possible to set custom settings for a folder and to have multiple folders open inside a workspace. I'm guessing it would need to take a similar approach.

Yes, having multiple folders in a single workspace is easy, and vs code can easily apply the workspace or folder settings.

Just image, how vs code will manage multiple workspaces and it's settings, that means:

Each time we open the file from a different workspace, settings of that specific workspace will apply and this will make the VS Code slower if we open files from different workspaces.

[ClintOxx]

I totally thought this was already a feature until I just tried to use it lol, i definitely support this. I would like to be able to switch between having two different workspaces in the same window

[slaith]

+1 Sublime text does this very well (in full-screen mode on mac). If you open a new workspace or a new folder, it gets added as a tab to the current window. That's the only feature VS Code lacks over sublime right now.

[qzdl]

+1, Agree massively with this; Current UI would lead the user to believe that such functionality exists - coming from Atom this was quite a shock haha

[QuentinDanjou]

I'm dealing with multiple projects as a lot of developers, and having multiple workplace open in the same window as described would be a really nice improvement.

[shane-smith]

I've restructured my workspaces, and have started using folders more actively in my workspaces, in such a way that this is no longer high on my own priority list.

Makes me wonder if, with a bit of experimentation, most of the people requesting this feature might be able to get away with using several folders in a single workspace, instead?

[develleoper]

Anecdotal, but I would still very much prefer to have a separate workspace per git repository, such as a for a project with two separate repos for client and server side code, with different vscode extensions and workspace settings for each.

[ClintOxx]

@shane-smith yea that is a work around that I have tried but I'm in pretty much the same boat as @develleoper with wanting the different settings and extensions per workspace

[Puerco-Potter]

I really want this feature. I commonly have another project open whenever I am working on a new one, that way I can check or reuse code on the go. I have to add those projects's folders to my workspace, knowing they are just referencial and it always feels like I am doing something wrong or working dirty, also I have to look for the other project with not clear distinction on the UI. When I get a glance at the workspace functionality I inmediatly think it will have this feature, I am surprised to see it doesn't.

[jcarioti]

This would be a killer feature IMO.

[ccalabro]

+1 to this.. It would be really useful.

[Qonabe]

Definitly a feature worth working on IMO. As mentionned before this idea is very intuitive given the UI.

[jstein-ftdi]

This would be very helpful when switching active branches. Thanks in advance for adding this feature!

[brennenberkley]

+1

[Nurgiel]

+1

[D3FCR3W]

So much useless space in the left panel... +1 for this feature, 15/8 would agree

[jstgermain]

This is a great idea. I don't want to add another root to my workspace, I want a second workspace. The folder thing is great in certain scenarios, but not what I am looking for. I hope to see this as a feature soon.

[Charlewic]

Totally agreed. By the way thanks for the wonderful job already done !

[Asitis]

Came here expecting this behavior as well! +1

[banister]

Not having this feature is making it hard to migrate from emacs! Definitely need the ability to have multiple workspaces open at once. I was shocked that we couldn't actually!

[RayMcCl]

Agreed that this would be incredibly useful, +1!

[makisp]

A really useful and essential feature I would say, +1.

[OmkarPathak]

+1

[evolbug]

+1

[anthonykevins]

+1

[misha-erm]

Any updates? Is there any work planned already?

[tmas]

Recently started using VS Code for one of my new projects after using Atom for a while, and this is one of the first things I tried to do (after the UI implied it was possible). This would be an absolute killer feature and would pretty much guarantee I'd move my other projects over to VS Code as well.

[v4ngelo]

+1. I also thought this was possible...

[bosatsu]

+1

EDIT: I found that ctrl + r allows you to type in folders that you previously opened. Works for now, but still would be nice to have this feature.

[ole-lukoe]

+1

[LebCit]

+1 I thought it was possible 😞 This feature would be GREAT ! My actual solution, as everyone else I suppose, was to create another workspace and switch from one to the other, not great at all especially when we need to see files from different workspaces at the same time !

[wkoutre]

If you're on macOS:

1. Open Preferences and enable the Window: Native Tabs option
2. Restart
3. Cmd + Shift + N for a new window will open this "new window" in a macOS-styled tab
4. Open Workspace 2
5. Complete

Edited: Changed to suggest to enable the Window: Native Tabs option, (originally wrote Window: Native Full Screen)

[Helcaraxan]

@wkoutre good catch :heart: , although you'll also need to enable the Window: Native tabs option as well.

[wkoutre]

@Helcaraxan In my experience, that's not the case. VS Code v1.29.1 (could be something to do with it? though I don't see anything related in the release notes).