Tab Magnet

Tab Magnet is an extension for Visual Studio Code that automatically keeps your related file tabs together.

When you work with languages that use pairs of files (like C++ Header/Source, or Angular Component/Template), opening one file usually leaves its pair scattered somewhere else in the tab bar. Tab Magnet solves this by automatically moving the active tab right next to its related file.

Features

• Automatic Grouping: Just open a file or switch to an existing tab. If a related file is found in the current group, they will "snap" together.
• Smart Positioning: The extension knows where files usually belong. For example, Header files (.h) are placed to the Right of Source files (.c), while HTML/JS files are placed to the Left of CSS files.
• Flexible Matching: Works with files in the same folder, in include/ folders, or in parallel folder structures (e.g. src/ and test/).
• Fully Configurable: Built-in defaults cover most cases, but you can define your own rules in VS Code settings.

Supported File Pairs (Built-in)

Tab Magnet works out of the box for:

C / C++

• .c ↔ .h
• .cpp ↔ .hpp / .h
• Supports separation of source and headers (e.g. src/file.cpp and include/file.h).

Web Development

• General: .js / .ts ↔ .html ↔ .css
• Angular: .component.ts ↔ .component.html ↔ .component.scss ↔ .spec.ts
• Tests: Source files are grouped with their tests (e.g. file.ts ↔ file.spec.ts or test/file.test.ts).

C# / .NET

• .cs ↔ .cshtml (Razor Pages)
• .cs ↔ .razor (Blazor)
• .xaml.cs ↔ .xaml (WPF/MAUI)

Extension Settings

You can define your own pairing rules using the tabMagnet.rules setting in your settings.json.

Important: If you define custom rules, built-in defaults will be disabled. This gives you full control and prevents conflicts with standard patterns.

The extension matches files by stripping all extensions and comparing the base names. Use the $(name) placeholder to match this base name.

If you want to add a new rule but keep built-in support, you must copy the default rules you need into your settings.

Example 1: Go Lang tests

"tabMagnet.rules": [
    { 
        "left": "$(name).go", 
        "right": "$(name)_test.go" 
    }
]

Example 2: React Native (JS + Styles)

Because the extension strips all suffixes (like .styles.js), this works automatically:

"tabMagnet.rules": [
    { 
        "left": "$(name).js", 
        "right": "$(name).styles.js" 
    }
]

Example 3: Custom C++ folder structure

If you keep your tests in a separate tests/ folder with the same filename:

"tabMagnet.rules": [
    { 
        "left": "src/$(name).cpp", 
        "right": "tests/Test_$(name).cpp" 
    }
]

Known Issues

• The extension works within the current Tab Group. It does not move tabs between split editors.
• Ordering is triggered on onDidChangeActiveTextEditor. If you manually drag a tab away, it might snap back if you click it again while its pair is open.

Release Notes

0.0.1

Initial release.

• Core functionality implemented.
• Support for C/C++, Web (JS/TS/HTML/CSS), and C# (.cs/Razor).

0.0.2

• Fix: Improved file matching to use full paths.
• Improvement: Tabs are now automatically pinned (keepEditor) after grouping.
• Added GitHub Actions workflow for automatic deployment.

0.0.3

• New Feature: Added tabMagnet.rules configuration. Users can now define custom pairing patterns.
• New Feature: Added support for Angular projects (.component.ts, .html, .scss).
• Refactor: Completely rewrote the matching logic to use flexible bidirectional patterns.
• Improvement: Enhanced matching algorithm to support filenames with suffixes/prefixes (e.g. _test.go, Test_File.cpp).
• Improvement: Better support for complex folder structures (e.g. "cousin" folders like src/ and include/).
• Fix: Fixed path separators handling for Windows.

0.0.4

• Fix: Resolved issue where opening a preview tab for an already-open file would incorrectly identify the existing tab as current, causing unwanted tab movements.
• Fix: Preview tabs are no longer moved or pinned automatically, preserving VSCode's intended preview behavior.

0.0.5

• Fix: Removed incorrect preview tab blocking from 0.0.4 that prevented tab grouping for newly opened files. The isActive check remains and correctly handles the duplicate path issue.