Improve the usability of the ‘Export Project Contents’ feature by making it compatible with any active server connection and available as a standalone command

[tobikrs]

Type: Feature Request

Summary

The current Export Project Contents experience is confusing and fragile. It appears to work only when the active server connection is defined in the .code-workspace file. If the same connection is configured in a .vscode/settings.json, the command often refuses to run, reporting that there are “no folders in the current workspace that code can be exported to,” even though a folder is opened and the server connection is active. This has caused frustration across multiple users and community threads. [1]

Beyond the connection requirement, the command is only discoverable via the Projects explorer context menu, which is not visible unless at least one server-side virtual folder exists in the current multi-root workspace.
Making export a first-class, standalone command (Command Palette) would remove this dependency and significantly improve usability.
What is the reason for tying the visibility of the Projects Explorer to the existence of server‑side virtual folders in the workspace in the first place?

Steps to Reproduce

1. Open a folder as your workspace root in VS Code.
2. Configure a valid InterSystems IRIS server connection in .vscode/settings.json and connect to a namespace. You can browse server items and compile, confirming the connection is active.
3. Open the InterSystems Projects Explorer view, right‑click a project, and choose 'Export Project Contents'.
4. Observe the error: “There are no folders in the current workspace that code can be exported to.” (despite having an open folder and an active connection).

Note: If you move the identical server connection definition into the .code-workspace file, the export suddenly works. This dependency on where the connection is declared is unexpected and undocumented. (see post in community https://community.intersystems.com/post/how-export-project-visual-studio-code#comment-284848)

Why This Matters

• The extension already positions export/import and client-side editing as core workflows, and many users keep their server connections in settings.json. Tying export success to the location of the connection definition makes the feature feel brittle and “random.”
• Community posts show multiple users running into the “no folders in current workspace” error even with a proper folder opened, leading to confusion and workarounds. [1][2]
• The repo history shows ongoing efforts to make Studio project export easier (e.g. Add command to export Studio project contents #894 and related PRs/discussions), so relaxing the connection-declaration constraint and surfacing a top-level command aligns with that direction.

Workaround (for others hitting this)

• Temporarily move the server connection definition into .code-workspace and retry export; then move it back if needed.
• Alternatively, use ObjectScript: Export Code from Server and/or ObjectScript: Export Documents to XML File, but those routes are less ergonomic for project-based exports.

--

[1] https://community.intersystems.com/post/how-export-project-xml-file-deploy-visual-studio-code
[2] https://community.intersystems.com/post/how-export-project-visual-studio-code

Extension version: 3.4.0
VS Code version: Code 1.108.2 (c9d77990917f3102ada88be140d28b038d1dd7c7, 2026-01-21T13:52:09.270Z)
OS version: Windows_NT x64 10.0.26200
Modes:
Remote OS version: Linux x64 5.15.167.4-microsoft-standard-WSL2
Remote OS version: Linux x64 5.15.167.4-microsoft-standard-WSL2

[isc-bsaviano]

Hi @tobikrs, thanks for reporting this. You are right that this experience isn't very good. This command was left over from the initial implementation of Projects support. The feature wasn't as closely tied to server-side editing then. I realized that design was sub-optimal, so I added code that automatically hid the Projects Explorer when there weren't any server-side folders in the workspace. That unintentionally left this command in limbo. If your desire is to populate a client-side folder with the contents of a server-side project then I think it makes sense to move this command to the Command Palette like the Export Code from Server command. Is that what you're looking for?

[tobikrs]

Hi @isc-bsaviano, thanks for your explanation about the historical aspects of the feature that led to the current experience.

Yes, making the 'Export Project Contents' feature generally available from the Command Palette would improve the user experience.

However, in order to actually improve the overall user experience of this feature, it is important that the currently intransparent and confusing checks for correct server and namespace connections are removed. As with other commands, the currently active server connection, as displayed in the status bar at the bottom, should simply be used to list all projects in the namespace in a drop-down menu so that the desired project can be selected from it. The local folder to which the project contents is to be exported should then be clear based on that active server connection.

[isc-bsaviano]

Yeah, all of that will go away when this is decoupled from the Projects Explorer. I'll get a PR up soon and will give you a VSIX to test.

[isc-bsaviano]

Hi @tobikrs, my PR is open. You can test the new command using the VSIX in this zip:

vscode-objectscript-3.4.1-dev.1707.vsix.zip

[tobikrs]

Works as expected. Thank you @isc-bsaviano!

When can I expect the next release containing these changes to be published?

[isc-bsaviano]

Hi @tobikrs, I'm planning on doing the next release the week of February 23rd.