How to quickly change shell folder to match the currently open file

Question

With single file opened in vscode, when I open integrated Powershell it always starts in my $HOME folder.

Is there any way to quickly switch to the directory of the currently shown file without having to manually cd into it?

Something like cd $vsCurrentFileDirectory.

Currently, I right click the tab and copy path then cd (Split-Path <CTRL-v>).

Answer 1

EDIT: A new command will be added in v1.39 to make this more straightforward, see release notes. The example keybinding given is:

{
    "key": "cmd+shift+h",
    "command": "workbench.action.terminal.newWithCwd",
    "args": {
        "cwd": "${fileDirname}"
    }
}

which does indeed work in the Insider's Build. This will create a new terminal though, not modify an existing terminal.

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[Original Answer]: This will change the current terminal.

You can set up a keybinding to do this pretty easily:

{
  "key": "alt+t",
  "command": "workbench.action.terminal.sendSequence",
  "args": {"text": "cd '${fileDirname}'\u000D"}
},

The \u000D is a return so the command triggers immediately.

Also note that I put the '${fileDirname}' in quotes in case your directory name has spaces in it.

The keybinding will work whether focus is in the terminal or the file.

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Suggested edit to be tested :

Note that on windows, you must use the following instead:

"args": {"text": "cd /d \"${fileDirname}\"\u000D"}

This is because on Windows, the /d parameter must be used with cd to switch drives.

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Also see shortcut to change directory in Powershell and cmd for additional info in case you are changing drive letters and escaping double quotes in Powershell.

{
    "key": "ctrl+alt+d",
    "command": "workbench.action.terminal.sendSequence",
    "args": {"text": "cd \"${fileDirname}\"\u000D"}
}

with discussion of the /d flag. Thanks to @skataben for the additional info.

---

Alternatively, there is an extension to do this: terminal-here, but the keybinding actually works faster. The sendSequence and variable substitution functionality was not available when that extension was created.

Finally, if you right-click on a folder in the explorer, there is an Open in Terminal option there (and corresponding command). Which means you could use that command in a keybinding like so:

{
  "key": "alt+t",
  "command": "openInTerminal"
}

But my first sendSequence keybinding remains the fastest way to do this.