VS Code extension
Both ends of an AI chat without leaving the editor: package the project in one click, and when the AI's ZIP lands in Downloads, apply it with a plan of every file and the three-way merge editor for anything that clashes.
Install
Search for contextzip in the Extensions view, or install it from the VS Code Marketplace:
The contextzip CLI comes bundled for Windows x64, macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel) and Linux x64/arm64, so there's nothing else to install. Elsewhere it uses contextzip from your PATH. It needs VS Code 1.90 or newer.
Cursor, Windsurf and VSCodium
These editors install extensions from Open VSX, where contextzip is coming soon. Until then, download the VSIX from the Marketplace page and use Extensions: Install from VSIX…, or use the contextzip CLI.Package for an AI chat
| Command | What it packages |
|---|---|
| contextzip: Package Project for AI | The whole project. Also the cz button in the status bar. |
| Package for AI (only these) | The files and folders you right-click in the Explorer. |
| contextzip: Package Git Changes for AI | Only staged, modified and untracked files. |
| contextzip: Package Files for a Task… | Describe the task; Gemini picks the files from their paths and sizes. Needs a free Gemini API key. |
| contextzip: Package a GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket Repository… | A repository link, without cloning. |
A notification says what went in (files, size, ≈ tokens). The ZIP is on your clipboard as a file, ready to paste into Claude, ChatGPT or any upload box, with buttons to reveal the ZIP or open the report.
Apply the AI's reply
When a ZIP lands in your Downloads folder and its CONTEXTZIP.md names a snapshot of the open project, the extension asks whether to apply it. You can also run contextzip: Apply AI Changes from a ZIP… or right-click a .zip in the Explorer.
The AI Changes view in the Explorer lists every file, grouped into what needs a decision, what's safe to apply and what's already up to date. Then choose:
- Apply the safe changes: new, modified and cleanly merged files, in one step.
- Resolve in the merge editor: each conflict opens in this editor's three-way merge view (yours, the AI's, the original).
- Review in the browser or decide in the terminal.
- Apply everything, with the AI's version winning where you disagree, after a confirmation.
Settings
| Setting | Default | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| contextzip.copyToClipboard | true | Put the ZIP on the clipboard after packaging. |
| contextzip.watchDownloads | true | Offer to apply AI replies that arrive in Downloads. Only the ZIP's file list and its CONTEXTZIP.md are read. |
| contextzip.downloadsFolder | Watch a different folder. | |
| contextzip.path | Use a specific contextzip executable. |
In a remote window (SSH, WSL, containers) the extension runs on the remote machine, so the ZIP is made there.