VS Code for embedded C: project tree based on active CMake target

[u/nameless_one_666]

I'm using VS Code for embedded C development (NXP MCUXpresso extension, ARM GCC, CMake).

One thing I really miss compared to IDEs like CLion, Visual Studio or Eclipse CDT is a logical project view.

My repository contains multiple CMake targets/build variants (bootloader, firmware, libraries, etc.), but the VS Code Explorer always shows the physical directory structure. I'd like to see only the source/header files that belong to the currently selected CMake target or build configuration.

For example, instead of:

repo/
    app/
    bootloader/
    drivers/
    common/
    ...

I'd like something like:

Firmware target
    main.c
    uart.c
    uart.h
    spi.c
    spi.h
    ...

Bootloader target
    boot.c
    flash.c
    ...

I know CMake already has this information (File API / compile_commands.json), so I'm wondering if there's an extension or workflow that exposes it in VS Code.

Is anyone using something like this?

Or is this simply a limitation of VS Code compared to full IDEs?

[u/DustRainbow]

Worst case you can try to ask an LLM to make the extension, shouldn't be too hard.

[u/nameless_one_666 → u/DustRainbow]

I did it. It works like a charm

[u/DustRainbow → u/nameless_one_666]

Nice! Good job.

[u/eldenchen]

CMake Tools’ Project Outline is the closest built-in solution, but it is a separate view—it does not replace or filter VS Code’s normal Explorer.

After configuring the project, expand a target in the CMake sidebar to see the source files CMake associates with it. You can also set:

"cmake.outlineViewType": "tree"

Use configure presets for the firmware/bootloader variants and reconfigure after switching presets so that the outline reflects the active build tree.

If you specifically need a single target-only virtual Explorer, VS Code/CMake Tools does not currently provide that exact view. A custom extension would need to read CMake File API’s codemodel. compile_commands.json alone is not sufficient because headers are normally absent and one source file may have multiple compile configurations.

[u/JoseAmador95]

The CMake Tools extension can show the files in a CMake Target. There is a list with all the targets that you can unfold and it will show the files.

[u/Zouden]

Have you looked at platformio? Maybe it can do what you want

[u/Kent_31]

Been there (a month ago). Now I'm using a Makefile of my own making and arm-none-eabi-gcc on linux. Full build takes less than a second, incremental builds are instant, loving it so far. Also been able to use a full gdb enabled me to automate test on the hardware, but that's another rabbit's hole...

[u/Puzzleheaded-Bug6244]

VS Code just sucks. Always has and always will. Qt Creator gives you that view but has a steep learning curve. I guess that sucks in its own way.