File Browser Preview Enhancer

Add a lightweight extension that builds on the workspace file browser to make common preview and download tasks faster. The implementation must reuse the platform's existing viewers rather than reimplementing parsers or rendering.

Capabilities

Quick data preview

• When a .csv file is selected and "Preview Data" is invoked, it opens in a new main-area tab using the built-in tabular viewer with the same row and column content visible without manual parsing. @test

Markdown dual view

• Opening a Markdown file creates side-by-side editor and rendered preview panes; editing then saving updates the preview automatically while keeping both panes linked to the same document. @test

New log shortcut

• Clicking "New log" in the file toolbar creates an empty .log file in the current directory, focuses it in the main area, and keeps the file browser selection aligned with the opened document. @test

Download from context menu

• Right-clicking any file shows a "Download copy" action that downloads the original bytes to the browser's default download location without opening a new tab. @test

Implementation

@generates

API

export interface FileBrowserEnhancerOptions {
  /**
   * Side where previews should open relative to the file browser.
   * Defaults to 'right'.
   */
  previewSplit?: 'right' | 'bottom';
  /**
   * Optional label overrides for UI actions.
   */
  labels?: {
    previewData?: string;
    newLog?: string;
    downloadCopy?: string;
  };
}

/**
 * Registers file-browser enhancements and associated commands.
 */
export function activateFileBrowserEnhancer(options?: FileBrowserEnhancerOptions): void;

Dependencies { .dependencies }

jupyterlab { .dependency }

Provides the application shell, file browser widgets, document handling, and built-in CSV/Markdown viewers used by this enhancement.

@satisfied-by