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Advanced Snippet Scoping

Snippets can be scoped in different ways to control where they are available. The following scopes provide increasing levels of specificity.

Language Snippet Scope​

Language snippet scope limits a snippet to files of a specific programming language. <lang>.json files include scope in the name, and <name>.code-snipppets files can include a scope property for each snippet.

  • Defined using a language identifier (for example: javascript, python)
  • Applies to all files of that language in the workspace
  • Best for language-specific constructs and patterns

Example use cases

  • Common for or if templates for a language
  • Framework-specific helpers (e.g. React hooks in TypeScript files)

Project Snippet Scope​

Project snippet scope makes a snippet available across the entire workspace, regardless of language or file type. Other workspaces won't have access to the local snippets.

  • Applies to all files in the project
  • Useful for organization or project-specific conventions

Example use cases

  • Standard file headers or copyright notices
  • Boilerplate comments shared across multiple languages
  • Internal tooling snippets used throughout the repo

File Pattern Scope​

File pattern scope restricts snippets to files that match one or more glob patterns.

  • Uses glob-style patterns (for example: src/**/*.ts, **/*.test.ts)
  • Allows very fine-grained control over snippet availability
  • Can be combined with include and exclude rules

Example use cases

  • Test-only snippets limited to **/*.spec.ts
  • Framework-specific snippets for files under src/components/**
  • Configuration snippets for files like *.config.js

Mixing Scope, Include, and Exclude Fields​

Scopes can be combined with include and exclude fields to precisely control where snippets appear.

Example: Limit a snippet to source TypeScript files​

{
  "scope": "typescript",
  "include": ["*.ts"],
  "exclude": ["*.test.ts"]
}

This makes the snippet available only in TypeScript source files, excluding tests.

Example: File pattern scope for test utilities​

{
  "scope": "javascript",
  "include": ["**/*.test.js", "**/*.spec.js"]
}

This snippet appears only in test files, regardless of language configuration elsewhere.

Example: Configuration File Template​

{
  "scope": "json",
  "isFileTemplate": true,
  "include": ".prettierrc"
}

This file template will only appear in the Snippets: Fill File with Snippet command quick pick if the file matches.

VS Code Version Support

File pattern scope is only supported on platforms that use VS Code version 1.109 or newer. On older versions, file pattern–scoped snippets will be ignored.

You can also scope snippets to only be used by specifc profiles. Read about Profile Snippets next