How can I hide specified files/directories (e.g., .git) in the sidebar? (Visual Studio Code)

In Visual Studio Code, what setting can be configured, using file patterns, to hide files from view in the sidebar's file-explorer?

I would like to hide certain groups of files, like .meta and .git files.

You can configure patterns to hide files and folders from the explorer and searches.

1. Open Visual Studio Code User Settings (Main menu: File → Preferences → Settings). This will open the setting screen.
2. Search for files:exclude in the search at the top.
3. Configure the User Setting with new glob patterns as needed. In this case add this pattern node_modules/ then click OK. The pattern syntax is powerful. You can find pattern matching details under the Search Across Files topic.

When you are done it should look something like this:

If you want to directly edit the settings file: For example, to hide a top level node_modules folder in your workspace:

"files.exclude": {
    "node_modules/": true
}

To hide all files that start with ._ such as ._.DS_Store files found on OS X:

"files.exclude": {
    "**/._*": true
}

You also have the ability to change Workspace Settings (Main menu: File → Preferences → Workspace Settings). Workspace settings will create a .vscode/settings.json file in your current workspace and will only be applied to that workspace. User Settings will be applied globally to any instance of Visual Studio Code you open, but they won't override Workspace Settings if present. Read more on customizing User and Workspace Settings.