diff --git a/extensions/tree/tree-pane.coffee b/extensions/tree/tree-pane.coffee
index b5d52e88f..5d2a2462d 100644
--- a/extensions/tree/tree-pane.coffee
+++ b/extensions/tree/tree-pane.coffee
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ class TreePane extends Pane
         else
           @tree.showDir path
           el.addClass 'open'
-          list = @createList path
+          list = @createList @tree.findPaths path
           el.append list
       else
         el.addClass 'active'
@@ -47,24 +47,19 @@ class TreePane extends Pane
 
   reload: ->
     @html.children('#tree .cwd').text _.last window.path.split '/'
-    fileList = @createList window.path
+    fileList = @createList @tree.paths
     fileList.addClass 'files'
     @html.children('#tree .files').replaceWith fileList
 
   createList: (root) ->
-    paths = fs.list root
     shownDirs = @tree.shownDirs()
-
     list = $('<ul>')
-    for path in paths
-      continue if @tree.ignorePattern.test path
-      filename = path.replace(root, "").substring 1
-      type = if fs.isDirectory path then 'dir' else 'file'
+    for {label, path, paths} in root
+      type = if paths then 'dir' else 'file'
       encodedPath = encodeURIComponent path
-      listItem = $("<li class='#{type}' data-path='#{encodedPath}'>#{filename}</li>")
-
-      if path in shownDirs and fs.isDirectory path
-        listItem.append @createList path
+      listItem = $("<li class='#{type}' data-path='#{encodedPath}'>#{label}</li>")
+      if path in shownDirs and type is 'dir'
+        listItem.append @createList paths
         listItem.addClass "open"
       list.append listItem
 
diff --git a/extensions/tree/tree.coffee b/extensions/tree/tree.coffee
index ca31d8964..353458aca 100644
--- a/extensions/tree/tree.coffee
+++ b/extensions/tree/tree.coffee
@@ -13,6 +13,10 @@ module.exports =
 class Tree extends Extension
   ignorePattern: /\.git|\.xcodeproj|\.DS_Store/
 
+  # a path is an object with three keys: label, path, and paths.
+  # paths is an optional Array of other path objects.
+  paths: []
+
   constructor: ->
     KeyBinder.register "tree", @
     KeyBinder.load require.resolve "tree/key-bindings.coffee"
@@ -27,6 +31,7 @@ class Tree extends Extension
       else
         Watcher.watch dir, @watchDir
 
+    @paths = @findPaths window.path
     @pane = new TreePane @
 
   startup: ->
@@ -52,8 +57,19 @@ class Tree extends Extension
     Storage.set @shownDirStorageKey(), dirs
     Watcher.watch dir, @watchDir
 
-
   hideDir: (dir) ->
     dirs = _.without @shownDirs(), dir
     Storage.set @shownDirStorageKey(), dirs
     @unwatchDir dir, @watchDir
+
+  findPaths: (root) ->
+    paths = []
+
+    for path in fs.list root
+      continue if @ignorePattern.test path
+      paths.push
+        label: _.last path.split '/'
+        path: path
+        paths: @findPaths path if fs.isDirectory path
+
+    paths