The problem

VSCode and pantheon-code (from elementaryOS) both have a feature allowing the user to open a directory as a project. The problem is the former is a bloated, slow mess, the latter lacks any useful features beyond that one. Kate on the other hand has a project plugin, that allows creating projects with a .kateproject file or a VCS system. This is not exactly user-friendly in my opinion, because you can't set up arbitrary random directory as a project easily.


The solution

When the Project plugin is active, add an option right under [File] -> [Open] which would be something like "Open directory as project", to allow the user to select a directory and in the selected directory create a .kateproject file which would contain the following contents:

{
  "name": "DIRNAME", 
  "files": [ 
    { "directory": ".", "recursive": 1 }
]
}

or something similarly generic.
Also, it would be good to always show ".kateproject" file in the Project's sidepanel as it is an important part of the project.