VS Code is one of the most-used code editors available. Its large ecosystem has been one of the main reasons behind this popularity. It supports a variety of extensions that can drastically enhance and help developers write better code.
As developers, it is essential to be aware of these extensions to get the most out of VS Code. This article will discuss 15 VS Code extensions that developers should know to be productive in implementing applications.
1. Live Server
The Live Server extension enforces auto-reload and simplifies developers’ work by displaying the results of their code directly in the web browser without reloading the page. It spares developers the burden of constantly saving work in the editor and then reloading the browser to see changes. The Live Server extension has more than 2.4 million downloads.
Installation
In VS Code, press ctrl+p and execute the command ext install ritwickdey.liveserver. Also, you can visit VS Code Marketplace, search for the Live Server extension, and directly install it in your local VS Code application.
Features
- Easy to start and stop the server using the status bar.
- Hotkey support.
- Customizable server root, default browser, and port number.
- The Explorer menu lets you launch the browser and open HTML files.
- Assistance with files being excluded from change detection.
- Browser support.
- CORS is enabled by default.
- Support for HTTPS and proxy.
2. REST Client
Rest Client is another popular VS Code extension with more than 2.6 million downloads. It allows developers to send HTTP requests and read the return message directly in VS Code.
Installation
In VS Code, press ctrl+p and execute the command ext install humao.rest-client. Otherwise, you can visit VS Code Marketplace, search for the Rest Client extension, and directly install it in your local VS Code application.
Features
- You can inspect and delete request history.
- Multiple requests can be written in a single file.
- Only the response body and natural response are saved to the local disk.
- Customizable font size, family, and weight.
- Response preview with standard components.
- Proxy support.
- Support for HTTP language.
- You can send SOAP requests.
3. Settings Sync
The Settings Sync extension allows developers to sync snippets, settings, themes, key bindings, and file icons across various machines while working on a development project. It uses GitHub Gists to facilitate these services. You can find more details on configuring Github with Settings Sync in their documentation. Settings Sync has more than 3 million downloads.
Installation
In VS Code, press ctrl+p and execute the command ext install Shan.code-settings-sync. Otherwise, you can visit VS Code Marketplace, search for Settings Sync extension, and directly install it in your local VS Code application.
Features
- Simple one-click upload and download.
- A summary page at the end on which to include information about the configuration and affected extensions.
- Automatic updates as the computer starts up.
- You can use a GitHub account token and Gists.
- A GUI to change settings.
- Support for GitHub Enterprise.
4. Docker
Docker is not a new thing for modern developers. The Docker extension for VS Code brings all its container management features to your favorite code editor. It has more than 17 million downloads and can be used to create, manage, and debug containerized applications with a few clicks.
Installation
First, you need to install Docker on your computer.
Then, in VS Code, press ctrl+p and execute the command ext install ms-azuretools.vscode-docker. Or you can visit VS Code Marketplace, search for the Docker extension, and directly install it in your local VS Code application.
Features
- Support for debugging for Node.js, Python, and .NET Core inside containers.
- Suggestions when editing Dockerfile and docker-compose.yml files.
- Docker files can be generated.
- An explorer view.
- Built-in Docker commands.
- Tooltips when hovering over a Docker Compose YAML attribute.
5. Peacock
The Peacock extension is useful for changing the color of your workspace when you have multiple code editor windows active at once. It’s useful to distinguish among the various code editor windows and projects. The Peacock extension has more than 1.7 million downloads.
Installation
In VS Code, press ctrl+p and execute the command ext install johnpapa.vscode-peacock. Or you can visit VS Code Marketplace, search for the Peacock extension, and directly install it in your local VS Code application.
Features
- Integrate with Live Share and VS Code Remote.
- Create user-defined colors.
- Customize different parts of VS Code with different colors.
- Use contrast adjustments in different parts of the editor.
6. Prettier
Prettier is one of the most popular VS Code extensions at the moment. It helps developers follow a standard style guide and maintain the same styles across the development team. With Prettier, you can quickly clean and format your code base to remove inconsistencies. More than 23 million developers have downloaded the VS Code Prettier extension so far.
Installation
In VS Code, press ctrl+p and execute the command ext install esbenp.prettier-vscode. Or you can visit VS Code Marketplace, search for the Prettier extension, and directly install it in your local VS Code application.
Features
- Support for JavaScript, TypeScript, JSON, CSS, and more.
- Code formatting with keyboard shortcuts.
- Automatic formatting of your scripts so you can read them easily.
- Easy to set up.
7. Stylelint
Stylelint is a simple, automated linter add-on for VS Code, capable of highlighting code problems, stylistic errors, bugs, and other dubious constructs. In addition, it forces the development team to follow a set of defined stylistic rules to prevent junk in the code.
Installation
In VS Code, press ctrl+p and execute the command ext install stylelint.vscode-stylelint. Or you can visit VS Code Marketplace, search for the Stylelint extension, and directly install it in your local VS Code application.
Features
- More than 170 built-in rules for modern CSS features.
- Plugin support for personalized rule creation.
- Automatic repair of bugs in the code once it recognizes any patterns.
8. Import Cost
Import Cost shows an estimated import package size in your code. It can be used to prevent importing hefty packages into your project and ultimately improve application performance. It displays the package size as soon as you import the library in the VS Code editor.
Installation
In VS Code, press ctrl+p and execute the command ext install wix.vscode-import-cost. Or you can visit VS Code Marketplace, search for the Import Cost extension, and directly install it in your local VS Code application.
Features
- Support for multiple types of imports, including default, entire content, selective, and more.
- Compatible with JavaScript and TypeScript.
- Uses webpack to decide the package sizes.
9. SonarLint
The SonarLint VS Code extension is used to find issues in the code even before they arise. It identifies security flaws and defects as you develop the code in VS Code and allows you to fix them before merging the changes. SonarLint has more than 1.2 million downloads, and its straightforward interface and functions are one of the main developer attractions.
Installation
In VS Code, press ctrl+p and execute the command ext install SonarSource.sonarlint-vscode. Or you can visit VS Code Marketplace, search for the SonarLint extension, and directly install it in your local VS Code application.
However, SonerLint extensions require some prerequisites like JRE 11+ to work properly. You can find more on prerequisites in the SonerLint documentation.
Features
- Supports C++, C, Java, HTML, PHP, JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, and more.
- Can connect to SonarQube and SonerCloud.
- Supports PL/SQL analysis once connected with SonarQube.
10.Visual Studio Code Remote – SSH
The Remote – SSH VS Code extension allows developers to use any remote PC with an SSH server as their IDE. Most importantly, it does not require the source code to be on your local machine. Instead, it directly executes commands and other VS IDE extensions on the remote computer. As Remote – SSH is highly useful, it has more than 12 million downloads.
Installation
In VS Code, press ctrl+p and execute the command ext install ms-vscode-remote.remote-ssh. Or you can visit VS Code Marketplace, search for the Remote – SSH extension, and directly install it in your local VS Code application.
Features
- Supports multiple operations systems, including Windows, macOS, Ubuntu, Debian, and CentOS.
- Allows you to access powerful remote workstations from your PC to create apps and software.
- Instantly switches among different development environments without slowing down your local PC.
- Works together on an existing IDE from various remote machines.
11.GitLens
GitLens is a fantastic open-source extension for VS Code that allows developers to visualize code authorship instantly. With GitLens, you can find out by whom, why, and when a change was made to a code line within seconds and navigate among different versions of the code instantly. It has more than 16 million downloads.
Installation
Visit VS Code Marketplace, search for the GitLens extension, and directly install it in your local VS Code application.
Features
- Provides easy navigation across a file’s revision history.
- Displays the author and commits of the most recent modification at the end of each line.
- Offers rich sidebar view with commits view, repositories view, branches view, stashes, and more.
- Supports integrations with GitHub, GitLab, Gitea, Gerrit, GoogleSource, Bitbucket, and Azure DevOps.
12. Quokka
Quokka.js is another super useful VS Code extension for web developers for quick JavaScript and TypeScript prototyping. It immediately displays the results, inline console logs, expression values, and error messages as you modify the code. Ultimately, it speeds up the process of learning, prototyping, and testing the code. The Quokka.js extension has more than 1.8 million downloads.
Installation
In VS Code, press ctrl+p and execute the command ext install WallabyJs.quokka-vscode. Or you can visit VS Code Marketplace, search for the Quokka.js extension, and directly install it in your local VS Code application.
Features
- You can easily explore, learn, and test JavaScript and TypeScript code.
- CPU profiling, value explorer, live code coverage, and many more features.
- Your JavaScript code runs in VS Code, WebStorm, or Sublime. This allows you to avoid context switching and take advantage of your accustomed editor environment and extensions.
13. Live Share
Live Share is a VS Code extension that provides in-the-moment developer collaboration. Users can share a session with another person, enabling them to collaborate on the server, debug sessions, and changing code. The Live Share extension has more than 9.3 million downloads.
Installation
In VS Code, press ctrl+p and execute the command ext install MS-vsliveshare.vsliveshare. Or you can visit VS Code Marketplace, search for the Live Share extension and directly install it in your local VS Code application.
Features
- Developers can instantly exchange code samples with team members from the convenience of their preferred code editor.
- Collaborative editing mode to let multiple developers edit a single file at once.
- Collaborative debugging.
- Access control options to lock files or folders.
14. Project Manager
The Project Manager is a useful extension for project managers to use to oversee several DevOps projects on VS Code at once. Regardless of where the projects are located, you can use the Project Manager extension to access them from a single computer. The Project Manager extension has more than 2.6 million downloads.
Installation
In VS Code, press ctrl+p and execute the command ext install alefragnani.project-manager. Or you can visit VS Code Marketplace, search for the Project Manager extension, and directly install it in your local VS Code application.
Features
- Save workspaces or folders as projects.
- Create tags for your projects to organize them.
- Identify deleted or renamed projects with ease.
- Use a dedicated sidebar.
- Automatically detect Git, Mercurial, or SVN repositories.
15. Polacode
The Polacode extension can be used to download code snippets as .png and .jpg images. These screenshots retain all of the current VS Code styles and code fonts. Polacode has more than 794,000 downloads and can be a handy tool for creating tutorials and sharing code.
Installation
In VS Code, press ctrl+p and execute the command ext install pnp.polacode. Or you can visit VS Code Marketplace, search for the Polacode extension, and install it in your local VS Code application.
Features
- Resize the container or code snippet using the extension’s dragging capability.
- Modify how an image appears with a set of commands like polacode.shadow, polacode.target, polacode.backgroundColor.
Conclusion
This article discussed 15 VS Code extensions you can use to improve your programming skills and productivity. However, you should not install a bunch of extensions in your editor without an actual need. You need to understand your requirements and be selective about your extensions. I hope my suggestions help you choose the best VS Code extensions for your project. Thank you for reading!
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Comments (1)
Number 3: Don’t! Settings Sync extension is deprecated as it is no longer maintained. Use built-in Settings Sync functionality instead.
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