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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Visit VS Code Marketplace, search for the GitLens extension, and directly install it in your local VS Code application.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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