Why VS Code?
VS Code is one of if not the most poplular free text editor on the market. In a survey done in 2019, over 4.9 million developers use VS Code.
In the past, when I was just introduced to web development I quickly learned about Sublime Text 2. Sublime was ok, it was my go to text editor for a long time, but it lacked a community. Sure there was something called the Sublime Package Control but it was quite limited and still is. And often you'd find a package you like only to find out that the package has not been updated for the paste 2-3 years.
About a half year ago I learned about VS Code. I've heard about it before that but for some reason I refused to look at it. I am a macOS user and hearing about a Microsoft product did not resonate with me.
I enjoy using VS Code for 3 simple reasons.
- VS Code is Free.
- VS Code offers integrations with GitHub.
- VS Code has an enormous library of community create packages, themes, etc.
My VS Code Setup
My theme for choice for a while now has been CodeSandbox Black this theme tries to replicate the default theme for CodeSandbox. I'm a sucker for dark themes! 😜
As Many of you, I use over 10 - 15 VS Code extensions on a daily basis. Here are a few of them.
Auto Close Tag
By default VS Code doesn't close your HTML/XML tags for you, which quickly became frustrating. This extension closes your tags for you.
Auto Rename Tag
Brought to you by the same Developer of Auto Close Tag. This extension changes the name of the closing tag for you.
Bracket Pair Colorizer 2
When working with large files containing large amounts of code, it becomes very easy to get lost. Bracket Pair Colorizer 2 creates a clear colored line before a start of a code block and the end.
GitLens - Git supercharged
If you're not familiar with GitLens, go and add it to your extensions now!
This extension allows you to see line by line, who the owner is, when it was committed, and what the commit message was.
Conclusion
While there are many other worthy mentions, I'll keep this list short. If you'd like a full list of my extensions, feel free to ask.
Top comments (11)
God post!
I used Sublime Text a time ago, like you. And then, when I meet vscode I moved to it.
For me, it's the best code editor ever! I has used Atom, Sublime, Notepad++... But vscode is the best!
Right now I moved for a IDE, cause it provide some resources that I'm needing, but I still love vscode.
I've used others like you mentioned, atom, notepad++ but sublime was my go to for the longest time.
You can use Prettier too it's a good code formatter and probably a lifesaver for me.
(Just an addition) After installing Prettier, you should go to Setting and change the Auto format to Prettier, also enable auto format on saving and pasting so that Prettier will be called any time you hit Save button or pasting a bunch of code from an external source.
I've used Prettier for a bit, but noticed that sometimes i crams code together, I've been using Beautify recently and it feels a bit more polished
Hi Tim,
There are settings in VS Code for auto renaming and auto closing tags. Check out my article to see the details:
VS Code: You don't need that extension
Rob OLeary ・ Aug 5 ・ 7 min read
great list! definitely gonna start using auto rename tag and gitlens.
auto-rename is a life saver
Love the extensions list at the end. Welcome to the dark side.
YES! Check out my VS Code theme called
Black Sand: rel.ink/n8GZJVBracket Pair Colorizer is so good it should be baked in.