Table of Contents
Better Comments
Better Comments helps you strengthen the comments in code. Code comments are beneficial for readability, and providing explanations or context for future reference. Leaving good code comments can save others and yourself time in the future.
Supported features include the ability to categorize the annotations from alerts, writing queries, making a TODO list, and showing highlights. There is an extensive list of supported languages.
Lines of code that are commented out are styled to be dark gray with a text strikethrough, emphasizing their exclusion and signaling that they should be removed.
Bookmarks
Bookmarks allows you to bookmark positions in your code. These lines are noted with a blue bookmark icon. Bookmarks can be organized and named to allow for quick reference.
All of the bookmarks can be found in a dedicated sidebar section. This is a great tool to improve navigation, and to help you spend lest time searching for references.
Code Spell Checker
Code Spell Checker lives up to its name. It provides a basic spell checker to find and fix spelling errors throughout your codebase. Misspelled words are indicated with a squiggly underline. It is available in many languages.
This is one of my personal favorite extensions. I have caught and fixed so many typos thanks to this one.
CodeSnap
CodeSnap is used to snap a screenshots of code. It can come in handy for sharing code snippets with ease.
To snap a shot of your code, use (Ctrl+Shift+P on Windows and Linux, Cmd+Shift+P on OS X) and search for CodeSnap . Then select the area of your code to screenshot, adjust the width, and click the shutter button. You can also take a snapshot by selecting code, right clicking, and selecting CodeSnap.
There are websites that can do this, however, having these tools right in your editor allows for less context switching to boost productivity.
CodiumAI
CodiumAI is a free AI-powered code toolkit. It supports features like code autocompletion, chat, enhanced search, and suggestions.
AI has become a major player in improved developer productivity. Imagine spending half the time writing tests, allowing you to spend more time on other crucial, creative tasks.
When it comes to testing, CodiumAI excels. It can analyze code and generate meaningful tests and comprehensive test suites.
Error Lens
Error Lens improves highlighting of errors, warnings, and other language diagnostics. This is a great debugging and error-prevention tool to have.
Errors will not go unnoticed with this extension. Error and warnings are made prominent by highlighting the entire line, along with the related message printed inline.
Spend less time sourcing errors, as clicking on an an annotation routes you directly to the corresponding line of code.
Git History
Git History is an extremely useful extension for version control with Git (the extension has 10 million installs, so it’s clear that it’s popular). This extension allows you to explore the detailed history of your Git repository directly from the VSCode interface. You can view file history, git log, and perform comparisons.
It provides an interactive and visual representation of commit logs, branches, and file changes over time. This extension provides a more accessible and uncomplicated experience working on version-controlled projects.
GitLens
GitLens is the most robust Git tool, with so many features bundled into one extension. It has a strong open-source community, and it continues to have active support with frequent updates.
With GitLens, you can gain powerful insights into your repositories directly in VSCode. Annotations are integrated throughout the editor, displaying tons of Git information.
One of the most useful features of GitLens is the blame annotation. This allows you to see who wrote the code, and how long ago.
GitHub Copilot
GitHub Copilot has gained a ton of traction over the last two years. This product has revolutionized the coding experience by leveraging advanced AI capabilities. It not only assists with completing code snippets but also acts as an AI pair programming copilot, offering intelligent suggestions for entire lines or blocks of code.
The strength of GitHub Copilot lies in its integration with OpenAI, tapping into a vast repository of open-source code to provide contextually relevant and practical suggestions.
Icon Themes
While VSCode includes default icons, incorporating icon packs provides an excellent means to boost productivity and infuse a visually appealing aesthetic into the editor.
Icon packs provide a more extensive and visually recognizable set of icons compared to the defaults. This can make it easier for visual distinction between file types and folders. It can build intuitive recognition and reduce the cognitive load when navigating through files.
Indent Rainbow
Indent Rainbow is a colorful extension that you can use to make indentation comprehensible, aiding in maintaining well-organized and properly indented code.
Each indent is marked with a different color, alternating between 4 different colors. The colorful representation of the structure is not only useful but also visually appealing. This extension is particularly useful for languages that rely heavily on indentation such as YAML or Python.
Live Share
Live Share is a collaborative development extension, enabling real-time sharing.
The Live Share header in the extension marketplace. There are 15 million installs.
This extension helps you facilitate productive teamwork. Unlike traditional pair programming sessions, Live Share lets you work together while retaining your own editor preferences. Each person has their own cursor, and you can follow each others’ cursors around the codebase.
Multiple Cursor Case Preserve
The Multiple Cursor Case Preserve extension is a productivity-boosting tool that aids in rapid code editing.
By preserving the case, it streamlines the editing process by reducing the manual effort required to fix casing.
Path Intellisense
Path Intellisense is a file path productivity tool. It has intelligent auto-completion that dynamically suggests file paths and directory names as you type. It can minimize errors due to incomplete or wrong file paths.
Peacock
Peacock is a personal favorite of mine, as I love to add more color to my editor. Not only does it outline your editor in color, but it also allows you to configure specific colors for each workspace which is very beneficial when context switching.
Prettier
Prettier is a widely embraced code formatting tool with over 40 million installations. It provides you with a shared solution to improve code readability.
Project Manager
Project Manager is a simple tool to set projects (aka Favorites) and access them. It includes a dedicated side bar section to manage all of your projects in one place.
Tabnine
Tabnine is an free AI coding assistant. It can help to increase your productivity by providing real-time code completions.
Beyond basic code completion, it takes in the context and offers further relevant suggestions. This can be particularly useful when working in intricate codebases demanding extensive code exploration.
TODO Highlight
Never forget another to-do with TODO Highlight. It emphasizes TODO s and other annotations with a colorful highlight.
Todo Tree
Todo Tree offers a quick and organized solution to uncover annotations. It searches your workspace for TODO and other annotations and organizes them in a file tree.
Summary
VSCode stands out for its expansive extension ecosystem, making it a go-to choice for developers. Having thoroughly tested an array of popular extensions, I’ve carefully curated this list of my top recommendations.
This list is a great place to start from and build on. I highly encourage you to implement routine trial periods with new extensions. Delve into other extensions through the Visual Studio Code extension search.
Recognizing the importance of minimizing cognitive load for sustained focus, each extension on this list is chosen with the goal of reducing unnecessary mental burdens like context switching. Make VSCode become your main hub of development needs, and you an improved focus mode along with other benefits.
Q&A
Q1: Are these extensions free to use?
A1: Most of the extensions mentioned here are free, but some, like GitHub Copilot, might require a subscription.
Q2: Can I customize these extensions according to my preferences?
A2: Yes, many of these extensions offer customization options to tailor them to your specific needs and preferences.
Q3: Are these extensions compatible with different programming languages?
A3: Yes, these extensions support various programming languages, making them versatile tools for developers across different domains.
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