Visual Studio Code (VS Code) has become the preferred code editor for many developers due to its speed, ease of use, and customizable features. VS Code's numerous extensions simplify development tasks and improve productivity. Here are nine essential VS Code extensions for every developer.
Prettier - Code formatter
Formatting your code manually can be tedious and error-prone. Prettier - Code formatter automates code formatting to maintain the same style and consistency throughout your codebase. The VS Code extension works hand in hand with Prettier to format your code consistently with a simple click.
ESLint
ESLint is a popular tool for detecting errors and potential problems in JavaScript code. The VS Code extension provides real-time error detection, enhances syntax highlighting, and significantly improves the editing process.
GitLens
GitLens is an all-encompassing Git integration extension for VS Code. It tracks code authorship, adds blame annotations, and complements inline code annotations. It also provides extensive information about commits, repositories, and branches.
Live Server
Live Server gives you a complete preview of your web app as you work on it. Live Server automatically updates your changes to HTML, CSS or JavaScript files in real-time.
Color Highlight
Color is a crucial aspect of web development. Color Highlight is a VS Code extension that highlights colors, making it easy to spot color value differences. It's especially helpful for projects involving themes or color-coded development stages.
Import Cost
Import Cost tracks the size of different libraries or packages imported in your codebase. It shows the real-time size of the imported packages and their cost alongside the import statement. This feature educates you on code optimization and keeps in mind the impact of each imported library/packaged on your code's performance.
Better Comments
Commenting plays an integral role in programming. Better Comments extension adds extra functionalities to syntax highlighting for comments, distinguishing between tasks, issues or as notes. It offers specific comment styling to help cue developers on the importance or urgency of a comment.
Material Icon Theme
Material Icon Theme is a simple but highly customizable extension that modifies the icons of files to make them more distinguishable. The icons are sorted based on directory structure and file type. It's highly recommended for teams or developers who work on multiple projects simultaneously.
REST Client
REST Client extension lets you test REST API endpoints by sending HTTP requests to given URLs. It helps you test and validate your API endpoints without having to leave the editor. It has support for many HTTP methods and complex HTTP headers to help you develop your API very quickly.
Code Spell Checker
Code Spell Checker is a VS Code extension that helps you avoid typos and misspellings in your code. It detects and highlights spelling errors in your code, comments, and strings. This extension is especially helpful for developers who are working in a multilingual environment or have code comments that need to be well-written. It can also be customized to include technical or domain-specific words. With this extension, you can ensure that your code is free from spelling errors and is easy to read and understand.
Conclusion
Visual Studio Code remains one of the best editors in the coding world, mainly because of its numerous extensions. In this blog, you have seen nine essential VS Code extensions every developer should have installed due to their benefits in improving productivity, development, and debugging experience. By installing these extensions, you can streamline your coding process, increase your productivity, and become more efficient as a developer.