The Must-Have Extensions
VS Code's extension ecosystem is massive — over 40,000 extensions. We cut through the noise and identified the 12 that consistently boost developer productivity.
Code Quality
- ESLint: Real-time linting for JavaScript/TypeScript. Catches errors before they hit production.
- Prettier: Automatic code formatting on save. Eliminates style debates in code reviews.
- Error Lens: Shows errors and warnings inline — no more hovering over red squiggles.
Productivity
- GitHub Copilot: AI pair programmer that suggests entire functions. The ROI is enormous for boilerplate code.
- Multi Cursor Case Preserve: Find-and-replace that preserves the case of the original text. Essential for refactoring.
- Auto Rename Tag: Rename an HTML/JSX opening tag, closing tag updates automatically.
Visual & Theming
- One Dark Pro: The most popular theme for a reason — easy on the eyes during long coding sessions.
- Material Icon Theme: File icons that make your explorer tree instantly scannable.
- Indent Rainbow: Color-codes indentation levels — makes deeply nested code readable.
Collaboration & DevOps
- GitLens: See who changed every line, when, and why. Git blame on steroids.
- Docker: Manage containers, images, and compose files directly from VS Code.
- Remote - SSH: Edit files on remote servers as if they were local. Essential for cloud development.
Bonus Tip
Don't install extensions you don't actively use. Each extension adds startup time and memory usage. We recommend auditing your extensions every month — disable anything you haven't used in 30 days.
Related Dev Tools
Many VS Code tasks can also be done in the browser. Our JSON Formatter, Regex Tester, and Diff Checker run instantly without any installation.