Must-Have Extensions

These extensions are used by millions of developers for good reason.

Code Quality

ESLint — Catches JavaScript/TypeScript errors in real-time. Essential for any JS project.

Prettier — Auto-formats your code on save. No more debating tabs vs. spaces.

// settings.json
{
  "editor.formatOnSave": true,
  "editor.defaultFormatter": "esbenp.prettier-vscode"
}

Productivity

GitLens — See who changed each line, browse history, compare branches — all inline.

GitHub Copilot — AI-powered code completion. Learns from your codebase and suggests entire functions.

Thunder Client — Test APIs directly in VS Code. A lightweight alternative to Postman.

Language Support

Python (by Microsoft) — IntelliSense, linting, debugging for Python.

Tailwind CSS IntelliSense — Autocomplete for Tailwind classes.

Prisma — Syntax highlighting and formatting for Prisma schema files.

Visual

Error Lens — Shows errors and warnings inline, right next to the problematic code.

Indent Rainbow — Colors each indentation level. Makes nested code readable at a glance.

How to install

Open the Extensions sidebar (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + X), search for the extension name, and click Install. Or use the terminal:

code --install-extension dbaeumer.vscode-eslint
code --install-extension esbenp.prettier-vscode