10 VS Code Extensions Worth Installing (and Why You Don't Need 50)

Every "must-have VS Code extensions" list has 40 entries, and every developer who installs all of them ends up with a slow editor that pops up three notifications a minute.

This list is deliberately short. These are extensions that earn their place every single day. Install what fits your work and skip the rest.

The essentials (almost everyone)

1. Prettier

Formats your code automatically when you save. No more arguing about tabs, semicolons or where the bracket goes. Set "Format on Save" to on in settings and forget it exists.

2. ESLint (for JavaScript and TypeScript)

Underlines mistakes and risky patterns as you type: unused variables, missing await, accidental == instead of ===. Prettier handles how code looks, ESLint handles whether it's wrong.

3. Error Lens

VS Code normally hides errors behind squiggly lines you have to hover over. Error Lens prints the error message right at the end of the line. Sounds minor. It's one of the biggest quality-of-life upgrades you can install.

4. GitLens

Shows who changed each line, when and in which commit, right in the editor. When you're staring at weird code thinking "why would anyone do this?", GitLens tells you who to ask (and sometimes the answer is you, eight months ago).

Very useful, depending on your work

5. Code Spell Checker

Catches typos in variable names, comments and strings. recieve, lenght and adress will never embarrass you in a code review again. It understands camelCase, so it won't flag getUserName.

6. REST Client

Send HTTP requests from a plain .http file in your project. Great for testing APIs without opening a separate app, and the requests live in your repo so teammates can use them too.

7. Docker

If you use containers, this gives you a sidebar to see running containers, view logs, open a shell inside one and edit Dockerfiles with autocomplete.

8. Live Server / Live Preview

For HTML and CSS work: opens your page in a browser and refreshes it every time you save. Essential when you're learning web development.

9. Todo Tree

Collects every TODO and FIXME comment in your project into one list in the sidebar. Slightly guilt-inducing. Very useful.

10. An AI assistant

GitHub Copilot is the most common, and its free tier is enough to find out if you like inline suggestions. There are other options too. We compare them in Copilot, Cursor or Claude Code?.

What not to install

• Themes and icon packs by the dozen. Pick one. Move on.
• Extensions for languages you don't use. Each one adds startup time.
• Duplicate formatters. Two formatters fighting over the same file is a special kind of chaos.
• Anything abandoned. If an extension hasn't been updated in years and has few installs, be cautious. Extensions run with access to your files.

Keep it fast

If VS Code starts feeling sluggish, open the Command Palette (Ctrl + Shift + P or Cmd + Shift + P) and run "Developer: Show Running Extensions". It lists how long each extension takes to start. The culprit is usually obvious.

You can also disable extensions per workspace, so your Python tools don't load when you're editing a website.

The setup in two minutes

1. Install Prettier, ESLint (if you write JavaScript), Error Lens and GitLens.
2. Turn on Format on Save in Settings.
3. Use VS Code for a week.
4. Only then add more, and only when you hit a real annoyance.

That last step is the whole secret. Good setups grow from problems, not from lists. Including this one.

New to Git? Start with The Git Commands You'll Actually Use.