Visual Studio Code has been my favorite programming text editor and integrated development environment (IDE) for years. Even as I’ve switched between working on front-end web development, CLI tools, and back-end server code, VS Code hasn’t given me a reason to look for any other editors.
I started learning web development with Adobe GoLive (RIP) and Dreamweaver, and eventually moved to Sublime Text for all software development. I later used GitHub’s Atom Editor for a while—as a fun fact, the Electron desktop framework that is now used for countless desktop applications was originally built for Atom. Finally, sometime around 2018, I moved to Visual Studio Code as Atom went into maintenance mode, and I’ve stayed there ever since.
Cross-Platform and Remote
I have switched desktop platforms over and over again in the last decade, partially due to personal frustrations, and partially because I need to write about them for my job. My daily driver has gone from Mac to Windows, then to Linux and ChromeOS, then back to Windows, and finally back to Mac. I still keep Linux and Windows on various PCs and virtual machines, though.
Moving between operating systems repeatedly was much easier because of Visual Studio Code. I didn’t have to find a different text editor or IDE, because VS Code works more or less the same across Windows, macOS, and Linux. It can even synchronize settings and installed extensions to a Microsoft or GitHub account. When I switched from a laptop to a desktop, or vice versa, everything was where I left it except the actual project files.
Visual Studio Code also supports remote development on a Linux host, including a VPS or Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) environment. This means you can open and use VS Code normally on a Windows, Mac, or Linux machine, but with the terminal, files, and build tools running from a remote Linux device. It’s like remote desktop, but the actual interface is still rendered on the client device inside VS Code, so it’s more responsive.
I only used this feature once, but it worked perfectly. I wanted to add 64-bit ARM Linux support for my Nexus Tools installer, which is a command-line Dart application. I only had x86 PCs and a few old 32-bit Raspberry Pi boards, and I didn’t want to set up an emulator (too slow) or an ARM VPS (that costs money). Fortunately, I had a PinePhone Pro phone, which has a 64-bit ARM CPU and can run regular desktop Linux software.
I installed VS Code on the PinePhone, connected to its remote session from my Linux desktop, and that was it. I could work on my code from my desktop, just like any other project open in VS Code, but the actual files and terminal sessions were running on the phone in another room connected to my Wi-Fi network. It was a much better experience than trying to use VNC remote desktop or Nano/Vim in an SSH session.
Git Integration and Plugins
The most powerful component of Visual Studio Code is its plugin ecosystem. New features, integrations with other development tools, and all programming languages are powered by plugins you can add or remove straight from the editor. This gives VS Code robust support for HTML, CSS, Python, JavaScript, C#, Go, PHP, Markdown, and countless other programming and markup languages.
The extensive language support, provided through those plugins, is a significant reason why I have stuck with VS Code for so long. Most of my development work is front-end web projects, like the Link Cleaner web app or Peek browser extension—those are mostly JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. I have occasionally worked on PHP, Python, Dart, and Bash code though, and VS Code handled all of them well. No matter if I’m working on a Dart application or a website, I can use the same keyboard shortcuts and (roughly) the same autocomplete functions.
I haven’t installed many plugins beyond language support, but I will do a shoutout again for Discord Presence, which changes my status on Discord to my current file and workspace. It’s a fun way to connect my main IDE to the social platform I use the most.
Visual Studio Code’s excellent Git source control support has also been incredibly useful. I know some Git commands, but not having to open the terminal to commit or pull changes every time is great.
I know saying Visual Studio Code is great and useful isn’t a hot take by any means. Stack Overflow’s 2024 survey said 73.6% of software developers were using it as one of their development environments, so I’m definitely not in the minority here. Still, there aren’t many tools I have used for as long as VS Code. I haven’t run into any significant bugs, it has worked well across all my computers, and it’s still free to use.
I’m sure I’ll eventually try another text editor, because the grass always seems greener from the other side, but I’m happy to continue using VS Code for the foreseeable future.