Useful VSCode extensions

I don’t use that many extensions with VSCode as it works so well out of the box for JavaScript / web development. There are still a few extensions I find useful and worth having.

Debugger for Chrome

Debugger for Chrome screenshot
Screenshot from the extensions MIT licensed repository

Allows adding break points and watches to Chrome from within the editor.

I’ve had a few issues with this not working at times but when it works it’s really useful! Debugging can be done directly in Chrome but being able to do it from the editor is so handy at least when it works. Hopefully the reliability will improve as the tools get more mature.

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ESLint

ESLint is the one extension I really wouldn’t want to be without. ESLint catches some basic errors and really helps to keep the code style consistent especially when there are multiple developers working on a codebase.

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Go

VSCode Go screenshot
Screenshot from the extensions MIT licensed repository

Allows auto imports, rename and formatting on save which is brilliant!

I wish every language had a formatting tool like gofmt. Sure, I might not agree with all the style choices made but, in my opinion, consistency is far more important. Plus it prevents bikeshedding on style choices like tabs vs spaces, etc.

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Python

VSCode Python demo
Screenshot from the extensions MIT licensed repository

This one I haven’t used this one that much as I don’t write a lot python but when I do I’ve found this extension useful.

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Quokka.js

A handy JS REPL that lets you run JS line by line as you type and see the result directly in the editor.

Great for doing quick prototyping. It’s free but there is also a pro version (currently $50) that has a few extras.

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Deepscan

Deepscan is a bit like ESLint except it aims to find harder to spot code issues by analysing it. I’m currently using Deepscan’s GitHub integration to check the SCEditor repository and it has found few hard to spot issues.

Unfortunately, unlike ESLint, Deepscan requires sending code to their servers to check it which might be an issue for non-OSS code. I would recommend it for OSS code though!

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