10 VSCode Extensions Every Developer Needs in 2026
By Sabbir AI
Look, I've been using VSCode since 2016, and I've probably installed over 200 extensions at this point. Most of them? Absolute garbage that slowed down my editor and made me question my life choices. But here's the thing—there are a few extensions that are so damn good, I genuinely can't work without them anymore.
Last week, I had to help a junior dev set up their environment, and they were using vanilla VSCode. Watching them work was like watching someone try to cut a steak with a spoon. It physically pained me. So I'm writing this post to save you from that fate.
1. GitHub Copilot – Your AI Pair Programmer
Okay, I know what you're thinking. "Another Copilot shill." But hear me out. I was skeptical too. I thought it'd just autocomplete garbage and make me lazy. Turns out? I was half right—it does make me lazy, but in the best way possible.
Here's a real example from yesterday: I was writing a function to parse CSV files with custom delimiters. I typed the function name parseCustomCSV and the parameters, and Copilot literally wrote the entire implementation—including edge cases I hadn't even thought about. Was it perfect? No. Did it save me 20 minutes of googling and stackoverflow? Absolutely.
The wild part is how it learns your coding style. After a few days, it starts suggesting code that actually looks like something you'd write. It's like having a junior dev who's really eager to help but occasionally suggests weird stuff you need to review.
Pro tip: Use Copilot for boilerplate and repetitive code, but don't blindly accept every suggestion. I've seen it confidently suggest deprecated methods like it's 2020 again.
2. Prettier – Because Tabs vs Spaces Debates Are Stupid
I used to work at a startup where we spent literally 2 hours in a meeting arguing about whether to use semicolons in JavaScript. TWO. HOURS. You know what ended that debate? Prettier.
Prettier is the most opinionated code formatter you'll ever meet, and that's exactly why it's beautiful. You install it, configure it once (or don't—the defaults are actually pretty good), and never think about formatting again. It just works.
Every time you save a file, boom—perfectly formatted code. No more mixing tabs and spaces like a psychopath. No more inconsistent quote marks. No more "can you fix the indentation on this PR?" comments.
Here's my config that I copy to every project:
{
"semi": true,
"singleQuote": false,
"tabWidth": 2,
"trailingComma": "es5",
"printWidth": 100
}That's it. Set it and forget it. Your code reviews will suddenly be about actual logic instead of bikeshedding over formatting.
3. ESLint – Your Code's Personal Trainer
ESLint is that friend who tells you the brutal truth when you need to hear it. "Hey buddy, you're using a variable before declaring it." "Um, did you really mean to compare with == instead of ===?" "Why are you importing something you're not using?"
I've caught so many bugs with ESLint before they hit production. Just last month, I was refactoring some React code and accidentally left a missing dependency in a useEffect. ESLint immediately yelled at me with a red squiggly line. Crisis averted.
The best part? You can customize the rules to match your team's standards. Too strict? Turn some rules off. Too lenient? Add more. Want to enforce a specific naming convention? There's a rule for that.
Starter config for React projects:
{
"extends": [
"eslint:recommended",
"plugin:react/recommended",
"plugin:react-hooks/recommended"
],
"rules": {
"no-console": "warn",
"no-unused-vars": "error",
"react/prop-types": "off"
}
}4. GitLens – Git Superpowers
You know that moment when you're looking at some absolutely unhinged code and thinking "WHO wrote this?" and then you run git blame and realize it was you from 6 months ago? GitLens makes those moments way more convenient.
GitLens turns VSCode into a Git powerhouse. Inline blame annotations show you who changed each line and when. Hover over any line to see the full commit message. Click to see the entire diff. It's like having X-ray vision for your codebase's history.
My favorite feature? The "file history" view. You can see every change made to a file over time, who made them, and why. This is insanely useful when you're trying to understand why some weird business logic exists (spoiler: it's usually because of a production bug from 2 years ago).
The free version is honestly enough for most people, but the paid version has some nice features like worktree support and better visualization. I don't pay for it because I'm cheap, but if my company offered to expense it, I'd click subscribe so fast.
5. Thunder Client – API Testing Without Leaving VSCode
I used to alt-tab between VSCode and Postman like a maniac. Code, test, debug, repeat. It was exhausting. Then I found Thunder Client and my life got noticeably better.
It's basically Postman but built directly into VSCode. You can send HTTP requests, save collections, use environment variables—all the good stuff. But you never have to leave your editor.
Here's why this matters: when I'm building an API, I can write a function, test it immediately in Thunder Client (which is right there in the sidebar), see it fail, fix it, and test again in seconds. No context switching. No waiting for Postman to boot up. Just fast iteration.
Quick tip: Use environment variables for different environments (dev, staging, prod). You'll thank me when you accidentally don't nuke production data.
6. Error Lens – Because Hovering Is For The Weak
Error Lens takes all those errors and warnings that normally hide in tooltips and shoves them directly in your face inline. Sounds annoying, right? It's actually incredible.
Instead of hovering over a red squiggle to see what's wrong, the error message appears right there at the end of the line in big, colorful text. You can't miss it. Which means you fix it immediately instead of letting errors pile up like dirty dishes.
I've become so dependent on this that when I pair program on someone else's machine without it, I feel like I'm coding blindfolded. It's that good.
7. Auto Rename Tag – For Your Sanity
If you write HTML, JSX, or any XML-based markup, you need this. When you rename an opening tag, it automatically renames the closing tag. That's it. That's the extension.
Sounds simple, but you know how many times I've changed <div> to <section> and forgotten to update the closing tag? Too many. This extension has saved me from so many stupid bugs.
8. Import Cost – Because Bundle Size Matters
This extension shows you the size of imported packages right there in your editor. You import lodash, and it tells you you just added 70KB to your bundle. You import lodash/get specifically, and it's only 2KB. Suddenly you care about tree shaking.
I used this to optimize a Next.js app last month and cut the bundle size by 40% just by being more careful about what I imported. The app went from "kinda slow" to "actually snappy." Users noticed. My boss noticed. I got compliments. All thanks to a VSCode extension making me feel guilty about large imports.
9. Todo Tree – For Your ADHD Brain
I have a terrible habit of leaving // TODO: fix this later comments everywhere and then never fixing them. Todo Tree collects all your TODO, FIXME, and HACK comments in one place so you can't ignore them.
It creates a sidebar view showing every single TODO in your codebase. You can click to jump to it, mark it as done, or feel appropriate shame about how many you've accumulated. As I write this, I have 47 TODOs in my current project. I'm not okay.
10. Live Server – For Rapid Frontend Prototyping
When I'm working on static sites or just prototyping UI quickly, Live Server is essential. Right-click an HTML file, click "Open with Live Server," and boom—instant local server with live reload.
Change your CSS? The page refreshes instantly. Update your HTML? Already reloaded. It's like having magic powers.
Sure, you could set up a whole build process with Webpack or Vite for a simple landing page. Or you could just use Live Server and actually get work done. I know which one I'm choosing.
Honorable Mentions (Because I Can't Stop Myself)
Better Comments: Makes your comments color-coded (red for warnings, green for TODOs, etc.). Surprisingly useful.
Path Intellisense: Autocompletes file paths. You don't realize how often you typo paths until this saves you.
Peacock: Colors your VSCode workspace. Great when you have multiple projects open and don't want to commit to the wrong repo (yes, I've done this).
The Setup That Actually Works
Here's my honest advice: don't install all of these at once. Start with Prettier and ESLint to get your code quality foundation solid. Add Copilot if your company pays for it (or if you're willing to shell out $10/month—it's worth it). Then gradually add the others as you feel the need.
Too many extensions will slow down VSCode, and you'll end up frustrated. I learned this the hard way when my editor started taking 10 seconds to open files. Turns out having 50 extensions running is bad for performance. Who knew?
Also, keep your extensions updated. I know it's annoying when VSCode bugs you about updates, but outdated extensions can cause weird bugs or security issues. Just click the update button. It takes 5 seconds.
Final Thoughts
VSCode is already a great editor out of the box. But with the right extensions? It becomes a personalized coding environment that feels like it was built specifically for you. These 10 extensions have legitimately made me a better, faster, and less frustrated developer.
You don't need to use all of them. You don't need to use any of them, technically. But I'm pretty confident that if you try even 3 or 4 of these, you'll wonder how you ever coded without them.
Now go forth and extend your editor. Your future self will thank you when you're debugging at 2 AM and GitLens helps you figure out which commit broke everything.