I want to start saying that I'm not trying to claim that WebStorm is better than VsCode and it is because I think that someone can feel more comfortable in VsCode rather than WebStorm or even in another tool, like Vim, Sublime Text, whatever. I just want to share with you why I decided to move to WebStorm and why I'm still using it and maybe you could consider using it too!.
The first reason why I decided to start using WebStorm is because I changed my computer, and as a developer with a lot of work I needed to start coding as fast as I could, so I downloaded VsCode because that was the editor which I used to use, then I realised that I did not have all my plugins that I had in my previous computer (obviously) and I did not even remember their names, it was very frustrating. After 1 hour trying to set up my VsCode environment I remembered that I wanted to test WebStorm so I thought this was the perfect moment.
I downloaded it and I launched it. The first thing that I saw was that beautiful Darcula theme that I love so much, I actually had tried to find something similar for VsCode but I had not found anything so beautiful. Well, I know, if you are reading this you are looking for some reasons more interesting than a theme, I just wanted to say that I love this theme for coding <3.
TODO comments
When I opened my codebase in WebStorm is I was able to see my TODO comments highlighted, I remember that in VsCode I had to install a plugin in order to get this.
Auto Import
This is really amazing and I know VsCode has something similar but I'm 100% sure that it is not as accurate as this. I usually copy/paste code between files and it is very common that in my copied code I have some dependencies, it was truly good when I pasted my code and WebStorm automatically found all dependencies and included them at the top of my file.
Git Integration
After coding some hours I got my first conflict in some of my files and it was really surprising when I came across a friendly interface where I was able to resolve conflicts easily. I can leave you some screenshots here but you will have to test it by yourself to notice that it is very good.
Debugger
This is my WebStorm favorite thing. As a Full Stack Developer I have to code in both React and NodeJS. I think the best friend that a programmer can have is a great debugger, whether you are working in frontend or backend you will need a way to find errors easily. The WebStorm debugger is really useful. You can set it up fast and start using it. You can set breakpoints on your code and see all your variable values in a good interface. This is useful for both Frontend and Backend but if you are a Backend developer you will love this at the very beginning.
Refactor
Doing refactor is not a headache anymore if you have WebStorm. If you have been coding for a while I'm sure you have found yourself renaming a variable in your code, this can be really annoying but in WebStorm it is really easy, you just have to go to Refactor -> Rename and it will rename your variable in all the places you're using it and the most important thing is that it won't open all the files where you're using it like VsCode does. It is just an example of the Refactor feature.
Final Thoughts
These are just some of the things that I like about WebStorm. I wanted to keep this article short and just share with you my experience of using WebStorm. I almost forgot to say that WebStorm is not a Text Editor, it is a JavaScript IDE and if you decide to use it you will probably notice an increment in your RAM memory use.
Let me know in the comments section if you have already used WebStorm and what your experience has been. I will be waiting for your opinion.
Latest comments (44)
Sometimes, you forget how great some out of the box features are in Web Storm until you start using VS Code. Extension hunting is a big task in of itself in vs code
Everybody seems to say that all IntelliJ products are Nirvana, but I have to see to believe. So, where can I go to see cases of use for each feature Webstorm has.
In Storm everything is there and with configurations by default. Also, ftp/sftp, ssh, upload on save, good for PHP, auto import, format. With VScode sometimes there are bugs between the different extensions, the docs for them are different or unclear.
I like webstorm as well, but usually end up using vscode since it starts up faster.
The webstorm diff tool is amazing though, just like you said. Resolving git conflicts couldnt be easier.
Also wanted to mention, that if you are having a problem with getting started with vscode on a new machine, checkout the extention:
marketplace.visualstudio.com/items...
There are similar plugins for sublime and atom as well.
There is also a native settings sync in vscode preview that you can use:
code.visualstudio.com/docs/editor/...
Also see you're from Venezuela?! The USD in worth a hell lot more, how do you justifying spending that much money on a sub fee?!
You start up by saying that you needed to setup VSCode again on your new computer... Why not just use Settings Sync?! It would have taking your plugins and settings from your old computer and you would be up and going faster then you could download and install WebStorm 😁
I dont like webstorm's themes aren pretty as vs code
Years ago I made this switch, but the other way around, and I never looked back - WebStorm isn't bad but VSCode feels so much more simple, snappy & lightweight, and most of the things that you mentioned can be achieved with a couple of plugins. For me WebStorm and its advantages (if any) didn't justify paying a license fee anymore.
Of course you can have, but it's always good to have additional checks which you can't get by default when using ESLint. I don't really care what's popular or not - I was replying to your comment because it seems like you don't understand why someone would use proprietary solution. There are good reasons for that, as I stated above.
Linter can't do that because linter is not doing static analysis of the code. Your source shows the usage for JS - I'm talking about industry in general, which includes C#, C++, Rust, Python and developers using many other languages along with Java developers. It's not about being in majority but about developer's preferences. I don't know where you got the idea that JetBrains IDEs are used so rare. And it's not even IDEs only - they have DataLore which is the best database management tool I've ever used and TeamCity which is amazing CI/CD tool.