My VS Code setup for 2020

#code #tools #vscode

I'm often asked about my VS Code setup so today I'm sharing a quick walk-through of my VS code setup for 2020.

A lot of developers depend on their code editor like an appendage. I'll try any editor so long that it provides speed, efficiency, and less annoying workflows. Out of the box, I think VS code is a very annoying editor but after some time configuring to my liking, it finally has become a valuable tool in my arsenal.

I came from the Sublime Text like many. What I liked about that code editor was its super speedy experience. You needed to do very little to get up and running. All that is to say that Sublime Text does take some configuration to get "just right" much like VS code. Configuration was typically all set via JSON which for most developers is no big deal but some prefer a GUI.

The introduction of VS code initially didn't appeal to me. The thought of switching code editors sounded daunting as you have to learn new key commands, patterns, and flows. Fortunately, VS code is very easy to migrate to from Sublime Text if you're a key command power user. The settings from Sublime Text can be mapped the same to VS Code. One thing I miss from Sublime Text is being able to open a new tab of an individual file and separate it from the workspace. VS code only allows you to add or remove additional panes within the same window which is a bummer.

I specifically turn off as much of the suggestions and overlay hints as I can inside VS code. I have no idea why this appeals to some developers as it's usually in my way.

Extensions

I'm a big proponent of "less is more" with my setup. Because of that, you'll see very few extensions. The ones I use typically include snippets or syntax highlighting that VS code doesn't already have.

Themes

I've had Night Owl installed for some time. It's a great theme in a few flavors. I prefer the dark theme without italics. I also use Fira Code as my font at about 16px in size. Fira Code includes all the fancy ligatures which make coding more fun.

I go into more specifics in the video but hopefully, you enjoyed this walk-through. If you have more you'd like to know about my setup, computer, apps I use, etc... let me know!