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Nadim Chowdhury
Nadim Chowdhury

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Top 10 VS Code Extensions for MERN Developers

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is a popular choice for MERN stack (MongoDB, Express.js, React, Node.js) developers due to its lightweight nature, powerful features, and vast extension marketplace. Here are the top 10 VS Code extensions every MERN developer should have to enhance productivity and streamline development.

1. ESLint

Why?

  • Ensures consistent coding style
  • Highlights syntax errors and potential issues
  • Helps enforce best practices

Install it by searching "ESLint" in the Extensions Marketplace and configuring your .eslintrc.json file.

2. Prettier - Code Formatter

Why?

  • Automatically formats code for readability
  • Works well with ESLint
  • Supports multiple programming languages

Configure it to format on save by adding:

"editor.formatOnSave": true
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3. React Developer Tools

Why?

  • Provides React component debugging capabilities
  • Highlights component hierarchy
  • Helps inspect props and state

Works best with the React Developer Tools browser extension.

4. MongoDB for VS Code

Why?

  • Connect to MongoDB databases directly from VS Code
  • Browse and query data without switching applications
  • Supports connection to local and cloud-based databases

5. REST Client

Why?

  • Test APIs directly within VS Code
  • Alternative to tools like Postman
  • Supports saving API requests for future use

Example usage:

GET https://api.example.com/users
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6. Thunder Client

Why?

  • Lightweight API testing tool
  • Provides an intuitive UI for making HTTP requests
  • Works seamlessly with RESTful APIs

Great alternative to Postman for quick API testing.

7. Auto Rename Tag

Why?

  • Automatically renames paired HTML/JSX tags
  • Saves time when editing React components
  • Works well with JavaScript and TypeScript

8. GitLens – Git Supercharged

Why?

  • Provides Git history, blame, and insights directly within VS Code
  • Helps track changes and identify authors of code
  • Integrates well with GitHub, GitLab, and Bitbucket

9. JavaScript (ES6) Code Snippets

Why?

  • Speeds up development with useful JavaScript and React snippets
  • Provides shortcuts for creating components, hooks, and common functions

Example:
Typing rafce creates a React functional component automatically.

10. Docker

Why?

  • Simplifies containerized application development
  • Allows running MongoDB, Node.js, and other services in isolated containers
  • Provides seamless integration with Docker Compose

Bonus Tip: Customize Your Workspace

For an even better experience, configure your settings.json file with useful tweaks:

{
  "editor.tabSize": 2,
  "files.autoSave": "afterDelay",
  "workbench.colorTheme": "Monokai Dimmed"
}
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Conclusion

Using these VS Code extensions, MERN developers can significantly enhance their workflow, write cleaner code, debug more efficiently, and stay productive. Install them today and take your development experience to the next level!

Did we miss any of your favorite VS Code extensions? Let us know in the comments! 🚀

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Disclaimer

This content has been generated with the assistance of AI. While I strive for accuracy and quality, please verify critical information independently.

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