Let's get one thing out of the way first: VS Code is technically not an IDE. An IDE is an Integrated Development Environment, where extensive tooling and integration with the language in use comes out of the box. VS Code cannot compile anything out of the box, and in a sense, it's more analogous to an IKEA of development environments. You build your own IDE by installing plugins and extensions, making it so that the environment you work in is entirely your own.

Because of that plugin support, VS Code is truly an IDE for anyone and everyone. There are thousands of extensions available to download in its marketplace, ranging from Gemini Code Assist, Kubernetes, and even Vim emulation. VS Code is the best development environment by far, and there are a ton of reasons why.

Wide programming language support

JavaScript, TypeScript, CSS, and HTML ship in the box

The best part about VS Code is its language support. There really is something for everyone, and you can download countless extensions for languages that you haven't even heard of from the marketplace. Plus, you'll obviously be able to run other languages that are more commonplace, such as Python, C, Java, Go, Ruby, and so much more.

The only downside is that most of these languages won't work out of the box, but it's incredibly simple to get them working. For example, with Python, you simply go to the extensions tab in VS Code and search "Python." All you need to do is click install, and moments later, VS Code will recognize Python with syntax highlighting, the ability to run and debug your code, refactoring, variable explorers, and everything else you'd expect from an IDE.

Integrated version control

VS Code supports Git out of the box, but you can use other SCMs too

One of my favorite aspects of using VS Code is its seamless integration with Git, and that feature is enabled out of the box. I can get a clear overview of my repository changes, including staged changes and merged changes. The status bar keeps me updated with my current branch, any unsaved changes, and the number of commits I’ve made or need to pull. It’s a big deal for staying on top of version control and branches without ever leaving the editor.

It's great for committing changes, too. I love how I can stage or unstage files just by dragging and dropping them or right-clicking and changing them with contextual actions. Even something as simple as just typing a commit message into the editor feels so much nicer.

Branch and remote management are also really intuitive, and VS Code has actually made Git less of a chore. The automatic saving and restoring of open editors when switching branches is a lifesaver. It even has a periodic fetching feature that can show me how many changes my local repo is ahead or behind the remote. This feature is off by default but can be enabled by changing the git.autofetch setting.

Even doing something like fixing a merge conflict is made easier (not easy, mind you) thanks to VS Code’s 3-way merge editor. It splits it into incoming and current changes while also allowing you to then resolve conflicts right within the editor. VS Code's Git integration is fantastic. It's a graphical way to use Git where buttons translate to commands, saving you the time and the difficulty of typing things up manually all the time.

A clean, easy to use UI

This one's personal preference

While it's personal preference, I love the UI of VS Code and find that it's easy to use and navigate. You can have a terminal docked at the bottom, your file tree on the left, and multiple panes of code in the main area. You can drag and move these to resize them and also hide other elements if you wish, making it so that you control how your development environment looks.

On top of that, VS Code has a ton of themes built in. You can even make your own theme if you want, choosing your own color schemes and design to truly make it your environment. It's a bit of an involved process (and it's an unofficial website) but you can absolutely do it if you'd like. I just use the default "Dark Modern" theme with VS Code.

There are so many extensions

Seriously, this is the best part of VS Code overall

VS Code's headlining feature is its extension support. Not only does it enable you use to practically any programming language that you'd like, but there are some fun extensions out there, too. The marketplace is built in to VS Code so that you can search for what you need, but you can properly go through it in your browser, too.

For example, you can get extensions that do all of the following:

• DVD screen saver bouncer
• AWS service manager
• Spotify integration
• Discord rich presence
• Jupyter Notebooks

and so much more. There's an extension for every use case, from the weird to the genuinely useful, and we're sure you'll find something you like.

VS Code may not be an IDE, but you can make it one

So the title of this article is technically a misnomer, but to be honest, is it really? An IDE is an Integrated Development Environment, and VS Code out of the box may not be one, but the entire point of it is that it's lightweight and made to be functional for whatever you need it to be. Even with Java, I used to be an IntelliJ hold out for a long time, and only in my final year of university did I finally take the plunge when I saw that all my friends were using VS Code... and I'm so glad I did.

I highly recommend giving it a shot. Maybe it won't suit you, but it's one of the best upgrades I made to my development workflow in a long time.