Imagine a coding environment that not only boosts your productivity but also sparks joy with every keystroke. Recently, I've fine-tuned my Visual Studio Code (VSCode) setup to help me work most efficiently and center joy. Trying a few various themes and plugins has ultimately allowed me to craft a toolkit that's geared towards my preferred workflow.
For more info about how VSCode fits into my broader prototyping toolkit see 2022-prototyping-toolkit
Theme
For my theme, I decided to combine Ayu and Panda Theme. The former is a minimal and flat theme that emphasizes ease of use, while the latter adds an extra layer of fun with its vivid colors. Together, they provide an environment that satisfies my need for both productivity and delight. I like to have my system use a light theme during the day and a dark theme at night, so I have themes to match both modes.
Plugins
- GitHub Co-Pilot provides an easy way for me to track and manage important issues and pull requests.
- GitHub Pull Requests makes it easy to create new pull requests right from vscode.
- GitLens helps me better understand who wrote what and when, making collaboration and debugging a lot less stressful.
- Live Share connects me with my teammates in real-time and enables us to work together remotely, even on the same project.
- Prettier ESLint allows me to quickly and easily format my code and keep me sane.
- Toggle Light/Dark Theme helps me quickly switch between two different themes based on the system setting, which I do every day when it gets dark.
- Vitest allows me to run automated tests right inside my editor, which saves me time and helps me spot potential bugs quickly.
- Volar provides language enhancements when working with Vue.
- VSCode Pets provides a fun way to take a break when I need a mental breather, as well as a feeling of companionship while I'm coding.
