Top VS Code Extensions to Boost Your Productivity in 2025

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is a powerful and popular code editor, but its true potential is unlocked through extensions. These add-ons can streamline your workflow, catch errors early, and even add a touch of fun to your coding sessions. Here are some of the best VS Code extensions you should consider using in 2025:

Essential Tools:

• Prettier - Code formatter: This opinionated code formatter ensures your code is consistently formatted, making it easier to read and maintain. Prettier can automatically format your code on save, removing excess spaces, adding semicolons, and enforcing a consistent style.

• Code Spell Checker: This extension helps you catch spelling mistakes in your code, preventing embarrassing errors in pull requests. It supports multiple languages and allows you to add custom dictionaries.

• ESLint: ESLint is a static code analysis tool that identifies potential problems in your JavaScript code. This extension highlights these issues directly within VS Code, making it easier to fix them before they become bigger problems.

• Error Lens: Error Lens enhances the error and warning indicators in VS Code. It highlights the entire line containing the error and displays the error message directly in the editor, eliminating the need to hover over the error to see the details.

• Material Icon Theme: This extension replaces the default VS Code icons with a more visually appealing set of Material Design icons. It also provides distinct icons for different file types and folders, making it easier to navigate your project.

Web Development Enhancements:

• Live Server: Live Server launches a local development server with live reload capability. This means that your changes to HTML, CSS, and JavaScript files are instantly reflected in the browser, speeding up your development process.

• Auto Rename Tag: This extension automatically renames the closing tag when you rename the opening tag of an HTML element. This saves you time and reduces the risk of errors.

Project Management and Organization:

• Peacock: Peacock allows you to assign different colors to different VS Code windows, making it easier to distinguish between multiple projects.

• Auto-Open Markdown Preview: This extension automatically opens the Markdown preview pane when you open a Markdown file. This is useful for quickly viewing the rendered output of your Markdown documents.

• Markdown All in One: This extension provides a comprehensive set of tools for working with Markdown files, including keyboard shortcuts for formatting, table of contents generation, and more.

Code Execution and Testing:

• Code Runner: Code Runner allows you to execute code snippets directly within VS Code for a wide range of languages.

• Jest: This extension integrates Jest, a popular JavaScript testing framework, into VS Code. It provides features like test discovery, execution, and debugging directly within the editor.

• Jest Runner: This extension adds a "Run" and "Debug" button above each test in your Jest test files, making it easy to run individual tests.

Productivity Boosters:

• Simple React Snippets: This extension provides a collection of code snippets for common React tasks, such as creating components, handling events, and working with state.

• GitHub Copilot: GitHub Copilot is an AI-powered code completion tool that can suggest whole lines or even entire functions of code. It's a powerful tool for speeding up your development, but it does require a subscription.

• IntelliCode: IntelliCode is a free AI-assisted code completion tool that provides context-aware suggestions. While not as powerful as Copilot, it's a great alternative for those who prefer a free option.

Version Control and Collaboration:

• GitLens — Git supercharged: GitLens enhances the built-in Git capabilities of VS Code. It provides features like blame annotations, commit history visualization, and more. Some features require a paid plan.

• Git History: This extension provides a graphical representation of your Git history, making it easier to understand the evolution of your project.

• Git Graph: Similar to Git History, Git Graph provides a visual representation of your Git history, allowing you to easily navigate through commits and branches.

Fun and Personalization:

• vscode-pets: This extension adds virtual pets to your VS Code editor, adding a touch of fun and personality to your coding environment.

These are just a few of the many excellent VS Code extensions available. Experiment with different extensions to find the ones that best suit your needs and maximize your productivity.