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Make VS Code Even Better With These Settings and Tools
Improve the look and feel of your favorite IDE
The very first piece I ever posted here on Medium/Better Programming was about a few VS Code extensions I use even to this day. I’d always intended to create additional pieces regarding configuring VS Code but never got around to it. Since the last piece was focused more on extensions, this piece will be focused more on settings.
Many people already use VS Code because of its plethora of extensions that are made easily available via the extensions tab. However, there is a lot you can customize right out of the gate without needing to download any extensions. That’ll be our primary focus. You can quickly access your preferences by clicking the command and comma (cmd + ,) or by navigating to it under Code > Preferences > Settings.
Once there, you’ll be greeted with a nice UI of the editor’s settings. You can adjust your settings right here if you prefer, and VS Code also provides you with a little search bar at the top to help you search for any fields you’re looking for. Alternatively, you can click a button on the top right to open up your settings.json file. No matter your preference, you should be able to follow along.
Tip: For those editing their settings in the settings.json file, you can press control and space to see suggested code completion.
Auto Save
You noticed a bug in your code and go to fix it. When you go to test your fix, nothing changed … the bug persists. Odd, you’re sure your logic is correct but double-check it nonetheless. Frustrated, you try something else but still no dice. The cycle repeats itself, and you’re wasting more time on this problem than you think you should be. Why are your solutions not working? Oh, you forgot to save.
Avoid the above scenario by enabling autosave. VS Code provides you with some options as to how you want to handle your autosave. I opt for a basic time delay with a delay set to 1000. This ensures I never have to worry about manually saving my changes.
