The Best VS Code Extensions I Use Daily

I've been using VS Code as my primary editor for years. The extension ecosystem is part of what makes it so good — but it's also easy to install fifty extensions and end up with something slow and cluttered. Here are the extensions that genuinely stay installed, opened every day, not just the ones I added once and never removed.

rust-analyzer #

If you write Rust, this is not optional. rust-analyzer is the official language server and provides inline type hints, error highlighting, code completion, go-to-definition, and refactoring tools that make the Rust development experience genuinely pleasant. The 'inlay hints' feature — which shows you the type of every variable inline in the code — is something I now miss in every other language.

GitLens #

GitLens annotates every line of code with the last git commit that touched it, inline in the editor. Hover over a line and see who changed it, when, and what the commit message said. For debugging historical changes or understanding why a piece of code exists, this is indispensable. The free tier is more than enough.

Error Lens #

Error Lens renders error and warning messages inline next to the code that caused them, rather than requiring you to hover over the squiggly line. When you're writing Rust and fighting the borrow checker, seeing the error message right there in the context of the code instead of in a separate panel saves constant eye movement. Small change, significant quality-of-life improvement.

Even Better TOML #

Rust projects use TOML for configuration (Cargo.toml), and this extension provides proper syntax highlighting, validation, and schema support for TOML files. It also validates your Cargo.toml against the Cargo schema, catching malformed dependency declarations before you try to build.

Thunder Client #

A lightweight REST client built into VS Code. I use it for testing API endpoints during development. It's not as powerful as Postman or Insomnia, but it's right there in the editor with no separate application to open. For quick ad-hoc requests, it's exactly the right tool.

The theme I'm using is One Dark Pro, which I've had installed for years without ever seriously wanting to switch. If you spend eight hours a day looking at code, your editor's appearance matters more than you might admit. Find a theme that doesn't make your eyes work harder than they need to.