Qing Jiang (蒋擎)

A well-optimized coding environment can make all the difference in a developer's productivity and overall experience. Imagine a space where every tool you need is at your fingertips, distractions are minimized, and your workflow is seamless. This is the kind of environment we aim to create with Visual Studio Code (VSCode) and a carefully selected set of plugins.

In this guide, we will walk you through the essentials of setting up VSCode, one of the most popular and powerful code editors available today. We'll explore how to customize it with the right plugins to enhance your coding experience, making it not only efficient but also enjoyable.

Step 1: Install VSCode

• You can pass this section if you are already using VSCode. Please allow me to spend some time convincing those are not.
• Without doubt, VSCode is the most popular code editor by combining ease of use and popular IDE features.
• As a loyal user of VSCode, let me put some fancy features in VSCode that help me a lot in my deep learning life.
  • Extremely fast launching speed, just in a second
  • Freedom of customization. If you don't like so much the basic design proposed by default, you can create your customized themes with high flexibility that lets you customize nearly all UI elements of the editor. If you don't have the time to create one by yourself, you can choose a theme from the thousands available on the market; many of them are very nice.
  • Well support Git. Git is a commonly used development tool and even if you are not familiar with git, you can still manage to use it with the user-friendly operations provided in VSCode.
  • World's best market. There are literally thousands of extensions in the VS Code marketplace with new ones coming seemingly every single day.
• Talking is useless and you will find it out when you tried. https://code.visualstudio.com/

Step 2: Five Must-Install Plugins

Now that you have VSCode installed, it's time to enhance its capabilities with some essential plugins. These plugins will streamline your workflow, improve code quality, and make your coding environment more visually appealing. Here are five must-install plugins:

1. isort

• Description: isort helps you sort your Python imports, ensuring that they are organized and consistent across your codebase.
• Installation:
  • Open the Extensions view by clicking on the Extensions icon in the Activity Bar on the side of the window or pressing Ctrl+Shift+X.
  • Search for "isort".
  • Click "Install".
• Usage: Once installed, isort will automatically sort your imports whenever you save your Python files. You can also manually trigger it by running the "Sort Imports" command from the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P).

2. black

• Description:Black is an opinionated code formatter for Python that ensures your code adheres to PEP 8 standards, making it consistent and readable.
• Installation:
  • Open the Extensions view by clicking on the Extensions icon in the Activity Bar on the side of the window or pressing Ctrl+Shift+X.
  • Search for "black" by Microsoft.
  • Click "Install".
• Usage: After installing the Python extension, you can configure VSCode to use Black for formatting. Add the following settings to your settings.json file:

  							{
  							"python.formatting.provider": "black",
  							"editor.formatOnSave": true
  							}
  						

3. Material Icon Theme

• Description: This plugin provides a set of beautiful icons for your file and folder structure, making it easier to navigate and visually pleasing.
• Installation:
  • Open the Extensions view by clicking on the Extensions icon in the Activity Bar on the side of the window or pressing Ctrl+Shift+X.
  • Search for "Material Icon Theme".
  • Click "Install".
• Usage: After installing, open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P), type "Material Icons" and select "Material Icon Theme: Activate". Your file explorer will now display the new icons.

4. GitHub Theme

• Description: Bring the look and feel of GitHub to your VSCode environment with this theme that mimics the GitHub interface.
• Installation:
  • Open the Extensions view by clicking on the Extensions icon in the Activity Bar on the side of the window or pressing Ctrl+Shift+X.
  • Search for "GitHub Theme".
  • Click "Install".
• Usage: After installation, open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P), type "Color Theme" and select "GitHub Light" or "GitHub Dark" to apply the theme.

5. GitHub Copilot

• Description: GitHub Copilot is an AI-powered code completion tool that provides code suggestions and helps you write code faster and more efficiently.
• Installation:
  • Open the Extensions view by clicking on the Extensions icon in the Activity Bar on the side of the window or pressing Ctrl+Shift+X.
  • Search for "GitHub Copilot".
  • Click "Install".
• Usage: After installing, you need to sign in to GitHub and enable GitHub Copilot. Once enabled, it will provide inline code suggestions as you type, making coding faster and more intuitive.

I highly recommend these five plugins because they have significantly enhanced my coding experience, improving both the quality of my code and my overall programming efficiency. While VSCode offers a vast array of plugins, these five are essential and sufficient to create a powerful and enjoyable coding environment: