#1 most frequent
United States of America
49.5%5,588 installations of 11,281
What is Microsoft Visual Studio Code?
Microsoft offers Visual Studio Code, an open source text editor that supports code editing, debugging, IntelliSense syntax highlighting, and other features.
Categories & Use Cases
Who Buys & Uses Microsoft Visual Studio Code
#1 most frequent
Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services
26.0%2,931 installations of 11,264
#2 most frequent
Information
15.0%1,690 installations of 11,264
“It provides a cost free IDE option that allows for more rapid onboarding with clients”
#3 most frequent
Manufacturing
12.4%1,397 installations of 11,264
#2 most frequent
India
6.0%677 installations of 11,281
#3 most frequent
Canada
5.9%663 installations of 11,281
Pros
- Extensive ecosystem of extensions and plugins for adaptability
- Advanced AI and code completion capabilities (e.g., Copilot)
- Seamless integration with version control systems, especially Git
Cons
- Performance slowdowns with extensive customizations or large files
- Startup delays and slow global search operations
- User interface could be more beginner-friendly
The defacto IDE standard
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
Microsoft Visual Studio Code is our predominant IDE (integrated development environment) that we use both internally and with clients.
We use it to develop applications and platforms with clients across all verticals.
It being free to use, and with an open source core, means we can easily bring it with us to clients without having to engage in procurement and licensing.
Additionally our engineers are provided internally with GitHub Copilot, and it is often available on clients, integrating directly into our IDE.
We use it to develop applications and platforms with clients across all verticals.
It being free to use, and with an open source core, means we can easily bring it with us to clients without having to engage in procurement and licensing.
Additionally our engineers are provided internally with GitHub Copilot, and it is often available on clients, integrating directly into our IDE.
Pros
- Large ecosystem of extensions, you can nearly always find an extension for the project you're working on
- First party integration for language servers allows for rapid feedback during development
- First class support for dev containers allows us to reduce setup related issues during development
Cons
- GitHub Copilot integration lags behind what is available in Cursor and equivalents
- Support for certain languages lags behind more specialised IDEs, e.g. java with IntelliJ
- Better support for debugging slow extensions
Return on Investment
- It provides a cost free IDE option that allows for more rapid onboarding with clients
- It's native integration with GitHub copilot, and other LLM-centric extensions has enabled us to rapidly prototype new ideas
- It provides a standard basis for work that allows us to collaborate better as a team, and continuously improve
Usability
Alternatives Considered
IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm and Zed
Other Software Used
Notion, Microsoft 365, GitHub, GitHub Copilot, GitLab
Quick and easy almost IDE
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
I mostly use Microsoft Visual Studio Code in development projects that are less appropriate for development in Xcode due to the amount of overhead in getting Xcode projects set up properly. Microsoft Visual Studio Code works very well for our shell and Python scripting tasks related to our Jamf Pro instance. It is just easier to get a project put together with Microsoft Visual Studio Code for these small, low overhead items.
Pros
- Quick editing of low overhead projects
- Minimal configuration and setup
- Following along with online programming courses using Microsoft Visual Studio Code
- Cross platform (not just macOS/iOS) development
- Expandable with plugins
- General AI integration
Cons
- Better documentation integration
- Odd crashes sometimes
- Interface can be a little dense sometimes
- Build train support (automation)
Return on Investment
- It's one more development environment to learn - Negative
- It facilitates using Windows programmer resources on macOS projects - Positive
- It is fairly quick to learn, less time spent in training and skill development - Positive
- Integration with Copilot promotes "vibe coding" - Both Positive and Negative
Usability
Alternatives Considered
Xcode and Anaconda
Other Software Used
Ellucian Banner, Atlassian Confluence, Google Authenticator, Okta, 1Password, Adobe Acrobat, CoPilot, Google Chrome, Google Drive, Grammarly
Easy to use versatile and great community.
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
We mainly use it as a tool to write code in different languages such as Python, C++, c++ and HTML/CSS. One of the main problems it assesses is the integration of not only version control with git, but also the number of add-ons that help us work really efficiently and collaborate easily.
Pros
- Version control simple integration (git).
- Open source add on.
- Debugging tools.
- Personalization of coding styles.
Cons
- Friendlier interface for beginners.
- Additional hotkeys.
- Easier way to identify different development environments.
Return on Investment
- Version control that enables collaboration.
- Prevention of bugs in production environments.
- Free to use for the most part.
Usability
Alternatives Considered
Spyder, Atom, Terminal and Jupyter Notebook
Other Software Used
Atom, Jupyter Notebook, Terminal
Microsoft Visual Studio Code a powerful tool for coders
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
I've developed a Powershell script in Microsoft Visual Studio Code to automate my daily tasks. The integration with Microsoft Co-Pilot has been very useful for writing and troubleshooting these scripts. Mainly, I use this script to automate VMware tasks, such as generating remote connections and performing routine operations.
Additionally, it provides an option to manage version control via GitHub account integration.
Additionally, it provides an option to manage version control via GitHub account integration.
Pros
- Specially troubleshooting of the code
- Version control
- Terminal output
Cons
- Sometimes it isn't easy to find suitable addons
- Sandbox mode can add extra value
- Initial configuration can be tricky
Return on Investment
- It is entirely free but beneficial for coders.
- Using Microsoft Visual Studio Code, I've created several PowerShell scripts that save hundreds of minutes per month
- The usual workload has been reduced, and an improved work-life balance has been achieved.
Usability
Alternatives Considered
Microsoft Power Automate
Other Software Used
Notion, DeepSeek, Oracle Cloud Infrastructure
Microsoft Visual Studio Code The perfect swiss knife for your Journey
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
Microsoft Visual Studio Code (for his short name) his now my swissknife for a lot of my day-to-day job. Microsoft Visual Studio Code has replace notepad for scratch notes, temporary notes. Microsoft Visual Studio Code has replace a standard installation of Jupyter Notebook for research/lab using mainly markdown and python. Microsoft Visual Studio Code has replace command with is integrated terminal. Microsoft Visual Studio Code has unveil a great power with remote ssh and container dev. Last but not least with all the extensions available (docker, remote, kubernetes, Azure, Continue, Gitlab, and all specialized extensions) Microsoft Visual Studio Code his now my all-in-one place control tower. Before using Microsoft Visual Studio Code I was opening 5 or 7 applications every morning now I open Team, Outlook and Microsoft Visual Studio Code and I can begun my Business Journey.
Pros
- code edition
- remote ssh
- dev container
- kubernetes and docker control tower
- AI for code completion (with copilot or continue)
- Terminal
- Notebook (Jupyter)
Cons
- some configuration like workspace are still more powerfull using json file instead of the UI.
- embeded Gitlab graph could be pretyer (I prefer the extension Gitlab graph)
Return on Investment
- Less software installed on my computer (so less license, cost less)
- I'm starting my business journey in a second instead of dozen of minutes before.
- a lot of automation, organisation tools embeded the setup of your environment job
Usability
Alternatives Considered
Notepad++
Other Software Used
Microsoft Teams, OneNote, GitLab