Did you know there are a few actions you can perform directly within your VS Code editor that can substitute for several other applications.
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date
Oct 23, 2023
slug
did-you-know-there-are-a-few-actions-you-can-perform-directly-within-your-vs-code-editor-that-can-substitute-for-several-other-applications
status
Published
type
Post
tags
VS Code
tools
postman
ngrok
localtunnel
edge
browser
Visual studio code
microsoft
sourcetree
github
version control
summary
VS Code is a all-in-one software for developers. It can replaces many other applications used by developers in day to day life.
Visual Studio Code aka VS Code. An open-sourced code editor application by mighty Microsoft loved by millions of developers across the world. As a developer, we use many other applications alongside VS code to achieve other required things. Today I am going to show you few tools right inside your VS code which can replace other applications installed in your system. Forgot to mention that all these tools are not in-built. Few of them you need to install from Extensions section developed by third-party developers. So always read terms and conditions and privacy policy to ensure it doesn’t make any harm to your system or use your data in any kind of illegal way.
Replace Browser
Browser right inside your VS Code? You heard it right. Go to Extensions, search Microsoft Edge Tools for VS Code. Install the extension. Now click on Edge icon at left sidebar and create an instance. Edit code and see the changes side by side. If you are using a big screen monitor, it will be very helpful for you. Forget cmd+tab / ctrl+tab and switch between browser and editor. Additional advantage is you can open chromium DevTools also, so network requests, console, inspect all tools are in your fingertips.
Replace Postman
For API testing, documentation, environment management, we all use the OG - Postman. While it offers many features to simplify your api development and integration work, it can also be replaced. If you are just for api testing, creating collection and managing environment and want to do right inside your VS Code, go to Extensions. Search “Thunder Client”. Install the add-on. An icon will be visible in your VS Code left sidebar. Click on it and click on New Request. A postman like UI will be opened and you can use it like Postman app. It’s completely free to use for individuals just like Postman. Advantage is you need to open one less app while doing your development work.
Replace Sourcetree, Github client or any local Git clients
While above two you need to install manually, this is an in-built feature of VS Code. A Source Control is pre-installed in your VS Code which can replace any git client you use like Sourcetree from Atlassian, Github Client. From left-sidebar of your VS Code, click on the source control icon to open the Source control panel in your VS Code. You can see changed files, you can click on any file and see the changes very conveniently. If you wish to make any change, do it instantly and save. You can pull latest changes from remote source, you can commit your changes and push instantly. You can see all the commits right inside your editor. So it can undoubtedly replace Sourcetree, Github Client. I personally can’t remember when I last opened Sourcetree.
Bonus - If you go to extensions of your VS Code and search “GitLense” and install it, it’s just cherry on top. If you open any file from your repository, and click on any line from the code, you can see who made the last change and when. This is a very convenient way to dig through changes and responsible person for the change. GitLense offers many other functionalities, few of them are in pro version. You can explore yourself if you need it.
Replace Ngrok, LocalTunnel
Ngrok or similiar tunneling softwares are widely used among developers to expose specific port from your local machine to the world. Suppose you are developing apis and a remote worker is building UI. You can share a tunnel link which will expose your apis to the other developer. While LocalTunnel is free to use, but sometimes it crashes and becomes slow. On the other hand ngrok is superb and very fast tunnelling application, but it’s behind a paywall. Though you can expose one port at a time for free with ngrok.
VS Code 1.82 introduced Port Forwarding feature which can straight-forward replace your existing tunnelling software. From menu bar, click on View > Terminal. You should find a tab named “Ports”. Click on Ports and click on Forward a Port. Input the port you want to expose and voila. You will be given an url which is exposing your port. But whoever is using the url, first need to open in browser and login through github to continue using.
Replace Terminal / Command Prompt
In all modern applications, use of terminal (in linux based systems or mac os) or command prompt (windows) is kind of mandatory. While I personally prefer iTerm over default terminal application in my mac os, but I am too lazy sometimes to open an application while coding. Then I just open terminal inside VS Code by the shortcut ctrl+` (Go to menubar > View > Terminal). You can split multiple terminals in a single view, you can group multiple terminals and many more functionalities. Windows users who are using WSL, will also be benefited from the terminal application inside VS Code. It’s just perfect.
This list may go on. There are many other examples I can take which can replace many of your applications. May be I will write another article with another set of add-ons in coming days.
Happy Coding 😊