10 VS CODE EXTENSIONS EVERY SENIOR DEVELOPER SECRETLY USES.
The ones that don't show up in any "top 10 extensions" listicle.
Bookmark every single one. None of these are Prettier, ESLint, or GitLens. Those lists are for juniors.
1. Continue
continue.dev
Open-source Copilot alternative. Run any model locally with Ollama. No code leaving your machine. No subscription. Copilot is $19/month. Continue is $0 forever. Apache-2.0.
2. Console Ninja
console-ninja.com
By the Wallaby.js team. Shows your console.log output and runtime errors inline, right next to the log statement. You stop tab-switching to DevTools for the rest of your career.
3. Pretty TypeScript Errors
marketplace.visualstudio.com…
By yoavbls. Turns TypeScript's 14-line nested-generic horror into syntax-highlighted, human-readable blocks. The one extension every senior TS dev installs the day they hit their first cryptic Type 'X' is not assignable error.
4. Import Cost
marketplace.visualstudio.com…
By Wix. Shows the exact KB size of every npm import inline as you type. Catches bundle bloat before it ships. The only reason most enterprise frontends are not 14MB.
5. REST Client
marketplace.visualstudio.com…
By Huachao Mao. Send HTTP requests from a plain .http file. Commit it to git. Share with your team. Postman charges $19/user/month for what this does for free in a text file.
6. Quokka.js
quokkajs.com
JavaScript and TypeScript scratchpad inline in your editor. Test ideas, regex, array methods, and API responses without leaving the file. Community edition is free forever.
7. Peacock
peacockcode.dev
By John Papa. Tints your VS Code window with a different color per workspace. The reason senior engineers don't accidentally push to production while editing staging. Saves a career once a quarter.
8. Turbo Console Log
marketplace.visualstudio.com…
One keyboard shortcut auto-generates a console.log with the file name, line number, and variable name pre-filled. Another shortcut deletes every log you added. No more grep-ing for stray prints.
9. Git Graph
marketplace.visualstudio.com…
By mhutchie. A proper visual git history that actually renders branch topology correctly. GitLens shows blame. Git Graph shows the shape of the repo. Senior devs use both.
10. Continue
continue.dev
Open-source Copilot alternative. Run any model locally with Ollama. No code leaving your machine. No subscription. Copilot is $19/month. Continue is $0 forever. Apache-2.0.
The juniors install 47 extensions on day one.
The seniors run 10 and ship faster.
The actual productivity multiplier in VS Code is not the AI assistant. It is the 8 extensions that quietly remove 30 seconds of friction from every loop.
All 10 marketplace links above.