Link Search Menu Expand Document
CS156

vscode: Extensions - Recommended VSCode extensions for this course

There are extensions for VSCode that add extra functionalilty for particular programming languages, frameworks, etc.

In this article, we describe how to install extensions, as well as provide a list of the extensions that staff and students have found useful for this course.

How to install extensions

We’ll demonstrate how to install extensions by installing one that every student in this class should install: the “Extension Pack for Java” from Microsoft.

To install extensions in VSCode, start by clicking the image icon in the left navigaton panel; that should bring up an interface like this one:

image

Next, in the upper search box, type in Java. This should do a search on extensions that are applicable to Java. The screen should then look like this:

image

The top result, or at least one of the top results, should be “Extension Pack for Java” from Microsoft. Click the blue install button next to this extension. That should make your screen look like this:

image

Eventually the installing will change to installed, like this:

image

Note that installing the “Extension Pack for Java” from Microsoft automatically installs several other extensions, including, but not limited to:

  • “Debugger for Java” by Microsoft
  • “Intellicode” by Microsoft
  • “Maven for Java” by Microsoft
  • “Language Support for Java(TM) by RedHat”
  • … and a few others.

You can see which extensions are installed by removing any text from the extensions search field, and then separating the “INSTALLED” and “POPULAR” panes:

image

Here is a list of recommended extensions for this course

  • “Extension Pack for Java” by Microsoft
  • “XML” by RedHat (useful for formatting pom.xml for example).
  • “Prettier” by Prettier (code formatter for Javascript code)
  • “Github Copilot” by Github
    • Requires configuration: after installing, you’ll be prompted in the side panel to login to your Github account.
    • You will also need to sign up for the Github Education Pack at https://github.com/education to get access to Github Copilot.