Top Extensions for ReactJS in VSCode

React is a front-end JavaScript framework. It is a declarative, efficient, and flexible JavaScript library for building user interfaces. It composes of complex UIs from small and isolated pieces of code called "components". It is a JavaScript library created by Facebook.

Visual Studio Code is a free and open-source software. Visual Studio Code, also commonly referred to as VS Code Visual Studio Code is a source-code editor. It can be used with a variety of programming languages, such as C, Java, JavaScript, Node.js, Python, Rust, etc.

Extension is a file containing code known as an "extension" in programming, it is used to expand the features or data accessible by more basic programs. We can add languages, debuggers, and tools for installation to support our development workflow.

Top VS Code extensions for React

Here is the list of VS Code extensions for the react - developers, but all of these extensions can be broken down into 5 categories to make development more handy.

Extension Type	Extensions
React-Specific	ES7 React/React-Native snippets VS Code React Refactor ReactJS Code Snippet Simple React Snippets React PropTypes Generate
General JavaScript/Web Development	ESLint Prettier npm Intellisense Auto Rename Tag Path Intellisense
Git-Related	GitLens GitHistory
General Purpose	Better Comments Material Icons
Testing	Jest

ES7 React/React-Native snippets

ES7 provides many snippets for React, Redux, GraphQL, and React Native. It allows us to generate boilerplate code and common patterns quickly.

VS Code React Refactor

This simple extension provides JSX refactor code actions for React developers. It extracts JSX code parts to a new class or functional component. It also supports TypeScript and TSX. It is compatible with React Hooks API.

ReactJS Code Snippet

Reactjs Code Snippet extension contains code snippets for React JS. It is based on the awesome babel-sublime-snippets package.

Simple React Snippets

Simple React Snippets extension provides a collection of simple and efficient code snippets for React development. It speeds up the coding process by offering shortcuts for common tasks and patterns. It allows developers to create React components, lifecycle methods, and hooks quickly.

React PropTypes Generate

React PropTypes Generate is the VS Code's extension. It automatically generates PropTypes code for React components, like ReactPropTypes in the Jetbrains's Platform. It helps us to enforce type checking and improve code quality by ensuring that the correct types are passed to components.

ESLint

ESLint is a static code analysis tool for identifying problematic patterns found in JavaScript code, It is built into most text editors and we can run ESLint as part of our continuous integration (CI) pipeline.

Prettier

Prettier is an opinionated code formatter. It enforces a consistent style by parsing your code and re-printing it with its own rules.

npm Intellisense

It is a Visual Studio Code plugin that autocompletes npm modules in import statements. It streamlines the process of importing dependencies.

Auto Rename Tag

Auto Rename Tag automatically renames paired HTML/XML tags, the same as Visual Studio IDE does. It enables us to rename a tag by editing it directly. A mirrored cursor will automatically rename the matching tag

Path Intellisense

Path Intellisense VS Code plugin that autocompletes filenames. This feature helps us quickly and accurately to import components and modules without needing to remember exact file names or paths. It streamlines the development process.

GitLens

GitLens is a powerful open-source extension for Visual Studio Code. GitLens for VS Code simplifies Git complexity into a clear, visual timeline of our project's history. It helps us to track changes and visualize the impact of each commit with ease.

GitHistory

GitHistory helps us to view and search git log along with the graph and details. We can also view a previous copy of the file. Reviewing commits, branches, and diffs directly within the editor is easier.

Better Comments

The Better Comments extension will help us to create more human-friendly comments in our code. It allows us to categorize comments into alerts, queries, to-do notes, and more, all with different colors. Commented-out code can also be styled to make it clear the code shouldn't be there.

Material Icons

It helps us to replaces the default icons in VSCode with Material Design icons. It improves the visual appeal of your workspace, especially in projects using Material UI.

Jest

Jest extension supports full jest features in the vs code environment to make testing more intuitive and fun. It should work out of the box for most common jest projects. It allows us to run and debug our Jest tests directly from the editor, We can view test results in a user-friendly format and provide code coverage reports. This is especially beneficial for testing React applications.

Conclusion

The selected extensions for ReactJS development in VS Code significantly enhance productivity, code quality, and workflow efficiency. Overall, these extensions create a more efficient and enjoyable development environment. It allows developers to focus more on building robust applications and less on repetitive tasks. Adopting these tools can lead to better collaboration, reduced errors, and a smoother development process in React projects.