HN Explorer

I feel like VSCode is falling apart

16 points by othmanosx ↗ HN
Not just VSCode, but other pieces of software I always use, not sure if that's related to AI, but this genuinely upsets me.

I would expect things to be better as AI helps accelerate development and bug reports and whatnot, but it looks like the opposite is actually happening... which is concerning.

16 comments

[ 4.7 ms ] story [ 47.4 ms ] thread
pixel_popping
The future of VSCode is quite uncertain, as newer "IDEs" are moving-on toward not seeing any code, and soon not even seeing the filetree as we are going toward the path of full automation.

VSCode might retain old-school developers but it will keep shrinking.

montfort
I have a similar impression. I think it's because the workflow isn't fully refined, and the IDE interfaces don't match that undefined flow. These are strange times; for a moment, I felt Antigravity was what I needed, but it was just a stripped-down VSCode. I simply don't understand the new VSCode Agents window. The impact is so vast that many of us are returning to the simplicity and power of the terminal.
dhruvkar
How does zed.dev compare?

I don't use vscode because it's always felt heavy on my (older) machine.

Zed seems to work okay. Curious to know how it compares

othmanosx
I tried Zed too. It's really performant and all, but I feel like I got used to VS Code too much and even looking at a different themed editor feels... awkward. Extensions is a must for me. I have plenty of extensions and I think Zed won't be having native support for extensions for a while, at least to the same degree as VS Code.
psyklic
I am stuck using an older VSCode. A few versions ago, it stopped connecting to my remote machine.
othmanosx
I'm curious to know how you got yourself into such a situation.
[deleted]
(comment deleted)
[deleted]
(comment deleted)
al_borland
If nothing else, I’m annoyed by the seemingly daily messages to update VS Code. It seems all it ever has is more updates for AI, likely written by AI.

I’m effectively forced to use VS Code, because of work. If it wasn’t for this situation I would I would have already moved away from it, or never started using it in the first place.

apiorno
It looks like they're becoming simpler tools with an AI chat bolted on — and that might be fine, but I'd at least expect them to keep functioning as an IDE (with a file tree, file viewer, and chat, at minimum).
the__alchemist
Jetbrains (PyCharm, RustRover etc) is as solid of an experience as when I started programming 15 years ago. I would recommend you give it a try!
csomar
> but other pieces of software I always use

I am planning a KL->HKG trip with a friend and failed to book an AirAsia flight because their website doesn't allow it. Their Mobile app (a wrapper around their web app?) also crashes when moving to payment. I ended up taking a Hong Kong Express flight (price was quite close) but then my friend had an error on the HKE website and couldn't complete the booking.

Fun times.

Ronsenshi
You're not alone. This is the reason why I switched from VSCode to nvim (AstroNvim to be specific). It has all the things I need with the ability to add any extra plugins necessary while using less resources.

I can't tell how much less resources it uses - haven't really tested that. To be fair to VSCode often times biggest resource hog is various language servers.

inthepond
Heavily rely on extensions on VSCode... Looks like VSCode these days is transforming more towards a highly-customisable hub of dev extensions and tool compilation - I reckon it's good.