Summary: I use VS Code in my day to day life for a lot. It took me a while to get to know it but it made my (work) life a lot easier. Each time I get a new computer or workplace I follow these steps. And as automation should make everyone's life a lot easier, I made a settings and extension file so I don't have to do a lot of settings manually anymore.
Date: Around 2020
Refactor: 2 January 2025: Checked links and formatting. Added new notes, extensions, profiles.
Refactor: 29 May 2026: Moved extension and settings files to github. Added skills.
Start with Git and then VS Code.
Once the installation is done, start Git Bash from the start menu and enter the following commands to set your username and email address:
git config --global user.email "you@example.com" git config --global user.name "Your Name"
If the git server changes certificates, you'll also need to update your Git's Certificate store. In a managed environment it might be better to use the Windows Certificate store:
git config --global http.sslBackend schannel
Note that this is possible starting Git 2.14
git config --global credential.usehttppath true git config --global --list core.editor="C:\Users\sjoer\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code\bin\code" --wait user.email=sjoerd@xxx.xxx user.name=Sjoerd Hooft credential.usehttppath=true http.sslbackend=schannel
See here for more information on the usehttppath in combination with dev.azure.com.
Note that some settings can also be synced between devices using the Settings Sync feature.
Use “ctrl-shift-p” “Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON)” to open your user settings and add the following preferences:
{
"editor.renderWhitespace": "all",
"workbench.colorCustomizations": {
"tab.activeBorder": "#ff0000",
"tab.unfocusedActiveBorder": "#000000"
},
"workbench.editor.enablePreview": false
}
Profiles are useful for limiting the extensions loaded into VSCode. If you enable the sync options above you can select to sync profiles. Per profile you can simply add and remove extensions.
In your repo, create the following folder and files:
Update these files according to your needs. The latest version of my settings and extensions files are hosted on my public github.
Optionally, you can add .prettierignore to the root of your project to limit prettier. An example file is also available on my public github.
For an overview of useful skills I've created check my public github again.
For useful skills from the internet please review Cheatsheet AI.
You need a root folder to store the locally synced repository. I have some experience with both that folder on an onedrive location as well as out of it. Both work, but without oneDrive makes it less complex. So on your local drive create a folder like “repos” and then later on, place the projects below this root folder:
└── repos/
├── customer1/
│ ├── repo1
│ └── repo2
├── customer2/
│ └── repo1
└── shift/
├── knowledge
├── training
└── work
After you changed a file follow these steps to have it committed back to the repository:
***NO_CI*** to not trigger Continuous Integration)To stay up to date with remote repository, enable git.autofetch, which will be asked after your first commit → sync.
If, due to for example password policies, your password for TFS changes you might have to change your password on two places. The error you'll get is something like “Git fatal authentication failed for (url or team project)”
Fron the Azure DevOps website, follow these steps: