You Need to Ditch VS Code

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Scope of the Debate

  • Most commenters see the article’s title (“You Need to Ditch VS Code”) as overblown; the real issue is IDE dependence vs fundamental skills, not VS Code specifically.
  • Consensus: knowing how to work from a terminal and without an IDE is valuable, but forcing people to avoid IDEs entirely is seen as counterproductive and dogmatic.

VS Code Strengths and Weaknesses

  • Strong praise for VS Code’s remote SSH workflow, especially for servers and SBCs; for many it’s the primary way to do remote development.
  • Some report extreme resource usage (tens of GB RAM in large C++/Python monorepos), considered unacceptable in shared environments.
  • Concerns about the insecure extension ecosystem and bundled node_modules as a supply-chain target; one user mentions a simple color theme going malicious.

Fundamentals vs Convenience

  • Many agree juniors should understand Git, build tools, shells, and debugging outside an IDE, so they aren’t helpless when the IDE is unavailable.
  • However, several argue you don’t become a “better programmer” just by using the CLI; understanding concepts (Git model, build graph, system behavior) matters more than memorizing commands.
  • Comparisons to woodworking and calculators: power tools and automation can deepen higher-level skills by freeing cognitive bandwidth.

CLI vs GUI / Git and Shell

  • Disagreement over whether CLI Git is a “power tool” and GUIs are “training wheels” vs GUIs being strictly better for safety and discoverability.
  • Some find Unix file operations (cp, mv, find, xargs, rm) error-prone and unsafe compared to GUI file managers with undo; others view these commands as basic and easy to learn.
  • Several stress that IDE Git UIs and diff tools are productive “power tools” in their own right.

Debugging, Breakpoints, and Logging

  • Pushback on the article’s advice to avoid breakpoints; many use them in both GUI and terminal debuggers and see nothing wrong.
  • A minority argue production understanding should come primarily from logs/metrics, but this is distinguished from forbidding breakpoints altogether.

Meta: Tool Choice and Culture

  • Strong resistance to “terminal purism” and purity tests; repeated sentiment: let people use what makes them most productive.
  • Some note that in modern teams, refusing efficient tools can simply cause you to fall behind peers rather than gain “character.”