You Need to Ditch VS Code

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

A blog post urging developers to “ditch VS Code” in favor of terminals and simpler editors sparks a broader debate about how much modern IDEs and GUIs should do for programmers. Many argue that over‑reliance on VS Code, Git GUIs, and heavy automation can leave juniors helpless without their usual tools, while others counter that productivity, good debugging, and cognitive bandwidth matter more than memorizing commands or avoiding breakpoints. Underneath are recurring themes: learning fundamentals vs. using “power tools,” concerns about VS Code’s performance and plugin security, and the idea that IDEs and AI can actually deepen understanding if used consciously rather than passively.

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.”