After years of hopping between IDEs, I've finally settled into VSCode—and honestly, it feels like coming
home.
I started out with Eclipse back in school, writing Java and wondering if programming would ever feel
smooth. Then came IntelliJ, and suddenly, everything clicked: smart code completion, refactoring,
version control, even writing my master thesis in LaTeX—all in one place. JetBrains' lineup was
impressive, but switching between IntelliJ for Java, PyCharm for Python, WebStorm for web, RustRover for
Rust, CLion for C, and DataGrip for databases got exhausting.
I always wanted an IDE that felt as flexible as Emacs, but with modern features and polish. IntelliJ
came close, but the constant context switching wore me down. I tried NetBeans (too clunky), BlueJ (fun,
but just for learning), and Atom (great as a text editor, but not a full IDE).
Now, in 2025, VSCode has become my daily driver. It's come a long way since I last used it. With Rust
and Python as my main languages, I realized RustRover and VSCode both rely on Cargo and rust-analyzer—so
why not use the lighter, more customizable option? The extension ecosystem is massive, and with LLM
integration, VSCode actually outpaces IntelliJ in AI-assisted coding.
I still feel a bit wary of VSCode's corporate vibe, but with the right extensions and tweaks, it (kind of) feels
like my own tool. It's fast, flexible, and supports everything I need without forcing me to switch apps
for every language. For a Gen Z developer who grew up on Eclipse and dreamed of something better, VSCode
finally delivers the all-in-one experience I always wanted.
Update:
Just a bit after posting this, I tried out Zed.
VSCode, but fast, responive, not corpo and written in Rust.
Not everything is supported as of now (October '25), such as the entirety ofmy Latex workflow, but a lot of relevant things already work, so i made the switch.