I Opened It
I launched VS Code.
The world’s most popular code editor. Standard issue for engineers. Infinite extensions. Infinite themes. Infinite customization.
It was already installed. The code command worked. The Claude Code extension was there. Tailwind CSS, ESLint, Prettier — the basics were in place.
The environment was perfect. The reason to use it wasn’t.
”What Is This App For?”
Five minutes in, the honest reaction surfaced.
VS Code is a code editor. It shows file trees. It highlights syntax. It provides autocomplete. It visualizes Git diffs. It runs debuggers.
Every feature is built for people who write code by hand.
A quick audit of my current workflow: I read code in the terminal. I write code in the terminal. Git operations — terminal. File search — terminal.
Everything lives in the CLI. No GUI in the loop. Design, implementation, testing, deployment — it all runs inside that black screen.
There’s no gap for VS Code to fill.
One Feature Almost Hooked Me
I discovered the chat panel — a dedicated panel from the Claude Code extension. You can drag and drop images into it.
In the CLI, you type a file path. In the chat panel, you paste a screenshot with Cmd+V. Drop a design capture and ask “Is this layout broken?” Paste a client’s document image and say “Summarize this.”
Honestly, that felt compelling.
Then it fell apart.
When Claude Code presents decision prompts — button-style questions asking “Which one?” — they only appear in the terminal. The chat panel doesn’t show them.
You still have to watch the terminal. Adding image drag-and-drop as a feature means splitting your attention across two surfaces.
One convenience gained, one inconvenience created. Net zero.
More Tools, Slower Hands
More tools mean more choices. More choices mean more decisions. More decisions mean slower execution.
“Should I do this task in VS Code or the terminal?” — if that question enters the loop every time, a single terminal is faster.
Sharpening your tools matters more than collecting them.
Twelve years of running every discipline solo — design, code, infrastructure, strategy. The lesson: the number of tools and productivity don’t scale together. Often it’s the inverse.
A chef with one sharpened knife is faster than a chef with ten.
”Not Using” Is a Decision
The internet overflows with articles on mastering useful tools. Setup guides, recommended extensions, customization tips. Usage is the premise; optimization is the game.
Articles about choosing not to use something barely exist.
Deciding not to use a tool is harder than deciding to use one. “Everyone uses it, though?” “I already installed it?” “Isn’t image drag-and-drop nice?” — reasons to use always outnumber reasons not to.
But if your workflow is already complete, adding a new tool is just noise.
If what you have works, that’s the answer.
I Quietly Closed It
I closed VS Code. Cmd+Q. It vanished silently.
Back to the terminal. The familiar black screen. My agent responded. “Anything else you’d like to do?”
Nothing changed. Nothing needed to.
If I need it later, I’ll open it again. It’s installed. Extensions are loaded. Ready whenever. I’m choosing not to use it from a position of readiness.
This isn’t giving up. It’s a decision.