VS Code performance checklist
vs-code performance extensions

Some things to look at when dealing with poor performance of Visual Studio Code.
November 1, 2021

Recently I was helping a customer investigate "poor performance" when working with Visual Studio Code. The specifics aren't important, but I put together a list of things (tools, techniques) to look at when dealing with VS Code performance, which might come handy.

It's clear that "poor performance" can mean anything from slow startup, sluggish user interface to underperforming debugged applications. This list tries to cover all and will be updated over time.

See if it’s really VS Code causing the issue

What compute resources are available on the machine?

Within VS Code, what’s consuming CPU and RAM?

Check Developer Tools

If VS Code takes too long to start, look at Startup Performance

Profile running extensions

Disable all extensions and see if the issue persists

Enable/disable extensions one by one to identify which one is causing the issue

Look at the extension’s repository to see if there are any known issues

Disable/enable extensions per workspace

Disable GPU

Various optimizations

Report an issue from VS Code

Check the Performance Issues wiki

Found something inaccurate or plain wrong? Was this content helpful to you? Let me know!

📧 codez@deedx.cz