Automating installation of Visual Studio Code extensions

Usually when we install Visual Studio for say node.js or

angular or react developement we need to install multiple

VS-Code Extension.

   If you have to setup multiple machines with same configuration

doing same task on multiple systems is boaring & kind of tidious.  

One can automate installtion of VS-Code Extension using Bash(.sh) or Window

script(.bat).

As I am planning to do developement on node.js/express.js & Angular.

    List of Required/Desirable Packages for Node.js Developement:

        a)Node.js Extension Pack – A collection of useful extensions for Node.js development.

        b)ESLint – Helps maintain code quality by enforcing linting rules.

        c)Debugger for Node.js – Provides a robust debugging environment.

        d)NPM Intellisense – Auto-suggestions for npm modules.

        e)Path Intellisense – Autocomplete for file paths.

        f)REST Client – Test APIs directly from VS Code.

        g)DotENV – Syntax highlighting for .env files.

    List of Required/Desirable Packages for Angular Extensions:

        a)Angular Language Service – Provides Angular-specific IntelliSense, navigation, and type checking.

        b)Angular Snippets (Version 14+) – John Papa’s Angular snippets for faster coding.

        c)Angular Schematics – Run Angular CLI commands directly inside VS Code.

        d)Material Icon Theme – Adds Angular-related icons for better file visibility.

        e)Prettier - Code Formatter – Ensures consistent code formatting.

Lets build script for this purpose.

    To install the listed packages we need to run the following command in PowerShell

    or a Window Command Line(cmd):

        Window Terminal/Powershell Command:

            code --install-extension waderyan.nodejs-extension-pack `

                 --install-extension dbaeumer.vscode-eslint `

                 --install-extension ms-vscode.node-debug2 `

                 --install-extension christian-kohler.npm-intellisense `

                 --install-extension christian-kohler.path-intellisense `

                 --install-extension humao.rest-client `

                 --install-extension mikestead.dotenv `

                 --install-extension Angular.ng-template `

                 --install-extension johnpapa.Angular2 `

                 --install-extension cyrilletuzi.angular-schematics `

                 --install-extension PKief.material-icon-theme `

                 --install-extension esbenp.prettier-vscode

         

        We can create a Batch Script for Windows say(install-vscode-extensions.bat)

        Save this as a .bat file and run it:

            install-vscode-extensions.bat file content:

                @echo off

                code --install-extension waderyan.nodejs-extension-pack

                code --install-extension dbaeumer.vscode-eslint

                code --install-extension ms-vscode.node-debug2

                code --install-extension christian-kohler.npm-intellisense

                code --install-extension christian-kohler.path-intellisense

                code --install-extension humao.rest-client

                code --install-extension mikestead.dotenv

                code --install-extension Angular.ng-template

                code --install-extension johnpapa.Angular2

                code --install-extension cyrilletuzi.angular-schematics

                code --install-extension PKief.material-icon-theme

                code --install-extension esbenp.prettier-vscode

                echo All extensions installed successfully!

               

            Run it by double-clicking the .bat file.

    On Linux & MAC os we need to use bash/shell script instead of batch file.

        Shell Script for Linux/macOS say(install-vscode-extensions.sh)

            Save this as a .sh file and run:

        install-vscode-extensions.sh file content:

            #!/bin/bash

            extensions=(

                "waderyan.nodejs-extension-pack"

                "dbaeumer.vscode-eslint"

                "ms-vscode.node-debug2"

                "christian-kohler.npm-intellisense"

                "christian-kohler.path-intellisense"

                "humao.rest-client"

                "mikestead.dotenv"

                "Angular.ng-template"

                "johnpapa.Angular2"

                "cyrilletuzi.angular-schematics"

                "PKief.material-icon-theme"

                "esbenp.prettier-vscode"

            )

            for extension in "${extensions[@]}"; do

                code --install-extension $extension

            done

            echo "All extensions installed successfully!"

       

    Run it using:

    bash

        chmod +x install-vscode-extensions.sh

        ./install-vscode-extensions.sh

Batch Script has been practically validated for on MS-Window 11