VSCode's reputation for being bloated is largely self-inflicted. Developers who pile on dozens of extensions for git, formatting, UI tweaks, and AI assistants create their own performance problems, then blame the editor. Keeping VSCode minimal (just a theme and one language extension) results in a fast, stable experience. Beyond performance, the bigger productivity drain is passive usage — clicking through files with a mouse, ignoring the command palette, and skipping keyboard shortcuts. Even after trying Neovim and Zed, the author found that a minimal, intentional workflow in VSCode outperformed switching editors. The takeaway: fix how you use your editor before switching tools.

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