LEVEL 2
200 XP
Lately, I’ve been thinking about sticking to just one main IDE, but I keep bouncing between VS Code and various JetBrains IDEs (mostly IntelliJ IDEA and PyCharm). Each has its strengths, and I’m curious how others approach this.
VS Code is incredibly fast, lightweight, and highly customizable. I love how easy it is to set up, and the extension ecosystem is amazing — whether I’m writing JavaScript, Python, or even markdown, it just works. It feels especially great for smaller projects or web development where I don’t want the tool to get in my way.
JetBrains IDEs, on the other hand, feel like a full development environment right out of the box. The code analysis, refactoring tools, built-in version control support, and smart suggestions are on another level. When working on larger codebases or more structured projects (especially in Java or Kotlin), I feel like I’m more productive using IntelliJ or PyCharm.
But... JetBrains products are heavier, and sometimes I just want something that opens in 2 seconds and doesn’t eat half my RAM
So I’m wondering —
- Which one do you prefer for your day-to-day work, and why?
- Do you switch depending on the project/language, or have you committed to one ecosystem?
- Are there underrated features in either tool that more people should know about?
Would love to hear your thoughts and experiences.