I tried VS Code with AI and Claude Code side by side for a month, and VS Code is now my fallback editor

The developer's experience highlights a distinction between two approaches to AI in coding: an "editing workflow" and an "agentic one." With VS Code and AI extensions like GitHub Copilot, the AI provides suggestions as the developer writes code, assisting in the implementation process. In contrast, Claude Code facilitates an agentic approach where the developer describes a desired feature or bug fix, and the AI autonomously works on the changes.

This shift in interaction reportedly led to increased efficiency. The author consistently completed more work with Claude Code, moving their primary development to it. For instance, the developer noted adding five features to a self-hosted app using Claude Code in a month, compared to a much longer time for a single feature using VS Code with AI suggestions.

Despite these gains in productivity, the author still relies on VS Code. Claude Code has reported usage limits that prevent indefinite use, necessitating a return to a traditional editor when allowances are exhausted. Furthermore, human review remains essential, as the developer still opens project files in VS Code to understand and examine the code generated by Claude Code.