Brackets vs Visual Studio Code: What are the differences?

Brackets and Visual Studio Code are two popular code editors commonly used by developers. While both editors provide similar features and functionalities, there are several key differences that set them apart.

1. Extension Ecosystem: Visual Studio Code has a much larger and more diverse extension ecosystem compared to Brackets. This means that developers using Visual Studio Code have access to a wider range of extensions and plugins to enhance their coding experience and productivity. Brackets, on the other hand, has a more limited selection of extensions available.

2. Integrated Terminal: Visual Studio Code comes with an integrated terminal, allowing developers to run commands and scripts directly within the editor. This eliminates the need to switch between the editor and a separate terminal window. In Brackets, an integrated terminal is not available, and developers have to use an external terminal for running commands.

3. Debugging Capabilities: Visual Studio Code offers powerful debugging capabilities, supporting multiple programming languages and providing features like breakpoints, variable inspection, and step-by-step execution. Brackets, on the other hand, has limited debugging capabilities and lacks some advanced debugging features.

4. Git Integration: Visual Studio Code provides seamless integration with Git, allowing developers to perform Git operations like commit, pull, push, and branch management within the editor. Brackets, on the other hand, lacks built-in Git integration and requires the use of external tools or extensions for Git operations.

5. Live Server: Brackets comes with a built-in live server feature that allows developers to quickly launch a local development server and preview their web pages in real-time. Visual Studio Code does not have a built-in live server feature, but it can be achieved by using extensions.

6. Code Navigation: Visual Studio Code offers advanced code navigation features such as the ability to quickly jump to definitions, find references, and navigate through code using breadcrumbs. Brackets, on the other hand, has limited code navigation capabilities and lacks some of these advanced features.

In summary, Visual Studio Code offers a larger extension ecosystem, integrated terminal, advanced debugging capabilities, Git integration, and better code navigation compared to Brackets, while Brackets has a built-in live server feature.