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Open the Command Palette and run Developer: Show Running Extensions. Start its profiler, reproduce the exact lag, and inspect which active extensions consume time in that captured workload. Treat the result as a lead, not a universal ranking. If several extensions remain possible, run Help: Start Extension Bisect; VS Code disables groups and uses your “Good now” or “This is bad” answers to narrow the candidate set.
Start with the symptom you can reproduce
Extension diagnosis is reliable only when you compare the same behavior under the same conditions. “VS Code feels slow” is too broad to test. First identify whether the problem is slow startup, typing lag, delayed completion, sluggish navigation, a frozen command, or another specific action.
Describe the slowdown precisely
- Startup: the window takes noticeably longer to become usable after launching or opening a workspace.
- Editing: keystrokes appear late, scrolling stutters, or the editor pauses while you type.
- Completion and diagnostics: suggestions, error markers, code actions, or symbol information arrive late.
- Workspace actions: search, file watching, source control, formatting, testing, or a command becomes slow.
Keep the same folder, files, language, branch, and action during every comparison. An extension can be expensive for one repository or language while having little effect elsewhere. A profile of startup also cannot prove what causes typing lag; measure during the symptom you are actually investigating.
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Use Running Extensions to get a performance lead
The built-in Running Extensions view is the fastest first check because it shows extensions active in the current window and provides profiling information. It helps answer “which extensions took time during this reproduction?” rather than “which extension is always slow?”
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Profile the affected action
- Open the Command Palette with
Ctrl+Shift+Pon Windows or Linux, orCommand+Shift+Pon macOS. - Run Developer: Show Running Extensions.
- Start the performance profile from the Running Extensions view.
- While profiling, perform the exact action that feels slow: type the same passage, trigger completion, run the same command, open the same file, or repeat the same startup sequence.
- Stop the profile and note extensions that account for substantial time or repeatedly appear during the problematic operation.
The timing is workload-specific. An extension that appears high in one capture may be responding to a particular language server, generated file, workspace setting, or command. Conversely, an extension that looks quiet during startup might still be involved in editing lag. Repeat the capture if the first reproduction was inconsistent.
What the view can and cannot establish
| Observation | Reasonable conclusion | What it does not prove |
|---|---|---|
| An extension consumes time during the captured action | It is a candidate for further isolation. | It is the sole cause in every workspace or workflow. |
| An extension is active but consumes little time in the capture | It was not a major contributor to that measured scenario. | It can never affect another action. |
| No obvious extension dominates | Use bisect or an Empty Profile to test broader causes. | That VS Code core, settings, or a remote host are definitely responsible. |
Do not uninstall an extension solely because it appears in a profile. First disable it temporarily, repeat the same test, and check whether the symptom changes.
Use Extension Bisect when the profile leaves several candidates
Help: Start Extension Bisect is designed for a reproducible problem with a large extension set. VS Code disables extensions in groups, asks whether the issue remains, and uses each answer to choose the next group. Continue until the search points to a small candidate set or a specific extension.
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Run the bisect workflow
- Reproduce the slowdown once more so you know the test is currently present.
- Open the Command Palette and run Help: Start Extension Bisect.
- Follow the prompt to test the current extension group.
- Perform the same action you used before. Select Good now if the slowdown disappears, or This is bad if it remains.
- Repeat each round with the same workspace and action until VS Code identifies a likely extension or a small group.
- Exit the bisect session when you have a result, then disable the suspected extension normally and verify the result outside bisect mode.
Your answers are the data the algorithm uses. If the symptom appears only intermittently, or if you test a different action in each round, the narrowing can point to the wrong extension. When the problem is not reproducible, gather a more consistent test case before trusting the result.
How many rounds should you expect?
VS Code’s Extension Bisect explanation describes the method as logarithmic, with average and worst-case performance of O(log N). Its example says that a set of 24 extensions can be narrowed in about four to five steps under that example workflow. That is an explanation of the algorithm, not a promise of an exact number of current prompts: installed, active, built-in, and platform-specific extensions can change the interaction.
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Test an Empty Profile to separate extensions from custom settings
An Empty Profile gives you a broad clean baseline. It disables extensions and modified settings for the profile, allowing you to see whether the problem depends on your custom VS Code environment.
Create and test the profile
- Open the Accounts menu in the Activity Bar or the Command Palette.
- Choose the profile-management command and create an Empty Profile.
- Open the same workspace in that profile.
- Repeat the identical action that caused the slowdown.
- Switch back to your normal profile after the comparison.
If the problem disappears, one or more extensions or modified settings in the original profile are implicated. The test deliberately changes both categories at once, so it cannot identify a single extension. Return to the normal profile and use Running Extensions profiling or Extension Bisect to narrow the cause.
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If the slowdown remains in the Empty Profile, investigate VS Code itself, the workspace, files being watched, the language tooling, the operating system, or the remote connection. An Empty Profile is a diagnostic boundary, not proof that the editor core is at fault.
Use the command line for a clean all-extensions check
The VS Code CLI provides a quick isolation test and an inventory of installed extensions. From a terminal, launch the affected folder with:
code --disable-extensions path/to/your/workspaceThis disables all installed extensions for that launch. Reproduce the same symptom. If the problem vanishes, extensions matter somewhere in the setup, but this command does not identify which one. Use bisect or a controlled one-at-a-time test for attribution.
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To list installed extension identifiers, run:
code --list-extensionsSave the output when reporting an issue or comparing machines. The list is an inventory, not a performance measurement; an installed extension may be inactive for the current language or workspace.
When the CLI check is useful
- Use it when you need a fast yes-or-no answer about the entire extension layer.
- Use it to confirm that a clean launch behaves differently before spending time on per-extension testing.
- Do not treat it as a final diagnosis: disabling everything removes the ability to distinguish one extension from another.
Distinguish startup cost from in-editor lag
Extensions run in extension hosts, and startup work is a different workload from continuous editing. Profile or isolate the phase that is slow.
For slow startup
- Close all VS Code windows and launch the same workspace.
- Measure the time until the window is usable, not merely until the process appears.
- Capture the startup-related activity in Running Extensions.
- Compare a normal profile with an Empty Profile or a
--disable-extensionslaunch.
For typing, completion, or command lag
- Open the same file and place the cursor in the same kind of code.
- Repeat the same typing, completion request, navigation, or command.
- Profile while the lag occurs, rather than immediately after startup.
- Verify a suspected extension by disabling it and repeating the exact action.
A startup-heavy extension is not automatically the extension responsible for typing delays, and a language-related extension that reacts to edits may not explain a long initial launch.
Account for local, web, and remote extension hosts
VS Code can run extensions in local, web, or remote extension hosts. In Remote SSH, WSL, containers, and Codespaces, the extension host may be on the remote environment while other extensions remain local. Browser-based sessions have their own host constraints.
Diagnose from the affected window
- Run Developer: Show Running Extensions in the window where the lag occurs, not in an unrelated local window.
- Confirm whether the workspace is local, remote, or browser-based.
- Repeat the profile or bisect test without changing the connection or workspace.
- When comparing local and remote behavior, record which side hosts the suspected extension.
Host location is a clue about where work happens, but there is no single attribution rule that fits every remote configuration. A remote filesystem, network latency, container resource limit, or language process can contribute to the same visible symptom. Keep those variables fixed while testing extensions.
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Interpret evidence without blaming the wrong extension
Use a staged standard of proof. A profile supplies a correlation; isolation supplies stronger evidence.
| Evidence level | Test | How to use the result |
|---|---|---|
| Correlation | Running Extensions profile during the lag | Choose candidates for focused testing. |
| Broad isolation | Empty Profile or --disable-extensions |
Determine whether extensions or custom settings are involved at all. |
| Narrowing | Extension Bisect | Reduce a large set using consistent symptom feedback. |
| Confirmation | Disable one suspected extension and repeat the same reproduction | Check whether the symptom reliably changes when that extension alone changes. |
Keep a short test log with the VS Code version, workspace, action, profile, extension state, and outcome. This prevents memory-based conclusions when the issue is intermittent.
Do not use extension count as proof
A high number of installed extensions does not establish that the editor is slow, because many may be inactive, lazy-activated, or irrelevant to the current language. Conversely, a single extension can matter if it performs expensive work for a particular repository. Measure the behavior you care about.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Report a reproducible extension problem
Once a candidate survives isolation, make the report actionable. Include:
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- Extension identifier and installed version.
- Whether the workspace is local, web-based, or remote, and which remote technology is involved.
- Workspace characteristics that matter, such as language, repository size, generated files, or unusual settings.
- Exact steps that reproduce the slowdown.
- Whether the symptom disappears when the extension is disabled, in an Empty Profile, or with
--disable-extensions. - A profile or other diagnostic details that show the timing, while removing secrets and private source code.
The Running Extensions editor has a Report Issue action documented in the VS Code 1.72 release notes. If that action is present in your version, use it from the relevant Running Extensions view so the report retains the context of the measured problem.
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A decision path for common situations
| Your situation | Best next step | Why |
|---|---|---|
| You can reproduce a specific lag and want a lead | Running Extensions profiling | It measures active extensions during that workload. |
| You have many extensions and a repeatable symptom | Extension Bisect | Group testing narrows the set efficiently. |
| You need to know whether customizations matter | Empty Profile | It disables extensions and modified settings together. |
| You need a quick terminal comparison | --disable-extensions |
It gives a clean all-extensions-disabled baseline. |
| You need an inventory for a bug report | --list-extensions |
It prints installed extension identifiers. |
| The issue occurs only over SSH, WSL, a container, Codespaces, or the web | Run diagnostics in that affected window and record host location | Different hosts and connections change where extension work runs. |
Troubleshoot a failed or inconclusive diagnosis
The lag did not occur during profiling
Repeat the same trigger until it occurs, then profile that capture. Do not rank extensions from an idle window or from a different workspace.
Bisect gives inconsistent results
Use a shorter, deterministic reproduction: the same file, command, keystrokes, and wait time. Answer only after checking the symptom, because “Good now” and “This is bad” determine the next group.
The Empty Profile is fast, but bisect finds nothing
Because an Empty Profile also changes modified settings, inspect settings as well as extensions. Re-enable customizations methodically, and use a profile or bisect session that preserves the exact symptom.
Disabling all extensions changes nothing
Look beyond extensions: workspace size, file watchers, language tooling outside VS Code, source-control operations, remote latency, container limits, operating-system load, or VS Code core may be involved. Keep the same reproduction while testing those factors.
The suspected extension is not running
Check whether it activates only for a language, command, workspace type, or remote host. An installed extension listed by --list-extensions may not be active in the window you are testing.
The shortest reliable workflow
- Write down one reproducible symptom and keep the workspace unchanged.
- Profile that symptom with Developer: Show Running Extensions.
- Disable the leading candidate and repeat the same action.
- If several candidates remain, run Help: Start Extension Bisect and answer each prompt consistently.
- Use an Empty Profile or
code --disable-extensionswhen you need a broad baseline. - Confirm the result in the affected local, remote, or web window before reporting it.
This sequence separates a measured performance lead from a confirmed attribution and avoids blaming an extension merely because it is installed or active.
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