Your extensions, unchanged.
Pearl runs the VS Code extension ecosystem as-is. Themes, language servers, formatters, git plugins, Vim emulation — install them like you always have. Here's a short list of ones we use ourselves and recommend.
Installing extensions
Open the Extensions panel in Pearl (left sidebar, square icon, or
Ctrl+Shift+X). Search by name or paste the publisher.extension ID. Click
Install. The extension is downloaded from the public extension marketplace, the same
place your previous editor pulled from.
Your existing extension settings — keybindings, formatter preferences, theme — also migrate. Pearl reads VS Code's settings JSON format unchanged.
Language support we lean on.
Official language servers and toolchain plugins we use day-to-day.
PHP — Intelephense
Best-in-class PHP IntelliSense. Free tier is enough for most teams; the paid license unlocks advanced refactors.
TypeScript & JavaScript
Built-in. The default TS/JS server is bundled with Pearl — no extra install needed for syntax, IntelliSense, or go-to-definition.
Python — Pylance
Microsoft's official Python language server. Type-checking modes (off → strict) configurable per workspace.
Rust — rust-analyzer
The standard rust-analyzer LSP. Pair with Even Better TOML for Cargo files.
Go — gopls
The official Go LSP. Auto-imports, vet, lint, refactor — all the standard tooling.
Tailwind CSS IntelliSense
Class name completion with color previews. Essential if you're using Tailwind anywhere.
Prettier
Opinionated formatter that ends the formatting argument. Format-on-save is one keybinding away.
ESLint
JavaScript/TypeScript linting with inline diagnostics. Plays nicely with Scout — Agent mode reads lint output as part of its validation discipline.
Small things that change how the editor feels.
GitLens
Inline blame, file history, line authorship. The kind of thing you don't realize you need until you've had it.
Vim (vscodevim.vim)
The full Vim keybindings layer. Pearl's native keymap survives — Vim sits on top.
Better Comments
Color-codes // TODO, // FIXME, etc. Free signal at zero cost.
Error Lens
Inline diagnostic messages right on the line. Diagnostic gutter dots become readable text.
Code Spell Checker
Catches typos in identifiers, comments, and strings. The number of bugs this prevents is silly-high.
Path Intellisense
Autocomplete file paths. The unsung hero of import statements.
EditorConfig
Respects .editorconfig files in your repo. The "why are my tabs spaces" fix.
Live Server
Local dev server with live reload. Useful for static-site work where a full build is overkill.
Whatever you've been using, you can keep.
Pearl ships with the default light and dark themes. Every VS Code-compatible theme works as a drop-in install.
One Dark Pro
The Atom dark theme that won the war.
Dracula Official
Purple-leaning dark theme with a strong fanbase.
GitHub Theme
If your day job is on GitHub, your editor can match.
Material Theme
A whole family of themes with deliberate color systems.
Tokyo Night
The dark theme that became a meme. Genuinely good colors.
Solarized (Dark / Light)
The ergonomically-designed color scheme that still holds up.
"Do you have your own extension marketplace?"
No. We don't run a parallel marketplace and we have no plans to. The VS Code extension marketplace is huge, healthy, and works inside Pearl unchanged — building a separate store would fragment the ecosystem you already rely on.
If a specific extension doesn't work in Pearl, that's a bug — tell us with the publisher.extension ID and the failure mode.
"What about Pearl-specific extensions?"
Pearl's first-class features — Scout, the three modes, inline diff, project memory, multi-provider picker — are built into the editor, not extensions you have to install. That's the design. If you want one of those features in your current editor, that's the moment to try Pearl.