How to Actually Check if a VS Code Extension is Safe Before You Install It

You're about to install a VS Code extension. Maybe it's a formatter, a linter, a theme, an AI tool. You search, you find it, it has decent reviews. You click Install.

But here's what you probably didn't check — and what almost nobody does.

What VS Code Extensions Can Actually Do

Before we get into how to evaluate one, it's worth being clear about what you're giving permission for. VS Code extensions run with full access to:

Your filesystem — read, write, delete