minimalistic-VS-code

A clean, minimal, and professional Visual Studio Code configuration bundle by BinaryOxide.

This repository contains everything needed to reproduce a clean, productivity-focused VS Code look and behaviour. It includes two ways to apply the setup: using the full exported profile (fast, less professional) or manually applying the settings.json and keybindings.json (recommended for control and portability).

Repository structure

minimalistic-VS-code/

├── .vscode/                 # Optional workspace settings (if any)
├── Previews/                # UI screenshots showing the final look
│   ├── preview1.png
│   ├── preview2.png
│   └── preview3.png
├── Profile/                 # VS Code exported profile file
│   └── BinaryOxide-vscode-profile-v1.code-profile
├── extensions/              # extension exports & lists
│   ├── extensions-list.txt  # simple list of extension identifiers
│   └── extensions.json      # full metadata export (optional)
├── json/
│   └── settings.json        # core VS Code settings (recommended to review)
├── keybindings/
│   └── keybindings.json     # custom keybindings
└── README.md                # this file

Two ways to apply this configuration

Method A — Import the VS Code Profile (quick, not recommended for professionals)

What it does: imports settings, extensions, snippets, and keybindings in one click.

Why it’s not recommended for professionals:

• It imports everything (extensions and exact settings), which can bring unnecessary extensions or machine-specific settings that you may not want.
• Harder to audit: you can’t easily review every setting before applying.
• May overwrite local preferences and workspace-specific settings unintentionally.

When to use it: when you want a one-click look match (for demos, quick sharing with friends), not for production machines or long-term setups.

How to use the profile:

1. Open VS Code.
2. Open the Account/Profile menu (bottom-left or use the Command Palette).
3. Choose Profiles → Manage Profiles → Import profile from file.
4. Select Profile/BinaryOxide-vscode-profile-v1.code-profile.
5. Restart VS Code if required.

Important keybindings included (quick reference):

• Alt + 1 — Toggle terminal
• Alt + 2 — Toggle side panel (explorer)
• Alt + 3 — Change title bar style

⚠️ Reminder: Using the profile will add any extensions listed inside it. Check extensions/extensions-list.txt before importing if you want to avoid installing all extensions.

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Method B — Manual configuration (recommended for professionals)

This method is the recommended, controlled way. It lets you review and selectively apply settings and keybindings.

Steps — Minimal & safe

1. Backup your current user settings and keybindings (always do this first):

   • Open Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) → Preferences: Open Settings (JSON) → Save a copy.
   • Command Palette → Preferences: Open Keyboard Shortcuts (JSON) → Save a copy.

2. Apply settings.json

   • Open json/settings.json from this repo in VS Code.
   • Review the file and remove any entries you don’t want.
   • Copy the contents.
   • Open Command Palette → Preferences: Open Settings (JSON) and paste. Save.

   Alternatively, you can copy json/settings.json to your user folder manually:

   Windows: C:\Users\<your-username>\AppData\Roaming\Code\User\settings.json
   

3. Apply keybindings.json

   • Open keybindings/keybindings.json and review the bindings.
   • Copy the contents.
   • Command Palette → Preferences: Open Keyboard Shortcuts (JSON) and paste. Save.

   Important keybindings (already configured in this repo):

   • Alt + 1 — Toggle terminal
   • Alt + 2 — Toggle side panel
   • Alt + 3 — Change title bar style

4. Install extensions (selective)

   • Open extensions/extensions-list.txt to see the extension IDs included.
   • Recommended: install only the extensions you need. To install from the terminal:

   # Windows example (run in PowerShell or CMD where 'code' is in PATH)
   code --install-extension ms-python.python
   code --install-extension esbenp.prettier-vscode
   # or install all from the list:
   for /f %i in (extensions\extensions-list.txt) do code --install-extension %i

   • Or use the Extensions view in VS Code: open the three-dot menu → Install from VSIX... for local vsix files, or manually search and install by name.

5. Restart VS Code.

6. Verify the look with Previews/preview1.png and preview2.png.

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Why prefer manual configuration?

• Control: Only the settings and extensions you want are applied.
• Security: Avoid unknowingly installing extensions that require permissions.
• Auditability: You can review and version-control small JSON files easily.
• Portability: Easier to apply parts of the config across machines and teams.

Changelog

• v1.0 — Initial repo layout and baseline settings.

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Prepared professionally by BinaryOxide — keep configs minimal, auditable, and portable.