--- title: I tried using VS Code as my notes app, and it was better... description: A developer spent a week using VS Code as a note-taking app by combining its native Markdown support, built-in preview, global search, and the Foam extension... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/i-tried-using-vs-code-as-my-notes-app-and-it-was-better-than-it-had-any-right-to-be-dmizt9vbp twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: I tried using VS Code as my notes app, and it was better than it had any right to be | daily.dev og:description: A developer spent a week using VS Code as a note-taking app by combining its native Markdown support, built-in preview, global search, and the Foam extension... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/i-tried-using-vs-code-as-my-notes-app-and-it-was-better-than-it-had-any-right-to-be-dmizt9vbp og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/DmIzt9VBp.png og:image:alt: I tried using VS Code as my notes app, and it was better than it had any right to be og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # I tried using VS Code as my notes app, and it was better than it had any right to be **[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 3 min read · 24 upvotes · 4 comments ## Summary A developer spent a week using VS Code as a note-taking app by combining its native Markdown support, built-in preview, global search, and the Foam extension for wiki-style linking and backlinks. The setup required minimal configuration — just the Markdown All in One extension and Auto Save enabled. The result is a fast, local-first PKM system where notes stay as plain files. The author acknowledges it won't suit everyone (no mobile app, no rich-text canvas), and recommends Obsidian or Notion for most users, but sees VS Code notes as ideal for developers who already live in a code editor and want to avoid context switching. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Community discussion Top comments from developers on daily.dev. **@xghozt** · 2 upvotes > That's just Obsidian with extra steps. **@doncho** · 2 upvotes > I'm already (since 2020) using Code got this purpose. And it's great. **@trong202** · 2 upvotes > might be temporarily down or it may have moved permanently to a new web address. **@rshewade** · 1 upvotes > I tried it and it works fine ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [VS Code is the best productivity app on my PC, and I barely use it for coding anymore](https://daily.dev/posts/vs-code-is-the-best-productivity-app-on-my-pc-and-i-barely-use-it-for-coding-anymore-jhmlf8lkp) · XDA Developers · 59 upvotes · 11 comments - [VS Code is becoming a better productivity app than most productivity apps](https://daily.dev/posts/vs-code-is-becoming-a-better-productivity-app-than-most-productivity-apps-mbppo0ifw) · XDA Developers · 2 upvotes · 0 comments - [I built my entire second brain inside VS Code and stopped switching apps entirely](https://daily.dev/posts/i-built-my-entire-second-brain-inside-vs-code-and-stopped-switching-apps-entirely-tghfleadl) · XDA Developers · 4 upvotes · 0 comments - [These VS Code extensions let me ditch three separate apps for notes, tasks, and code](https://daily.dev/posts/these-vs-code-extensions-let-me-ditch-three-separate-apps-for-notes-tasks-and-code-vp4tbgs3c) · XDA Developers · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [I stopped paying for Obsidian after discovering VS Code can handle my notes just as well with the right extensions](https://daily.dev/posts/i-stopped-paying-for-obsidian-after-discovering-vs-code-can-handle-my-notes-just-as-well-with-the-ri-l3iphwzkz) · XDA Developers · 54 upvotes · 19 comments --- Tags: [#vscode](https://daily.dev/tags/vscode), [#markdown](https://daily.dev/tags/markdown) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/i-tried-using-vs-code-as-my-notes-app-and-it-was-better-than-it-had-any-right-to-be-dmizt9vbp) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"I tried using VS Code as my notes app, and it was better than it had any right to be","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-tried-using-vs-code-as-my-notes-app-and-it-was-better-than-it-had-any-right-to-be-dmizt9vbp","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-tried-using-vs-code-as-my-notes-app-and-it-was-better-than-it-had-any-right-to-be-dmizt9vbp"},"datePublished":"2026-07-19T18:03:30.474Z","dateModified":"2026-07-20T06:17:33.026Z","description":"A developer spent a week using VS Code as a note-taking app by combining its native Markdown support, built-in preview, global search, and the Foam extension...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/a41d8cd4fc6059dedd7bddb7f56d5783?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/a41d8cd4fc6059dedd7bddb7f56d5783?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"XDA Developers","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"XDA Developers","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--kCg6yyAP--/f_auto,q_auto/v1774964407/logos/xda-developers?_a=BAMAMiWQ0","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},"commentCount":4,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-tried-using-vs-code-as-my-notes-app-and-it-was-better-than-it-had-any-right-to-be-dmizt9vbp","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":24},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":4}],"keywords":"vscode,markdown","timeRequired":"PT3M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"XDA Developers","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"I tried using VS Code as my notes app, and it was better than it had any right to be"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/i-tried-using-vs-code-as-my-notes-app-and-it-was-better-than-it-had-any-right-to-be-dmizt9vbp","comment":[{"@type":"Comment","text":"That’s just Obsidian with extra steps.","datePublished":"2026-07-20T21:00:59.904Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/DmIzt9VBp#c-Cmm3ECCPc","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"XGhozt","url":"https://daily.dev/xghozt","image":"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/5670495?v=4"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":2}},{"@type":"Comment","text":"I’m already (since 2020) using Code got this purpose. 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