--- title: VS Code for non-devs: Note-taking and Markdown in VS Code description: A walkthrough of using VS Code as a daily note-taking tool for non-developers. Covers setting up a folder-based workspace, writing and previewing Markdown... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/vs-code-for-non-devs-note-taking-and-markdown-in-vs-code-ypbnh25zg twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: VS Code for non-devs: Note-taking and Markdown in VS Code | daily.dev og:description: A walkthrough of using VS Code as a daily note-taking tool for non-developers. Covers setting up a folder-based workspace, writing and previewing Markdown... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/vs-code-for-non-devs-note-taking-and-markdown-in-vs-code-ypbnh25zg og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/YpBNh25zg.png og:image:alt: VS Code for non-devs: Note-taking and Markdown in VS Code 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. # VS Code for non-devs: Note-taking and Markdown in VS Code **[Visual Studio Code](https://daily.dev/sources/vscode)** · 11 min read · 1 upvotes · 1 comments ## Summary A walkthrough of using VS Code as a daily note-taking tool for non-developers. Covers setting up a folder-based workspace, writing and previewing Markdown files, installing extensions for linting and checkboxes, customizing themes, and using GitHub Copilot's chat agent to scaffold note templates, generate tables, and pull in content from web pages like VS Code release notes. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### How can I preview Markdown formatting live while writing notes in VS Code? VS Code has a built-in Markdown preview accessible from the top-right editor icons, including a side-by-side preview mode that renders bold text, italics, tables, checkboxes, and code blocks in real time as you type. Extensions can add checkbox rendering, linting for syntax issues, mermaid diagrams, and PDF export on top of the built-in preview. _daily.dev surfaces workflow tips like this for developers customizing their markdown and note-taking setup in VS Code._ ### Can GitHub Copilot's chat agent create new files and folders automatically in VS Code? Yes, the Copilot chat agent can reason over an existing note file and scaffold out new folders and files automatically, such as generating separate weekly note files for multiple months based on the format of a reference note. It can also add markdown tables, summarize web pages via VS Code's integrated browser, and fill in linked references. _daily.dev helps developers track how AI agents like Copilot are reshaping everyday editor workflows._ ## Community discussion Top comments from developers on daily.dev. **@markozakrajsekgeozs** · 0 upvotes > I was also using VS Code for note-taking. But somehow I didn't feel it was the right tool, so I found Obsidian. But from day one, I kept looking back at how to get back to VS Code. > > This video shows something I'm considering: that I should give VS Code a second chance :) > > Obsidian extension market is growing fast, but as I can see, VS Code (non-dev) extensions are growing too. Why not? Maybe VS Code will once again become my tool for "everything". ## 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 tried using VS Code as my notes app, and it was better than it had any right to be](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) · XDA Developers · 24 upvotes · 4 comments --- Tags: [#github](https://daily.dev/tags/github), [#vscode](https://daily.dev/tags/vscode), [#markdown](https://daily.dev/tags/markdown) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/vs-code-for-non-devs-note-taking-and-markdown-in-vs-code-ypbnh25zg) ```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":"VS Code for non-devs: Note-taking and Markdown in VS Code","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/vs-code-for-non-devs-note-taking-and-markdown-in-vs-code-ypbnh25zg","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/vs-code-for-non-devs-note-taking-and-markdown-in-vs-code-ypbnh25zg"},"datePublished":"2026-07-27T19:24:05.859Z","dateModified":"2026-09-14T08:17:55.590Z","description":"A walkthrough of using VS Code as a daily note-taking tool for non-developers. 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