How I created a Cozy Workspace in VS Code

Source: Dev.to

Creating a Productivity Profile

VS Code profiles let you build isolated setups for different workflows. A dedicated Productivity profile keeps your focused environment clean and consistent.

1. Open the Command Palette.
2. Run Profiles: Create Profile.
3. Choose Empty and name it Productivity.
4. Customize settings only for this profile.

You can also click the gear icon (bottom‑left) → Profiles.

Moving the Sidebar to the Right

By default the sidebar is on the left, which competes with the natural reading flow. Moving it to the right keeps the editor centered.

"workbench.sideBar.location": "right"

You can also right‑click the sidebar and select Move Primary Sidebar Right.

Placing the Activity Bar at the Top

Keeping the Activity Bar on the left (or right) creates an extra vertical column. Moving it to the top uses horizontal space instead of eating into the editor.

"workbench.activityBar.location": "top"

Change this via the Activity Bar Position menu at the top of the sidebar.

Centering Quick Input

The Command Palette and file switcher normally appear at the top, forcing an eye shift upward. Centering Quick Input keeps everything in your immediate focus area.

"workbench.quickInput.location": "center"

Hiding the Command Center

If you already rely on keyboard shortcuts, the Command Center adds noise without value.

"window.commandCenter": false

Compact Menu Bar

If you rarely use the menu, you can hide it and save another row of UI.

"window.menuBarVisibility": "compact"

You can also adjust this via Customize Layout → Visibility of the Menu Bar.

Automatic Theme Switching

PowerToys LightSwitch can change your Windows theme based on sunrise/sunset. VS Code can detect this automatically and switch between your preferred light and dark themes.

"workbench.preferredDarkColorTheme": "JetBrains Rider Dark Theme",
"workbench.preferredLightColorTheme": "Default Light+",
"window.autoDetectColorScheme": true

I use the JetBrains Rider Dark theme to keep a consistent look across IDEs.

Improving Cursor Visibility

The default cursor blink is subtle. The “expand” style is more visible without being distracting.

"editor.cursorBlinking": "expand"

Optional: VS Code Pets Extension

The VS Code Pets extension adds a small animated pet to your workspace. It’s optional but adds a bit of charm without affecting focus.

Final Result & Settings Repository

After applying the above changes, the workspace feels more balanced, spacious, and pleasant for long coding sessions.

You can find all the settings in my GitHub repository:

Windows11-Setup – VS Code configuration

Feel free to customize the setup to match your own definition of a cozy development environment.