ESP8266 Programming with VS Code
Summary
ESP8266 modules are cheap and flexible microcontrollers. They can be purchased easily on AliExpress (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006211265531.html) or elsewhere. They are one of many types of Arduino compatible microcontrollers.
VS Code is a Microsoft IDE that is common across the industry – https://code.visualstudio.com/
The below page focuses on the requirements to program the module in Linux.
Plug-in
To program an Arduino style unit with VS Code, you’ll need the Arduino extension (Marketplace Link: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=vsciot-vscode.vscode-arduino). Once installed, it will prompt for the Arduino CLI, choose to use the “built in” CLI at this point.