Different languages have different conventions for indentation and formatting. VS Code lets you configure settings per language.

Setting Up Language-Specific Settings

Open VS Code preferences (Cmd+,) and add language-specific settings using this format:

"[language-id]": {
    "setting.name": value
}

Example: Different Tab Sizes per Language

Here’s an example configuration with different settings for JavaScript, CSS, HTML, and Go:

{
  "[javascript]": {
    "editor.insertSpaces": true,
    "editor.tabSize": 2
  },
  "[css]": {
    "editor.insertSpaces": true,
    "editor.tabSize": 2
  },
  "[html]": {
    "editor.insertSpaces": true,
    "editor.tabSize": 4
  },
  "[go]": {
    "editor.insertSpaces": false,
    "editor.tabSize": 8
  }
}

In this example:

• JavaScript and CSS use 2 spaces.
• HTML uses 4 spaces.
• Go uses tabs with a width of 8 (following Go conventions).

Markdown-Specific Settings

When writing Markdown, you might want to disable autocomplete popups:

{
  "[markdown]": {
    "editor.renderWhitespace": "all",
    "editor.acceptSuggestionOnEnter": "off",
    "editor.parameterHints.enabled": false,
    "editor.quickSuggestions": false,
    "editor.snippetSuggestions": "none"
  }
}

This disables all the IntelliSense features that can be distracting when writing prose rather than code.

Other Useful Language Settings

You can override any editor setting per language, including:

• editor.defaultFormatter - which formatter to use
• editor.formatOnSave - enable/disable format on save
• editor.wordWrap - line wrapping behavior
• editor.rulers - column guides

Lessons in this unit:

0:	Introduction
1:	Setup and Configuration Tips
2:	Terminal Tips
3:	Editing Tips
4:	Prettier and Auto-Formatting
5:	▶︎ Language-Specific Settings
6:	Emmet for Faster HTML/CSS
7:	Debugging in VS Code
8:	Fix node modules import errors in VS Code
9:	Fixing TS issues in VS Code - Astro
10:	Regex: select entire line starting with...