Peacock - Late Night Coding FTW
Tags: vscode, javascript, fun
Published: 2019-02-22 16:39:10

---
title: Peacock - Late Night Coding FTW
published: true
description: Visually identify different VS Code instances with colors
tags: vscode, javascript, fun
cover_image: https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/b6f462wg5xd7ca5mmvat.jpg
---

## Flashback

A while back I created a theme for [VS Code](https://code.visualstudio.com?wt.mc_id=devto-blog-jopapa) called [Winter is Coming](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=johnpapa.winteriscoming&wt.mc_id=devto-blog-jopapa). I learned how to do this by reading this [great guide on theming](https://code.visualstudio.com/api/extension-capabilities/theming?wt.mc_id=devto-blog-jopapa) in the VS Code docs. I still use it today (I love the dark versions). It taught me a lot about how to customize colors in VS Code. I then started using this to help solve another problem I had: quickly and visually differentiating between VS Code instances

I'm often working on multiple code projects an articles I am writing in markdown. My worflow is to open different separate VS Code instances for each, as they are often unrelated to each other. As my mind shifts between the work, I find myself cycling through the instances and it takes me a bit of time to identify which instance I want to in focus.

{% twitter 1098821191366787072 %}

## About Last Night

I was working on 4 apps at once last night, along with several articles in I am crafting in markdown using VS Code. This motivated me to complete this project

After I had a working extension completed, I created a simple animated gif and shared it on twitter to see if anyone else was interested. Then I went to bed.

I woke up this morning to more positive reactions than from the community (thank you). I also received many great contributions already (thank you again!).

- credit to [@josephrexme](https://twitter.com/josephrexme) for the name and icon for Peacock
- credit to [@codebeast](https://twitter.com/codebeast) for the CLI suggestions
- credit to [@\_clarkio](https://twitter.com/_clarkio) and [@burkeholland](https://twitter.com/burkeholland) for several issues/ideas

Special credit to the VS Code team and their incredibly [helpful guide for creating extensions](https://code.visualstudio.com/api/get-started/your-first-extension?wt.mc_id=devto-blog-jopapa)

## Try Peacock Out

If you are interested in trying out Peacock, you can [find it here in the marketplace](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=johnpapa.vscode-peacock&wt.mc_id=devto-blog-jopapa). It is currently in preview, which means there may be dragons ahead.

- Get the extension [here](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=johnpapa.vscode-peacock&wt.mc_id=devto-blog-jopapa)
- Contribute to GitHub repository [here](https://github.com/johnpapa/vscode-peacock?wt.mc_id=devto-blog-jopapa))

[![peacock icon](https://thepracticaldev.s3.amazonaws.com/i/b4fq4z43mjx8q6mpip59.png)](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=johnpapa.vscode-peacock&wt.mc_id=devto-blog-jopapa)

Worst case, this extension is just something I'll use, and that's OK. But if you like it too, please give it a try and submit feedback in GitHub. You can [open issues](https://github.com/johnpapa/vscode-peacock/issues?wt.mc_id=devto-blog-jopapa) or grab an [open issue](https://github.com/johnpapa/vscode-peacock/issues?wt.mc_id=devto-blog-jopapa) and help contribute.

Thanks!

_Cross posted to [johnpapa.net](https://johnpapa.net/peacock-late-night-coding-ftw/)_