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microsoft/vscode-react-native
VSCode extension for React Native - supports debugging and editor integration
The official Microsoft VS Code extension for React Native development. It handles debugger integration across Android, iOS, Expo, Windows, and macOS targets, plus command palette shortcuts for common Metro and build operations. If you write React Native in VS Code, this is the extension you install.
Hermes direct debugging works well now — the old remote JS debugging path was a mess, and switching to the CDT protocol made breakpoints actually reliable. Expo support is notably broad: Expo Go, expo-dev-client, EAS Build, and Expo Web all have dedicated launch configurations rather than being bolted on as an afterthought. The built-in network inspector avoids needing a separate proxy tool. Environment validation command ('Check development environment configuration') catches the usual ADB/Xcode/Node version mismatches before you spend an hour debugging setup.
iOS direct debugging is still marked experimental and depends on ios-webkit-debug-proxy, a tool that routinely breaks on new iOS versions — the README buries this. The xdl/Expo SDK dependency is silently installed on first use, which surprises developers behind corporate proxies. Source map support in monorepos requires manual sourceMapPathOverrides config that's easy to get wrong and hard to debug when you do. The extension stores intermediate debug files in .vscode/.react and tells you to gitignore it yourself rather than doing it automatically.