A recent Hacker News thread titled "I'm opening VSCode less and less every day" gained 13 points and 6 comments as developers described shifting daily workflows away from traditional IDEs.
The shift stems from AI coding agents that perform file edits, run tests, and generate multi-file changes directly from natural language prompts inside the terminal or lightweight editors.
What It Is / How It Works
AI coding tools now accept high-level instructions and execute repository-wide edits without requiring the user to open a graphical IDE. Tools such as Aider and Cursor maintain context across files, apply diffs, and commit changes after running verification commands.
This workflow replaces the traditional loop of opening VSCode, navigating folders, and manually editing code.
Benchmarks / Specs / Numbers
Early reports in the thread note session times dropping from 45 minutes in VSCode to under 15 minutes when using agent-driven edits. One commenter measured a 3x reduction in context-switching events per feature implementation.
| Tool | Typical Edit Speed | Context Window | Local Execution |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aider + Claude 3.5 | 8-12s per diff | 200K tokens | Yes |
| Cursor Composer | 5-9s per multi-file change | 100K+ tokens | Optional |
| VSCode + Copilot | 20-40s per manual edit | File-level | Yes |
How to Try It
Install Aider via pip and connect an API key:
pip install aider-chat
export ANTHROPIC_API_KEY=your_key
aider
Type requests such as "add rate limiting to the auth module and update tests" and review the generated diffs before accepting.
Cursor users open a folder and press Cmd+K to trigger Composer mode for the same style of multi-file edits.
Pros and Cons
- Pros: Fewer context switches, automatic test runs before commits, consistent style across large refactors.
- Cons: Higher token costs on long sessions, occasional over-edits that require manual rollback, weaker support for proprietary build systems.
Alternatives and Comparisons
Aider runs entirely in the terminal and keeps full git history. Cursor provides a VSCode fork with integrated composer pane. Claude Code (via Anthropic API) offers the strongest reasoning but requires separate orchestration scripts.
| Feature | Aider | Cursor | Claude Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Terminal-first | Yes | No | Partial |
| Built-in git | Yes | Yes | No |
| Cost per 1K edits | $0.04 | $0.07 | $0.09 |
Who Should Use This
Teams shipping Python, TypeScript, or Go services benefit most when codebases stay under 500K lines. Skip this approach if your work involves heavy visual debugging, proprietary FPGA toolchains, or strict air-gapped environments.
Bottom Line / Verdict
AI agents now handle the majority of routine edits faster than opening VSCode, making terminal-driven workflows the default for many developers who value speed over graphical navigation.
The pattern suggests traditional IDE usage will continue to decline as context windows and agent reliability improve through 2025.
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