A curated list of resources, tools, and strategies to help extension authors rank higher, monitor performance, and increase downloads on the Visual Studio Marketplace.
- vscoderank.com - The definitive rank tracker for VS Code extensions. Monitor your search positions for specific keywords, track competitor movement daily, and generate automated SEO audit PDFs.
- Marketplace Publisher Dashboard - The official (but limited) tool from Microsoft for basic download and install metrics.
- Shields.io - For creating dynamic badges (installs, ratings) to put in your extension's README.
Understanding how the Marketplace search engine works is key to visibility.
- Keyword Optimization: The Marketplace indexes your extension's Name, Display Name, and Description.
- The "Tag" Power: You are limited to 5 tags. Use them for high-volume category terms.
- The Update Boost: Frequent updates (bug fixes/features) often trigger a temporary boost in the "Trending" section.
- Metadata (package.json): Ensure your
galleryBanner,icon, andbadgesare optimized to increase Click-Through Rate (CTR).
- Official Publishing Tooling - Microsoft Docs on Publishing.
- Marketplace Manifest Schema - Detailed package.json reference.
Where to promote your extension once it's live:
- Reddit: r/vscode (Follow rules on themes/showcase).
- Discord: Visual Studio Code Official Server.
- Hacker News: "Show HN" posts for developer tools.
- Dev.to / Hashnode: Write "How-to" guides using your extension to solve specific problems.
If you want to know how your extension is doing right now, you can get a free ranking report:
- Go to vscoderank.com.
- Enter your Extension ID.
- Download your SEO Audit PDF showing your current keyword rankings.
Contributions are welcome! If you have a strategy, a tool, or an article that helped you grow your extension, please open a Pull Request.
Built and maintained by the team at vscoderank.com.