If you don’t use the minimap in VS code you probably turned it off a while ago (like me). I thought it was small and useless unless your code has a very distinct structure.

It’s kinda like sublime’s minimap:

But…

I was recently perusing the options in VS code and noticed you can change the size of the minimap. There’s 3 settings and the last one makes me feel like an old man pulling out a magnifying glass to read a newspaper (almost there practically).

I think sublime’s map is a little more crisp, but this is nice. I can actually see the code structure!

For comparison, see these two screenshots of the same code structure (don’t even read the code):

• A go struct
• A medium size function (20ish)
• 2 small functions (2ish)
• Another go Struct

Sublime’s minimap

VS Codes minimap

I think I prefer VS Code’s blurrier but bigger representation.

A nice touch to an arguably usable feature

I don’t know if I should “depend” on recognizing code structure. Feels like re-reading a book so much you know what happens by the structure of the paragraphs. In one man projects it’s probably very comfy until someone else comes along and starts adding and –more annoyingly– moving things around. Then I can tell them to get off my porch.