Great question—being able to trace back extension installs is a key tool for debugging unexpected setting changes or behavior. Here's how you can access install history, find timestamps, and systematically troubleshoot by removing recent extensions:

1. View Recent Install History Directly in VS Code #

You can quickly see your installed extensions sorted by install date right in the UI:

• Open the Extensions panel with Ctrl+Shift+X (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+X (macOS).
• Click the three-dot menu icon in the top-right corner of the Extensions panel.
• Select Show Installed Extensions to filter out disabled/uninstalled extensions.
• Click the Sort by dropdown (default is "Name") and choose Installed On. This will order extensions from most recently installed to oldest (or vice versa).

This gives you a quick overview of recent additions, though it won’t show full historical logs if you’ve cleared cache or reinstalled VS Code.

2. Access Detailed Install Timestamps via Log Files #

VS Code keeps detailed logs of extension activity, including exact install times. The log location varies by OS:

• Windows: %APPDATA%\Code\logs
• macOS: $HOME/Library/Application Support/Code/logs
• Linux: $HOME/.config/Code/logs

Inside this folder, you’ll find subfolders named with timestamps (e.g., 20240520T123456). Open the main.log file within these folders, and search for lines containing Extension installed: or Installing extension. Each entry will include a precise timestamp and the full extension ID (e.g., [2024-05-20 14:32:15.123] [info] Extension installed: ms-python.python).

These logs go back further than the UI’s sorted list, making them ideal if you need to trace installs from weeks or months ago.

3. Troubleshoot by Uninstalling Recent Extensions #

To narrow down which extension is causing your setting issues:

• Use either the UI’s "Installed On" sort or the log files to get the order of recent installs.
• Start by disabling the most recently installed extension (right-click it in the Extensions panel > Disable), then reload VS Code (Ctrl+Shift+P > Reload Window) and test your settings.
• If the issue persists, disable the next most recent extension, and repeat. Once you find the culprit, you can uninstall it entirely.

Pro tip: If you have a lot of recent extensions, you can temporarily disable all extensions at once with Ctrl+Shift+P > Disable All Installed Extensions, then re-enable them one by one to isolate the problem faster.

内容的提问来源于stack exchange，提问作者jxramos