VS Code's Integrated Browser Opens Web Pages Without Leaving the Editor
Keeping the browser inside the editor cuts context-switching during front-end iteration. It also gives developers a quick, zero-extension way to preview static HTML without installing or configuring a live-reload server.
The Integrated Browser — triggered via the command palette or a right-click on an HTML file — renders web pages inside VS Code. It accepts any URL, including local dev-server addresses like `http://localhost:5173`, so a developer can keep the editor and the rendered output side by side. Changes to local HTML files update the preview automatically, making it a lightweight alternative for quick demos and static pages.
The feature is distinct from Live Server or Live Preview. Those extensions start a local server and inject auto-refresh logic; the Integrated Browser simply displays a page inside VS Code. For a full project with a build step, the workflow is to run `pnpm dev` (or equivalent) and point the Integrated Browser at the resulting localhost URL.
VS Code's built-in browser has been overlooked partly because the extension ecosystem (Live Server, Live Preview) absorbed the same use case early, but the native feature requires no install and avoids extension conflicts.
Separating page rendering from live-reload logic clarifies a common confusion: many developers treat them as one tool, but they solve two distinct problems.