# I got tired of switching apps to work with PDFs, so I built a VS Code extension

> Source: <https://dev.to/mantasu/i-got-tired-of-switching-apps-to-work-with-pdfs-so-i-built-a-vs-code-extension-e9l>
> Published: 2026-10-17 21:29:59+00:00

[VS Code](https://code.visualstudio.com/) is where I do most of my work, but whenever I needed to properly review a PDF, I kept switching to another app just to highlight a passage, leave a comment, or sign a document.

I wanted to do all of that without breaking my workflow, especially when reading research papers or working with technical documents.

So I built [PDF Viewer & Editor](https://github.com/mantasu/pdf-editor):

It lets you annotate PDFs directly in VS Code: highlight and underline text, leave comments, write rich-text notes with [LaTeX](https://latex-project.org/) maths, draw shapes, fill forms, and sign documents. It also integrates with [GitHub Copilot](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/copilot/overview), so you can ask it to explain or summarize a passage, or use `@pdf` directly in Copilot Chat.

The fun part wasn't just adding annotation tools - it was making sure the saved edits would still work outside VS Code. Annotations are saved using standard PDF annotations, so your edited documents can still be opened in [Acrobat](https://www.adobe.com/uk/acrobat.html), [Preview](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/preview/welcome/mac), and browsers.

You can also rotate, reorder, and insert pages, print, and undo changes.

If you've ever had to jump between your editor and a PDF app while reviewing papers or filling out documents, I'd love to know if this is something you'd use :)