Top 5 Best Code Snippet Tools to Pair with your IDE

Try these purpose-built code snippet tools to find your saved code faster.

Do you re-search Google to find a code snippet you need to re-use?

Do you send code snippets on Slack to SlackBot or yourself to save for later?

Do you create in-project scratch files with helpful snippets?

You need a snippet tool.

Whether you find and save code snippets from Stack Overflow, the web or from your preferred IDE, code snippet tools help give a central location for you to easily store and access snippets. Snippet tools help improve developer productivity by eliminating wasted time and increasing focus and flow.

Here are the best code snippet softwares we recommend to bring organization to your workflow and make your life a little easier with a centralized place for your snippets.

1. Pieces.app

Pieces allows developers to supercharge their entire workflow. Pieces offers a standalone desktop app paired with IDE plugins to instantly save code snippets from anywhere. When saving a snippet to Pieces, the AI eliminates all of the guess work. It adds context like a smart description, tags, language classifications, related links, and related people, making all of those snippets easier to organize and find later on. Users can collaborate with their team quickly and easily by generating a Pieces shareable link.

Users can drag and drop a screenshot into the Pieces app and it converts it into formatted, ready-to-use code — of course, with context attached. Pieces gives users the option to connect to the cloud or work completely offline.

Pieces for Developers elevates developer’s workflows 10x and it’s free. There is a VS Code extension, a JetBrains IntelliJ plugin, a Chrome snippets extension, and much more in the works.

2. ThisCodeWorks

ThisCodeWorks gives users access to what they call, “The Pinterest of Code.” It stores public code snippets and collections for users, similar to Stack Overflow. ThisCodeWorks is useful for sharing code snippets with a team via shareable links, exporting snippets as images, and embedding snippets with an HTML iframe.

ThisCodeWorks has Chrome and VS Code extensions to save code. Users can only access saved snippets by having the browser open and logging into their ThisCodeWorks account. Once users are logged in, they can see saved snippets and begin organizing by manually entering titles, tags and language classifications. Additionally, users can add snippets to collections to find and reuse later.

3. DevSheet

The DevSheet snippet app allows users to save code snippets using their Chrome extension when searching through code on the web. Users can search public code snippets, questions and articles through the site and then save those snippets when logged into DevSheet on the web.

The DevSheet Chrome extension isn’t super user-friendly when searching for snippets; users need to manually enter titles, tags, language and any information that would help differentiate the snippets later. DevSheet’s in-house public snippet collection gives access to a public code snippet repository that can be enough for some. The DevSheet Chrome plugin is free snippet tool.

4. Cacher.io

The Cacher.io code snippet app focuses on organizing and storing snippets from anywhere in a user’s workflow. It offers color-coded labels to categorize snippets by project or purpose. Snippets can be saved in a personal or shared code snippet library. Shared libraries are very handy for saving and syncing code bases for faster and easier collaboration with a team.

Cacher.io is available as a desktop app and a snippet app for Chrome. Also available as a plugin for VS Code and IntelliJ. They do have a free version, but it’s limited in what plugins are available and only allows you to save up to 15 snippets. They have paid plans that include features like code reviews, Cacher.io plugins for VS Code or IntelliJ, and other important features.

5. Codiga

Codiga is a code snippet software that stores snippets from the web or an IDE. Codiga is centered around a community. They allow users to publish saved snippets to Codiga Hub where users can search and find code or curate their private collection.

Users can organize their snippets by manually adding tags so they’re easier to find later. There’s a feature called “Cookbook” that’s essentially a collections folder where users can organize snippets by language, function or however one desires. We like the group sharing feature where users can invite members into a specific group. This makes sharing code with teammates accessible and efficient.

Codiga has a single player version that’s free and a team version that’s $14 dollars a month. It’s compatible with VS Code, JetBrains, Chrome, MacOS, Windows and Linux.

Conclusion

If you’re looking to enhance your workflow and save time, adding a snippet tool to your toolbox is an obvious choice. We’ve highlighted the capabilities of the 5 best snippet tools and look forward to watching the evolution of these products as they continue to enrich developers’ workflows.