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Better C++ Syntax installs statistics

By Jeff Hykin (4 listings) · VS Code Marketplace · Programming Languages

The bleeding edge of the C++ syntax

View on VS Code Marketplace Fresh · Oct 20, 2026

Better C++ Syntax has 12,792,545 recorded installs on VS Code Marketplace, ranking #84 of 2,501 tracked listings.

Installs
12,792,545
Official API · Oct 20, 2026
7-day growth
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Insufficient history
30-day growth
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Insufficient history
90-day growth
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Insufficient history
Rank
#84
Among tracked VS Code Marketplace listings

Rating: 4.88 / 5 from 16 ratings

About Better C++ Syntax

<p align="center"> <img height="90" alt="Screen Shot 2022-02-11 at 12 01 19 PM" src="https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/17692058/153645502-f106a481-faaf-450f-9f5e-10da3981d8dc.png"> </p>

Sponsors

<table> <thead> <tr> <th> <a href="https://bit.ly/3BdYRfu"> <img src=https://storage.googleapis.com/gitduck/img/duckly-sponsor-vsc-opt.png > </a> </th> <th> <p align="left"> Easy pair programming with any IDE. Duckly enables you to talk, share your code in real-time, server and terminal with people using different IDEs. <br> <a href="https://bit.ly/3BdYRfu">Try it out for free</a> </p> </th> </tr> </thead> </table> <!-- <img src=https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/17692058/153651656-2607a088-4b85-4729-9118-fe721246eb27.svg > --> <br>

What does this extension do?

This will get you the bleeding-edge syntax highlighting for C++. Which means your theme will be able to color your code better. This used to be a fix, but then VS Code starting using it as the official source for C and C++ highlighting.

NOTE: The default VS Code theme does not color much. Switch to the Dark+ theme (installed by default) or use a theme like one of the following to benefit from the changes:

How do I use the extension?

Just install the VS Code extension and the changes will automatically be applied to all relevant files. <br>Link: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=jeff-hykin.better-cpp-syntax

Comparison (Material Theme)

<img width="2794" alt="compare" src="https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/17692058/153653793-3685ffd5-cf96-43c3-a883-da79ba33d037.png">

How do I use the grammar? (as an upstream for my non-vs code editor)

  1. Watch the the "Major Changes" thread here to know when I change licenses, the codebase structure, or just major highlighting changes.
  2. I support non-VS Code usecases. E.g. yes, you are welcome to open issues like this one that don't affect VS Code.

What is different from atom/language-c?

It fixes:

  • The issue of single quotes inside #error and #warning being highlighted when then shouldn't be
  • The issue of initialization functions only highlighting the first parenthesis
  • The bug that treats the 'and' and 'or' operator as functions (instead of operators) when they are followed by ()'s
  • Old C99 function highlighting that broke the standard function highlighting
  • The failure of highlighting for the semicolon after namespaces
  • The missing operator overloading symbols
  • The failure to tag operator overloading functions as functions
  • The failure to tag implicit operator overrides
  • The marking of some %'s as invalid inside of strings https://github.com/atom/language-c/issues/289
  • The highlighting of namespaces with ::'s https://github.com/atom/language-c/issues/260
  • The issue of the C++ syntax depending on (and getting screwed up by) the C syntax
  • multiple inheritance https://github.com/atom/language-c/issues/245
  • And many many more issues (#318, #309, #270, #246, etc)

It adds:

  • Parameter highlighting
  • Highlighting of embedded assembly code (if you have an assembly syntax installed)
  • Function-pointer highlighting
  • Lambda highlighting
  • C++14 literal support (100'000ms)
  • Template definition syntax highlighting (including C++ 2020 syntax)
  • Better object identification
  • Improved scope resolution :: syntax
  • Highlighting of templated function calls aFunction<int>(arguments)
  • Additional specificity for many existing tags
  • Many other features
Like this extension?
<ul> <li> You'll probably like this as well: <a href="https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=jeff-hykin.better-syntax">My "Better Syntax" Megapack</a> </li> </ul>

Contributing

If you'd like to help improve the syntax, take a look at main/main.rb. And make sure to take a look at documentation/CONTRIBUTING.md to get a better idea of how the code works.

Planned future fixes/features:

  • Add tagging for type-casting statements
  • Add tagging for custom types words
  • Better support for dereferenced/pointer tagging
  • Full C++ 2020 support (module imports, arrow return types, etc.)
  • Improving template types

What if I see a highlighting bug?

Let me know! Post an issue on https://github.com/jeff-hykin/better-cpp-syntax I love regular expressions, and PR's are always welcome.…

Description from the VS Code Marketplace listing.

  • c++
  • color
  • coloring
  • cpp
  • highlighting
  • syntax
  • textmate

README badge

Show your rank in a README or on your website. The badge updates automatically.

Charts

Images: 30d · 1y · all time · 1600×900 dark

Adoption over time

Better C++ Syntax installs on VS Code Marketplace, last 90 days: 12,792,545 installs as of Oct 20, 2026.Better C++ SyntaxInstalls on VS Code Marketplace · Last 90 days12,792,545installs12.8M12.8M12.8M12.8M12.8M12.8M12.8M12.8M12.8MJul 22Aug 6Aug 21Sep 5Sep 20Oct 5Oct 20installsobservedarchived (Internet Archive)no observationsOct 16, 2026 – Oct 20, 2026 · 5 observations · Updated Oct…pluginstats.com
Better C++ Syntax installs on VS Code Marketplace, last 90 days: 12,792,545 installs as of Oct 20, 2026.

7/30/90-day growth

Better C++ Syntax installs growth on VS Code Marketplace: 7-day growth unavailable, 30-day growth unavailable, 90-day growth unavailable.Better C++ SyntaxInstalls growth on VS Code Marketplace12,792,545installs now7-day growthinsufficient historyInsufficient history30-day growthinsufficient historyInsufficient history90-day growthinsufficient historyInsufficient historyGrowth vs. nearest observation to each baseline date · Updated Oct 20, 2026pluginstats.com
Better C++ Syntax installs growth on VS Code Marketplace: 7-day growth unavailable, 30-day growth unavailable, 90-day growth unavailable.

Ranking history

Better C++ Syntax VS Code Marketplace ranking history: currently #84 (by installs).Better C++ SyntaxVS Code Marketplace ranking · by installs · Last 90 days#84current rank#82#83#84#85#86Jul 22Aug 6Aug 21Sep 5Sep 20Oct 5Oct 20rankOct 16, 2026 – Oct 20, 2026 · 5 observations · Updated Oct 20, 2026pluginstats.com
Better C++ Syntax VS Code Marketplace ranking history: currently #84 (by installs).

Ratings over time

Better C++ Syntax ratings on VS Code Marketplace, last 90 days: 16 ratings as of Oct 20, 2026.Better C++ SyntaxRatings on VS Code Marketplace · Last 90 days16ratings1414.51515.51616.51717.518Jul 22Aug 6Aug 21Sep 5Sep 20Oct 5Oct 20ratingsobservedarchived (Internet Archive)no observationsOct 16, 2026 – Oct 20, 2026 · 5 observations · Updated Oct…pluginstats.com
Better C++ Syntax ratings on VS Code Marketplace, last 90 days: 16 ratings as of Oct 20, 2026.

Listing placement

All VS Code Marketplace2,501 listings · 126 pages · 1,252 shown · page 5, #4 (overall #84)
All VS Code Marketplace: every listing in installs order

Listing placement

Programming Languages792 listings · 40 pages · page 2, #19 (overall #39)
Programming Languages: every listing in installs order

Filled points are observed values; hollow points come from Internet Archive snapshots of the listing page. Dashed segments span periods with no observations — values between points are not interpolated.

Each band is one page of 20. Installs on a linear scale. Placement is projected from installs, so it can differ from the marketplace's own sort order. Hover a dot to see the listing.

Recent observations

Full history (5)
Recent installs observations for Better C++ Syntax
Date (UTC)InstallsChange vs. previous
12,792,545+1K
12,791,502+798
12,790,704+498
12,790,206+923
12,789,283—

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Data source

Install counts, average rating, and rating counts come from the public Visual Studio Marketplace gallery API. Installs are cumulative and exclude updates.

Listing: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=jeff-hykin.better-cpp-syntax. First seen Oct 16, 2026; last successful collection Oct 20, 2026. See the methodology.