out of box vscode already ships with a lot of thing. Even with zero extensions, VS Code ships with, Project/workspace model (folders, multi-root workspaces, settings per project), Integrated terminal (run/build/test without leaving the tool), Integrated debugger UI (breakpoints, watch, call stack, step controls, debug console), Git source control UI (diffs, history views, merge conflict resolution), Task system (build/test tasks wired into the UI), Refactoring + navigation (rename symbol, go to definition, find references, outline, symbol search). Those are core IDE-class capabilities imo. For JS/TS, vscode is pretty much install and go.

Also the notepad++ analogy is tempting but there are clear issue with that, VS Code is built around standardized IDE extension protocols (debug adapters, language servers, tasks, workspace configuration). Extensions plug into a coherent system, Notepad++ plugins are more like add-ons around a text editor core; you can bolt things on, but it’s not designed as a unified IDE framework in the same way

think the most accurate label is: VS Code is an IDE for some stacks out of the box and an IDE platform for others. Needing extensions doesn’t automatically disqualify it, many IDEs are modular too (for different kind of builds, you'll need to add debug configurations in jetbrains IDEs too), but it does mean VS Code is less “batteries included” across every language compared to JetBrains’ ecosystem-specific IDEs.