VSCode extension
The deno extension is essential for VSCode. They (probably correctly) assume that you do not use deno for most of your JS/TS projects. This means that the deno extension is disabled by default. You instead enable it per-deno-project. You do this by executing "Deno: Initialize Workspace Configuration" from the command palette (default ctrl+shift+p). This will create a workspace config that enables deno.
// .vscode/settings.json
{
"deno.enable": true,
"deno.lint": true,
"deno.unstable": true
}