feat(blog): add Couchbase Explorer extension introduction post

src/content/blog/2026/introducing-couchbase-explorer-extension/index.md

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+---
+title: "Introducing the 'Couchbase Explorer' Visual Studio extension!"
+date: "2026-01-19T12:00:00-05:00"
+categories: [dotnet, csharp, extensibility, visualstudio, couchbase]
+description: "Couchbase Explorer brings database browsing and management directly into Visual Studio 2022 and 2026. Connect to your Couchbase Server clusters, browse buckets, scopes, and collections, and view documents - all without leaving your IDE."
+subtitle: "Couchbase database tooling for Visual Studio!"
+---
+
+Introducing "[Couchbase Explorer](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=CodingWithCalvin.CouchbaseExplorer)", an extension for Visual Studio 2022 (and 2026!) that brings Couchbase database browsing and management directly into your IDE. If you've ever found yourself constantly switching between Visual Studio and Couchbase's web console while developing, this extension is for you.
+
+## The Vision
+
+Couchbase Explorer is designed to be your Couchbase companion inside Visual Studio. The goal is to let you browse your clusters, explore your data, and work with documents without breaking your development flow or switching context to another application.
+
+Note that this extension is currently in **BETA** - it's functional, but there's still plenty of work to do. It's also worth mentioning that this is an independent, community-driven project and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Couchbase, Inc.
+
+## Current Features
+
+The initial release focuses on connection management and data browsing:
+
+- **Multiple Connections** - Save and manage connections to multiple Couchbase Server clusters
+- **Secure Credential Storage** - Passwords are stored securely using Windows Credential Manager
+- **SSL/TLS Support** - Connect securely to clusters with SSL encryption enabled
+- **Hierarchical Tree View** - Intuitive navigation: Connections → Buckets → Scopes → Collections → Documents
+- **Document Viewer** - Double-click any document to open it in a dedicated editor with formatted JSON and syntax highlighting
+- **Lazy Loading** - Efficient handling of large collections with batched document retrieval
+- **Copy Functionality** - Quickly copy document contents or document IDs to your clipboard
+- **Refresh Support** - Refresh at any level to see the latest data from your cluster
+- **Theme Support** - Adapts to Visual Studio's light and dark themes
+
+## Getting Started
+
+Once installed, you can access the Couchbase Explorer from the **View** menu. Right-click in the explorer to add your first connection - you'll need your cluster's connection string, username, and password. The extension will securely store your credentials and connect to your cluster.
+
+From there, you can expand the connection to see your buckets, then scopes, then collections. Expand a collection to browse its documents. Double-click any document to view its contents in a formatted JSON editor.
+
+## What's Coming
+
+The roadmap is packed with planned features:
+
+- **Couchbase Capella Support** - Connect to Couchbase's cloud offering
+- **N1QL Query Editor** - Write and execute SQL++ queries directly in Visual Studio
+- **Document Editing** - Create, update, and delete documents
+- **Index Management** - View and manage your cluster indexes
+- **Full-Text Search Integration** - Work with FTS indexes
+- **Bulk Import/Export** - Move data in and out of your collections
+- **Query Results Panel** - View query results in a dedicated tool window
+- **Output/Log Window** - Track operations and debug connection issues
+
+You can check out the full [issue list on GitHub](https://github.com/CodingWithCalvin/VS-CouchbaseExplorer/issues) to see everything that's planned and track progress.
+
+## Get It Now
+
+Feel free to check it out on the [Visual Studio Marketplace](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=CodingWithCalvin.CouchbaseExplorer), and let me know if you have any suggestions! It's [open source on GitHub](https://github.com/CodingWithCalvin/VS-CouchbaseExplorer), so issues and PRs are happily accepted if you're into that sort of thing.