diff --git a/os/layers/participant/hooks/live/2000-participant.hook.chroot b/os/layers/participant/hooks/live/2000-participant.hook.chroot
index 1a45aa6..ae7268e 100755
--- a/os/layers/participant/hooks/live/2000-participant.hook.chroot
+++ b/os/layers/participant/hooks/live/2000-participant.hook.chroot
@@ -21,6 +21,17 @@ for ext in $VSCODE_EXTENSIONS; do
 done
 chown -R root:root /etc/skel/.vscode
 rm -rf /tmp/vsc.tmp
+# Move extensions elsewhere and install symlinks in /etc/skel.
+# This speeds up user creation and saves space.
+mkdir /usr/local/lib/vscode-extensions
+pushd /etc/skel/.vscode/extensions
+for ext in *; do
+  if [ -d "$ext" ]; then
+    mv "$ext" /usr/local/lib/vscode-extensions/
+    ln -s "/usr/local/lib/vscode-extensions/$ext" "$ext"
+  fi
+done
+popd
 
 # Enable codeblocks template.
 sed -i 's|// project wizards|RegisterWizard(wizProject,     _T("soi"),      _T("A SOI task"),   _T("Console"));|' /usr/share/codeblocks/templates/wizard/config.script