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5. Installing and Configuring VS Code

1. Introduction​

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is a lightweight but powerful code editor from Microsoft.
It is widely used for Python development because of its excellent extensions, debugging tools, and integrated terminal.

2. Downloading VS Code​

  1. Open your web browser.
  2. Go to the official download page: https://code.visualstudio.com/
  3. Choose your operating system (Windows, macOS, or Linux).
  4. Download the installer (.exe, .dmg, or .deb/.rpm).

3. Installing on Windows​

  1. Run the downloaded .exe installer.
  2. Accept the license agreement.
  3. Choose installation location (default is fine).
  4. On the "Select Additional Tasks" screen, check:
    • ✅ Add to PATH
    • ✅ Register as default editor for supported file types
    • ✅ Add "Open with Code" to context menu
  5. Click Install.

4. Installing on macOS​

  1. Open the downloaded .dmg file.
  2. Drag Visual Studio Code.app into the Applications folder.
  3. Open VS Code from Launchpad or Spotlight.
  4. (Optional) Add code command to PATH:
    • Open VS Code.
    • Press Cmd + Shift + P, type Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH, and press Enter.

5. Installing on Linux​

For Ubuntu/Debian:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install ./code_*_amd64.deb

For Fedora/RHEL:

sudo dnf install ./code-*.rpm

For Arch (via AUR):

yay -S visual-studio-code-bin

6. Installing the Python Extension​

  1. Open VS Code.
  2. Go to the Extensions view (Ctrl + Shift + X or Cmd + Shift + X on macOS).
  3. Search for Python.
  4. Install the official Microsoft Python extension.

7. Configuring Python in VS Code​

  1. Open any .py file or create a new one.
  2. If prompted, select your Python interpreter.
  3. You can also manually set it:
    • Open the Command Palette (Ctrl + Shift + P).
    • Type Python: Select Interpreter.
    • Choose the version you installed earlier.

8. Running Your First Program​

  1. Create a new file hello.py.
  2. Type:
print("Hello from VS Code!")
  1. Save the file.
  2. Right-click inside the editor and select Run Python File in Terminal.
  3. You should see the output in the integrated terminal:
Hello from VS Code!

9. Customizing VS Code​

  • Themes: Install new themes from Extensions marketplace.
  • Fonts: Go to Settings → Font Family.
  • Keybindings: Customize shortcuts via Keyboard Shortcuts (Ctrl + K Ctrl + S).
  • Extensions: Explore other useful extensions (Pylance, Jupyter, GitLens).

10. Troubleshooting​

  • Python not detected: Check that Python is installed and added to PATH.
  • Multiple Python versions: Ensure the correct interpreter is selected via Python: Select Interpreter.
  • Code command not found (macOS/Linux): Reinstall the code shell command from Command Palette.

11. Next Steps​

✅ You now have VS Code installed and configured with Python.
In the next chapter, we will set up PyCharm, another popular IDE for Python.