Visual Studio Code has a powerful command line interface built-in that lets you control how you launch the editor. You can open files, install extensions, change the display language, and output diagnostics through command-line options (switches).
If you are looking for how to run command-line tools inside VS Code, see the Integrated Terminal.
Install Visual Studio for Mac behind a firewall or proxy server. To install Visual Studio for Mac behind a firewall, certain endpoints must be made accessible in order to allow downloads of the required tools and updates for your software. Visual Studio Code; Downloading Xcode and installing it is simple and can be done from the Mac App Store. After you install it, you need to make sure you have Xcode Command Line Tools installed. Here’s a great tutorial on how to do that.
Command line help
To get an overview of the VS Code command line interface, open a terminal or command prompt and type code --help
. You will see the version, usage example, and list of command line options.
Launching from command line
You can launch VS Code from the command line to quickly open a file, folder, or project. Typically, you open VS Code within the context of a folder. To do this, from an open terminal or command prompt, navigate to your project folder and type code .
:
Note: Users on macOS must first run a command (Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH) to add VS Code executable to the PATH
environment variable. Read the macOS setup guide for help.
Windows and Linux installations should add the VS Code binaries location to your system path. If this isn't the case, you can manually add the location to the Path
environment variable ($PATH
on Linux). For example, on Windows, VS Code is installed under AppDataLocalProgramsMicrosoft VS Codebin
. To review platform specific setup instructions, see Setup.
Insiders: If you are using the VS Code Insiders preview, you launch your Insiders build with code-insiders
.
Core CLI options
Here are optional arguments you can use when starting VS Code at the command line via code
:
Argument | Description |
---|---|
-h or --help | Print usage |
-v or --version | Print VS Code version (for example, 1.22.2), GitHub commit id, and architecture (for example, x64). |
-n or --new-window | Opens a new session of VS Code instead of restoring the previous session (default). |
-r or --reuse-window | Forces opening a file or folder in the last active window. |
-g or --goto | When used with file:line[:character], opens a file at a specific line and optional character position. This argument is provided since some operating systems permit : in a file name. |
-d or --diff | Open a file difference editor. Requires two file paths as arguments. |
-w or --wait | Wait for the files to be closed before returning. |
--locale <locale> | Set the display language (locale) for the VS Code session. (for example, en-US or zh-TW ) |
Opening Files and Folders
Sometimes you will want to open or create a file. If the specified file does not exist, VS Code will create them for you along with any new intermediate folders:
For both files and folders, you can use absolute or relative paths. Relative paths are relative to the current directory of the command prompt where you run code
.
If you specify more than one file at the command line, VS Code will open only a single instance.
If you specify more than one folder at the command line, VS Code will create a Multi-root Workspace including each folder.
Argument | Description |
---|---|
file | Name of a file to open. If the file doesn't exist, it will be created and marked as edited. You can specify multiple files by separating each file name with a space. |
file:line[:character] | Used with the -g argument. Name of a file to open at the specified line and optional character position. You can specify multiple files in this manner, but you must use the -g argument (once) before using the file:line[:character] specifier. |
folder | Name of a folder to open. You can specify multiple folders and a new Multi-root Workspace is created. |
Working with extensions
You can install and manage VS Code extensions from the command line.
Argument | Description |
---|---|
--install-extension <ext> | Install an extension. Provide the full extension name publisher.extension as an argument. Use --force argument to avoid prompts. |
--uninstall-extension <ext> | Uninstall an extension. Provide the full extension name publisher.extension as an argument. |
--disable-extensions | Disable all installed extensions. Extensions will still be visible in the Disabled section of the Extensions view but they will never be activated. |
--list-extensions | List the installed extensions. |
--show-versions | Show versions of installed extensions, when using --list-extensions |
--enable-proposed-api <ext> | Enables proposed api features for an extension. Provide the full extension name publisher.extension as an argument. |
Advanced CLI options
There are several CLI options that help with reproducing errors and advanced setup.
Argument | Description |
---|---|
--extensions-dir <dir> | Set the root path for extensions. Has no effect in Portable Mode. |
--user-data-dir <dir> | Specifies the directory that user data is kept in, useful when running as root. Has no effect in Portable Mode. |
-s, --status | Print process usage and diagnostics information. |
-p, --performance | Start with the Developer: Startup Performance command enabled. |
--disable-gpu | Disable GPU hardware acceleration. |
--verbose | Print verbose output (implies --wait ). |
--prof-startup | Run CPU profiler during startup. |
--upload-logs | Uploads logs from current session to a secure endpoint. |
Multi-root | |
--add <dir> | Add folder(s) to the last active window for a multi-root workspace. |
Opening VS Code with URLs
You can also open projects and files using the platform's URL handling mechanism. Arminia bielefeld 2021 kitsempty spaces the blog. Use the following URL formats to:
Open a project
Open a file
Open a file to line and column
You can use the URL in applications such as browsers or file explorers that can parse and redirect the URL. For example, on Windows, you could pass a vscode://
URL directly to the Windows Explorer or to the command line as start vscode://{full path to file}
.
Note: If you are using VS Code Insiders builds, the URL prefix is vscode-insiders://
.
Next steps
Read on to find out about: Microsoft message queue service download.
- Integrated Terminal - Run command-line tools from inside VS Code.
- Basic Editing - Learn the basics of the VS Code editor.
- Code Navigation - VS Code lets you quickly understand and move through your source code.
Common questions
'code' is not recognized as an internal or external command
Your OS cannot find the VS Code binary code
on its path. The VS Code Windows and Linux installations should have installed VS Code on your path. Try uninstalling and reinstalling VS Code. If code
is still not found, consult the platform specific setup topics for Windows and Linux.
On macOS, you need to manually run the Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH command (available through the Command Palette⇧⌘P (Windows, Linux Ctrl+Shift+P)). Consult the macOS specific setup topic for details.
How do I get access to a command line (terminal) from within VS Code?
Download Visual Studio Code For Windows 10
VS Code has an Integrated Terminal where you can run command-line tools from within VS Code.
Can I specify the settings location for VS Code in order to have a portable version?
Not directly through the command line, but VS Code has a Portable Mode which lets you keep settings and data in the same location as your installation, for example, on a USB drive.
-->To start developing native, cross-platform .NET apps on macOS, install Visual Studio 2019 for Mac following the steps below.
Requirements
- A Mac with macOS High Sierra 10.13 or above.
To build Xamarin apps for iOS or macOS, you'll also need:
- A Mac that is compatible with the latest version of Xcode. See Apple's minimum requirements documentation
- The latest version of Xcode. It may be possible to use an older version of Xcode if your Mac is not compatible with the latest version.
- An Apple ID. If you don't have an Apple ID already you can create a new one at https://appleid.apple.com. It's necessary to have an Apple ID for installing and signing into Xcode.
Installation instructions
Download the installer from the Visual Studio for Mac download page.
Once the download is complete, click the VisualStudioforMacInstaller.dmg to mount the installer, then run it by double-clicking the arrow logo:
You may be presented with a warning about the application being downloaded from the Internet. Click Open.
Wait while the installer checks your system:
An alert will appear asking you to acknowledge the privacy and license terms. Follow the links to read them, then press Continue if you agree:
The list of available workloads is displayed. Select the components you wish to use:
If you do not wish to install all platforms, use the guide below to help you decide which platforms to install:
Type of App Target Selection Notes Apps Using Xamarin Xamarin.Forms Select Android and iOS platforms You will need to install Xcode iOS only Select iOS platform You will need to install Xcode Android only Select Android platform Note that you should also select the relevant dependencies Mac only Select macOS (Cocoa) platform You will need to install Xcode .NET Core applications Select .NET Core platform. ASP.NET Core Web Applications Select .NET Core platform. Azure Functions Select .NET Core platform. Cross-platform Unity Game Development No additional platforms need to be installed beyond Visual Studio for Mac. Refer to the Unity setup guide for more information on installing the Unity extension. After you have made your selections, press the Install button.
The installer will display progress as it downloads and installs Visual Studio for Mac and the selected workloads. You will be prompted to enter your password to grant the privileges necessary for installation.:
Once installed, Visual Studio for Mac will prompt you to personalize your installation by signing in and selecting the key bindings that you'd like to use:
If you have network trouble while installing in a corporate environment, review the installing behind a firewall or proxy instructions.
Learn more about the changes in the release notes.
Note
If you chose not to install a platform or tool during the original installation (by unselecting it in step #6), you must run the installer again if you wish to add the components later.
Install Visual Studio for Mac behind a firewall or proxy server
Visual Studio On Macbook
To install Visual Studio for Mac behind a firewall, certain endpoints must be made accessible in order to allow downloads of the required tools and updates for your software.
Configure your network to allow access to the following locations:
Next steps
Installing Visual Studio for Mac allows you to start writing code for your apps. The following guides are provided to guide you through the next steps of writing and deploying your projects.
iOS
- Device Provisioning(To run your application on device).
Android
Xamarin.Forms
Build native cross-platform applications with Xamarin.Forms:
.NET Core apps, ASP.NET Core web apps, Unity game development
For other Workloads, refer to the Workloads page.