575

The docs mention an executable called code, but I'm not sure where I can find that so I can put it on my path. The zip I downloaded from the VSCode site did not include any such executable. (I am able to run the .app just fine.)

Is this a Windows-only thing?

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2
  • 8
    type in command pellet (cmd+shift+P): Type shell command to find Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH command
    – Charlie Parker
    Commented Mar 28, 2020 at 22:43
  • @CharlieParker When I type code, I am not able to find that shell command.
    – Pab
    Commented Feb 23, 2021 at 4:12

34 Answers 34

Reset to default
1
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992

From the Visual Studio Code Setup page:

Tip: If you want to run VS Code from the terminal by simply typing 'code', VS Code has a command, Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH, to add 'code' to your $PATH variable list.

After installation, launch VS Code. Now open the Command Palette (F1 or ⇧+⌘+P on Mac) and type shell command to find the Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH command.

After executing the command, restart the terminal for the new $PATH value to take effect. You'll be able to simply type 'code .' in any folder to start editing files in that folder.

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8
  • 2
    On a side note, vscode ver 0.10.11 didn't add anything to my PATH on win 10, like that page says it would. No biggie.
    – Benny Jobigan
    Commented Mar 18, 2016 at 21:37
  • 4
    You can add an option -r to open it in a new tab in old window: code -r <filename>. Normally, that is what you want.
    – Yarco
    Commented Sep 6, 2016 at 10:07
  • 4
    I'm using macOS Sierra 10.12.6. The code command fails to launch Visual Studio Code after I restart my laptop.
    – Brian
    Commented Aug 5, 2017 at 5:48
  • 13
    When I do this, VS Code creates a symlink called /usr/local/bin/code which links to an executable in a temporary directory under /private/var/folders. After restarting my computer, that directory is deleted so the symlink goes away. I made a more persistent symlink with: sudo ln -s /Applications/Visual\ Studio\ Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/bin/code /usr/local/bin/code. Assuming /usr/local/bin is in your PATH this will survive a restart.
    – Dan Tenenbaum
    Commented Jun 11, 2018 at 17:23
  • 4
    code () { VSCODE_CWD="$PWD" open -n -b "com.microsoft.VSCode" --args $* ;} you can try adding this to /.zshrc if it doesn't work out.
    – Neha
    Commented Nov 4, 2019 at 16:11
438

  1. Download, install and open Visual Studio Code.

  2. Open the Command Palette (⌘ + ⇧ + P on Mac) OR View ❯ Command Palette

  3. Type shell command to find Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH command

  4. Install it

Here's a complimentary GIF.

Install Code on Command line

After that, you can use code or code . in the terminal.

code

If you'd like to go a little bit further and learn a couple of great tips/tricks for using the VSCode CLI, I made a YouTube video on my workflows.

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11
  • 2
    For whatever reason (⌘ + ⇧ + P ) was not working but F1 did it. Thanks!
    – T to the J
    Commented Mar 27, 2018 at 19:38
  • After (⇧⌘P), just an example, use the View:Toggle Integrated Terminal command.
    – AMIC MING
    Commented May 17, 2018 at 18:20
  • ^That's not what is being asked here.
    – Ahmad Awais
    Commented May 17, 2018 at 19:39
  • (⌘ + ⇧ + P ) didn't work for me, I had to use View -> Command palette to have data appear in the command palette search
    – Greg Price
    Commented Jun 12, 2018 at 1:23
  • ^You must be on windows or linux. Use <kbd>Ctrl</kbd> instead of <kbd>⌘</kbd> there.
    – Ahmad Awais
    Commented Jun 12, 2018 at 1:29
57

If you want to open a file or folder on Visual Studio Code from your terminal, iTerm, etc below are the commands which come as default when you install Visual Studio Code

To open Visual Studio Code from command line

code --

To open the entire folder/directory

code .

To open a specific file

code file_name
eg:- code index.html
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1
  • this doesn't address the question at all
    – knocte
    Commented May 16 at 3:27
40

We since updated the script to the following syntax to support multiple files and folders as arguments and to fix an issue with not detecting the current working directory properly:

code () {
    VSCODE_CWD="$PWD" open -n -b "com.microsoft.VSCode" --args $*
}

Update for our VS Code 1.0 release:

Please use the command Install 'Code' command in path or Install 'code-insiders' command in path from the command palette (View | Command Palette) to make Code available to the command line.

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2
  • Is there a way to make this work with sudo, such as: sudo code. I'm using VSCode to work on some NPM modules and need sudo to overwrite.
    – user1715156
    Commented Jun 19, 2015 at 1:55
  • @BenjaminPasero see my answer for a version which works with mingw32. Please add to VSCode setup docs if possible.
    – Ilan
    Commented Aug 16, 2015 at 22:21
32

This was the tutorial I was looking for in this thread. It shows the way to open files in Visual Studio Code by writing code.

1.- Open the file

Bash

open ~/.bash_profile

Terminal OS

open ~/.zshrc

2.- Add in your file the :

code () { VSCODE_CWD="$PWD" open -n -b "com.microsoft.VSCode" --args $* ;}

3.- Reinitialize terminal and try in the folder you want to open

code .

4.- Then you can use it as shown in this comment: https://stackoverflow.com/a/41821250/10033560

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5
  • 2
    This was the only solution that worked for me. VS Code's CMD+SHIFT+P was not maintaining state.
    – Edgar Froes
    Commented Apr 21, 2021 at 16:59
  • Worked perfect!
    – Rachid Atmai
    Commented Apr 29, 2021 at 4:22
  • code ~/.zshrc worked for me thanks
    – Stephen Ó Connor
    Commented Sep 29, 2021 at 9:28
  • This is a good backup solution. For some reason the built in shell command was failing because of an access error, but this did it for me. Thanks!
    – Jonathan
    Commented Aug 30, 2022 at 16:27
  • Thanks! This is the best solution for the Mac M1 chip users. When I tried the 'export code to path' method, I would only get an "illegal hardware instruction" error. This solution works beautifully.
    – python_noob
    Commented Jan 16 at 14:52
31

For me on MacBook Pro 2019 macOS version 10.15.6, shortcut to open command palette in VSCode was Shift + Command + P.

On opening it, one has to just write install code and press enter.

enter image description here

After that, just open the terminal and type code: your VSCode will start opening.

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3
  • worked for me in version 11 (2015)
    – Muhammad Uzair
    Commented Oct 20, 2021 at 18:09
  • This should be selected as the correct answer
    – Thomas Bindzus
    Commented Jan 16, 2022 at 4:25
  • Thanks Thomas, it doesn't matter as for as it helps people. Upvote does the job well :)
    – Imran Zahoor
    Commented Jan 17, 2022 at 12:19
13

I have a ~/bin/code shell script that matches the command @BengaminPasero wrote.

#!/bin/bash
VSCODE_CWD="$PWD" open -n -b "com.microsoft.VSCode" --args $*

I prefix ~/bin: to my $PATH which allows me to add a bunch of one off scripts without polluting my ~/.bash_profile script.

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2
  • in bash_profile can add a function. <br> function code { VSCODE_CWD="$PWD" open -n -b "com.microsoft.VSCode" --args $* }
    – Py_minion
    Commented Jan 2, 2020 at 21:07
  • @Py_minion I specifically stated that I do this to avoid bloating my bash_profile... Also, this answer and the original question are from over 4 years ago, before the option to add to the path was in the application.
    – Tracker1
    Commented Mar 18, 2021 at 7:04
11

Note: Only for Windows Users.

As many folks already suggested ways to open code from command prompt using code . command. This will only open Visual Studio Code Stable build. But If you have downloaded Visual Studio Code Insider build/version (Which has all latest build/features but unstable version) then you need to follow below instructions in windows :

  • Go to Control Panel\System and Security\System. Click on Advanced System Settings enter image description here
  • Click on Environment Variables enter image description here
  • Under System Variables tab, Click on Edit for Path Variable enter image description here
  • Add a new path C:\Users\tsabu\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code Insiders\bin (or) C:\Program Files\Microsoft VS Code Insiders\bin based on location at which you have installed vscode insider in your machine. enter image description here

    Open a new command prompt and type code-insiders . to open vscode-insider build/version
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1
  • The question is regarding OSX not windows, I don't think this is a relevant answer. But as you got 6+, so that means it is still helping some people out there.
    – Imran Zahoor
    Commented Nov 17, 2020 at 11:57
10

After opening VSC and pressing (Command + Up + P) I tried typing in "shell command" and nothing came up. In order to get "Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH command" to come up, you must do the following:

  1. Press (Command, Up, P)

  2. Type > (this will show and run commands)

  3. Then type Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH command. It should then come up.

    Once you click it, it will update and you should be good to go!

MacOS X Launch from Command Line docs

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0
8

On OSX Mavericks I created a bash script named vscode (adapted from the .bashrc in VSCode Setup) in ~/bin:

#!/bin/bash

if [[ $# = 0 ]]
then
    open -a "Visual Studio Code"
else
    [[ $1 = /* ]] && F="$1" || F="$PWD/${1#./}"
    open -a "Visual Studio Code" --args "$F"
fi

vscode <file or directory> now works as expected.

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2
  • 4
    This script will work if Code is closed, but if it is already open, it just brings it forward and doesn't switch to the new directory. Is there a way to correct that?
    – Raymond Camden
    Commented May 16, 2015 at 15:00
  • You could use open -n -a ... to open a new instance.
    – mr_eko
    Commented Oct 29, 2015 at 12:39
8

If you are using VS Code Insiders:

code-insiders .

If you are using VS Code:

code .
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0
7

If you install Your vs code in Download folder you need to move the VS code to Application folder then open the vs code ,then press shift + command + p after you will see enter image description here the below image. Then you need to type code . Now you are good to go.

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0
7

Steps to run code . command in mac to start the VSCode app -

  1. Open VSCode
  2. Open command pallet(Cmd+Shift+P)
  3. Enter Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH and select
  4. You will get the notification saying Shell command 'code' successfully installed in PATH.
  5. Restart the terminal and enter code .
  6. This will open VSCode from the current folder files in it.
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6

Try this one

Open Visual Studio Code and press Command + Shift + P then type Shell in command palette now you are able to find this option like Shell Command : Install code in PATH from suggested list in command palette. Select that options.

Open VSCode via Terminal/Command Prompt

That's it.

Now open your terminal type.

$ code .

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5

You can use the vscode: protocol that Visual Studio Code defines:

open vscode://file/full/path/to/project/or/file

You can also use

/Applications/Visual\ Studio\ Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/bin/code

if you do not fancy modifying your path

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4

I discovered a neat workaround for mingw32 (i.e. for those of you using the version of bash which is installed by git-scm.com on windows):

code () { VSCODE_CWD="$PWD" cmd //c code $* ;}
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2
  • FYI: You should probably ask/answer your own separate question for Windows specifically for this, if there isn't already one.
    – Tracker1
    Commented Sep 22, 2015 at 17:30
  • 1
    Launch "git bash" (i.e. mingw32) and simply type it at the bash command prompt and hit enter. Now to use it cd /c/some/path and then code . If you want it to be set automatically every time then you run git bash then add it to your ~/.bash_profile
    – Ilan
    Commented Dec 5, 2015 at 6:30
4

its very simple:

Launching from the Command Line

You can also run VS Code from the terminal by typing 'code' after adding it to the path:

Launch VS Code. Open the Command Palette (⇧⌘P) and type 'shell command' to find the Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH command.

source

https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/setup/mac

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4

This is what worked for me on Mac OS Catalina -- found here (thanks, Josiah!)

If you're on Mac OS Catalina, you need to edit your .zprofile instead of .bash_profile.

  1. Edit your ~/.zprofile file: vim ~/.zprofile
  2. Add the following code in it, on it's own line: code () { VSCODE_CWD="$PWD" open -n -b "com.microsoft.VSCode" --args $* ;}
  3. Save the file: :wq
  4. Re-run the updated file: source ~/.zprofile.
  5. Test that running code . opens your current folder in VS Code!
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1
  • On Mac OS Monterey also its .zprofile instead of .bash_profile.
    – node_saini
    Commented May 24, 2022 at 12:53
3

I ran: open -a "Visual Studio Code" [folder-name] to open a folder with my Visual Studio Code application. Folder name is optional if you just want to open the application. Not sure if this is exactly your use-case, but hope this helps!

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3

In my case I had to use an alias:

alias code="/<PATH TO VSCODE>/Visual\ Studio\ Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/bin/code"

You can add this alias in your ~/.bash_profile.

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3

I added this to my ~/.profile

alias vscode='/Applications/Visual\ Studio\ Code.app/Contents/MacOS/Electron'

then

. ~/.profile

afterwards I can just do

 vscode

from the terminal

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2
  • Thanks for the comment, that worked for me. However, please correct the typo. There needs to be a space after the second backslash.
    – matrik
    Commented Jan 3, 2022 at 12:48
  • Worked for me and I modified it just now to have the space thanks @matrik
    – Shereef Marzouk
    Commented Jan 5, 2022 at 18:03
2

Added this to /usr/local/bin/code, you might have to modify the path if they are different.

#!/usr/bin/env bash

CONTENTS="/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents"
ELECTRON="$CONTENTS/MacOS/Electron"
CLI="$CONTENTS/Resources/app/out/cli.js"
ATOM_SHELL_INTERNAL_RUN_AS_NODE=1 "$ELECTRON" "$CLI" "$@"
exit $?

Make executable afterwards

sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/code
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1
  • Many thanks this is the only way that it works on my machine. I noticed that the editor would open the file $CONTENTS/Resources/app/out/cli.js itself. I removed the references to CLI and it behaves as expected.
    – hmalphettes
    Commented Nov 11, 2016 at 2:24
2

I had this issue because of VS Code Insiders. The path variable was there but I needed to rename the code-insiders.cmd inside to code.cmd .

Maybe this is useful to someone.

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2

For windows Users just type in 

>code .

More commands here https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/editor/command-line

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0
2

If you're using visual code insiders and you want to open a file or folder in Visual Studio Code insiders from your terminal or any other command line tool then you can refer to the commands below which come by default inside visual studio code insider.

To open Visual Studio Code from command line

code-insiders --

To open the entire folder/directory

code-insiders .

To open a specific file

code-insiders file_name

eg:- code index.html

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2

$> open -a "Visual Studio Code" [file-name]

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2

VSCode now supports it out of the box with version 1.58. Just type:

$ cd path/to/your/directory
$ code .
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2

Currently, for macOS, the build-in Command Pallete ⌘+⇧+P routine Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH command will create a symbolic link from /usr/local/bin/code to the Visual Studio Code.app executable code. Or, for VSCodium, from /usr/local/bin/codium to the VSCodium.app executable codium.

The code (or codium) symbolic link can be created directly from the command line:

### For Visual Studio Code
sudo ln -s  \
  "/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/bin/code" \
   /usr/local/bin/code

### For VSCodium
sudo ln -s  \
  "/Applications/VSCodium.app/Contents/Resources/app/bin/codium" \
   /usr/local/bin/codium

The user alert "successfully installed in PATH" can be a bit misleading since the PATH variable is not actually modified by the osascript in this case. By default, /usr/local/bin is already on the macOS $PATH for the default shell zsh.

enter image description here

Note: A ln -s symbolic link is persistent and available across shells (bash, zsh, …). This approach avoids the need to tweak $PATH, add an alias or define some method code () {…}.

ls -l /usr/local/bin/cod*
# lrwxr-xr-x  1 root  wheel  68 Nov 13 11:56 /usr/local/bin/code -> /Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/bin/code
# lrwxr-xr-x  1 root  wheel  60 Nov 13 11:53 /usr/local/bin/codium -> /Applications/VSCodium.app/Contents/Resources/app/bin/codium

Also, alternate link names (e.g. vscode, vscodium) can be used, if desired.

Configuration Used:

  • macOS Ventura 13.6, Sonoma 14.1.1
  • Visual Studio Code 1.84.2
  • VSCodium 1.84.2
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1

The instruction given at VS Code Command Line for launching a path are incorrect; the leading colon shown in the example doesn't work. However, launching with a backslash terminated directory name opens the specified directory as expected.

So, for example,

code C:\Users\DAVE\Documents\Programming\Angular\StringCalculator\src\

opens the Visual Studio Code editor in directory C:\Users\DAVE\Documents\Programming\Angular\StringCalculator\src.

Important: The terminal backslash, though optional, is useful, as it makes clear that the intend is to open a directory, as opposed to a file. Bear in mind that file name extensions are, and always have been, optional.

Beware: The directory that gets appended to the PATH list is the \bin directory, and the shell command code launches a Windows NT Command script.

Hence, when incorporated into another shell script, code must be called or started if you expect the remainder of the script to run. Thankfully, I discovered this before my first test of a new shell script that I am creating to start an Angular 2 project in a local Web server, my default Web browser, and Visual Studio Code, all at once.

Following is my Angular startup script, adapted to eliminate a dependency on one of my system utilities that is published elsewhere, but not strictly required.

@echo off

goto SKIPREM

=========================================================================

Name:               StartAngularApp.CMD

Synopsis:           Start the Angular 2 application installed in a specified
                     directory.

Arguments:          %1 = OPTIONAL: Name of directory in which to application
                          is installed

Remarks:            If no argument is specified, the application must be in
                    the current working directory.

                    This is a completely generalized Windows NT command
                    script (shell script) that uses the NPM Angular CLI to
                    load an Angular 2 application into a Node development
                    Web server, the default Web browser, and the Visual
                    Studio Code text editor.

Dependencies:       Unless otherwise specified in the command line, the
                    application is created in the current working directory.

                    All of the following shell scripts and programs must be
                    installed in a directory that is on the Windows PATH
                    directory list.

                    1)  ShowTime.CMD

                    2)  WWPause.exe

                    3)  WWSleep.exe

                    4)  npm (the Node Package Manager) and its startup 
                        script, npm.cmd, must be accessible via the Windows
                        PATH environment string. By default, this goes into
                        directory C:\Program Files\nodejs.

                    5)  The Angular 2 startup script, ng.cmd, and the Node
                        Modules library must be installed for global access.
                        By default, these go into directory %AppData%\npm.

Author:             David A. Gray

Created:            Monday, 23 April 2017

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Revision History
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Date       By  Synopsis
---------- --- --------------------------------------------------------
2017/04/23 DAG Script created, tested, and deployed.
=======================================================================

:SKIPREM

echo BOJ %~0, version %~t0
echo.
echo -------------------------------------------------------
echo Displaying the current node.js version:
echo -------------------------------------------------------
echo.
node -v
echo.
echo -------------------------------------------------------
echo Displaying the current Node Package Manager version:
echo -------------------------------------------------------
echo.
call npm -v
echo.
echo -------------------------------------------------------
echo Loading Angular starter application %1
echo into a local Web server, the default Web browser, and
echo the Visual Studio Code text editor.
echo -------------------------------------------------------
echo.

if "%1" neq "" (
    echo.
    echo -------------------------------------------------------
    echo Starting the Angular application in directory %1
    echo -------------------------------------------------------
    echo.
    cd "%~1"
    call code %1\src\
) else (
    echo.
    echo -------------------------------------------------------
    echo Starting the Angular application in directory %CD%
    echo -------------------------------------------------------
    echo.
    call code %CD%\src\
)

call ng serve --open

echo.
echo -------------------------------------------------------
echo %~nx0 Done!
echo -------------------------------------------------------
echo.
Pause
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0

link your currentily folders to vscode.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

; Directory\Background\shell => on empty space

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shell\vscode]
"Icon"="C:\\current-folder-vscode\\Code.exe,0"
@="VsCode"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\Background\shell\vscode\command]
@="C:\\current-folder-vscode\\Code.exe ."

; Directory\shell => on a folder

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\vscode]
@="VsCode"
"Icon"="C:\\current-folder-vscode\\Code.exe,0"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\vscode\command]
@="C:\\current-folder-vscode\\Code.exe ."
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1
  • 1
    OP wanted a OSX solution.
    – colidyre
    Commented Apr 9, 2020 at 0:17
1
2

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