How to open Visual Studio Code from the command line on OSX?

Question

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?

Answer 1

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.

Answer 2

⚡️ The Easy Solution.

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 and you're done

---

📟 Here's a complimentary GIF.

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

code

Peace! ✌️

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.

Answer 3

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

Answer 4

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.

Answer 5

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.- Reinicialize 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

Answer 6

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.

Answer 7

For me on Macbook Book 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.

After that just open the terminal and type code your vscode will start opening.

Answer 8

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
• Click on Environment Variables
• Under System Variables tab, Click on Edit for Path Variable
• 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.
  
  Open a new command prompt and type code-insiders . to open vscode-insider build/version

Answer 9

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

Answer 10

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.

Answer 11

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 the below image. Then you need to type code . Now you are good to go.

Answer 12

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 $* ;}

Answer 13

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

Answer 14

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 .

Answer 15

If you are using VS Code Insiders:

code-insiders .

If you are using VS Code:

code .

Answer 16

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.

Answer 17

For windows Users just type in

>code .

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

Answer 18

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

Answer 19

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!

Answer 20

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

Answer 21

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

Answer 22

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!

Answer 23

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

Answer 24

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 ."

Answer 25

If you install VS CODE using snap. You will need to add /snap/bin in your PATH environment variable. so - open your .bashrc or .zshrc and add /snap/bin in your PATH environment variable

reload terminal, and than code comand will start it

Answer 26

For Windows you can use Command:

start Code filename.extension

The above line works for me.

Answer 27

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.

Answer 28

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

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

Answer 29

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