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?

type in command pellet (`cmd+shift+P`): Type shell command to find Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH command — Charlie Parker, Mar 28 '20 at 22:43
@CharlieParker When I type code, I am not able to find that shell command. — Pab, Feb 23 '21 at 04:12

score 946 · Accepted Answer · edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

946

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.

edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

Community

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answered Apr 30 '15 at 15:12

Shaan

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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 Mar 18 '16 at 21:37
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You can add an option -r to open it in a new tab in old window: `code -r `. Normally, that is what you want. – Yarco Sep 06 '16 at 10:07
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I'm using macOS Sierra 10.12.6. The `code` command fails to launch Visual Studio Code after I restart my laptop. – Brian Aug 05 '17 at 05:48
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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 Jun 11 '18 at 17:23
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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 Nov 04 '19 at 16:11
Opening command palette is now `cmd + shft+ p` – Braden Holt Jul 02 '21 at 18:27
For the Mac users, please put your VS code editor application in the Applications directory otherwise the code command won't work after reboot – Ahsan Farooq Sep 11 '21 at 13:59
After pressing f1 and typing shell command, there are no options to click in the drop down. Any ideas? – Chris Nov 30 '21 at 16:34

score 408 · Answer 2 · edited Mar 22 '23 at 23:26

408

Download, install and open Visual Studio Code.
Open the Command Palette (⌘ + ⇧ + P on Mac) OR View ❯ Command Palette
Type shell command to find Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH command
Install it

Here's a complimentary GIF.

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.

edited Mar 22 '23 at 23:26

starball

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answered Sep 21 '17 at 11:51

Ahmad Awais

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For whatever reason (⌘ + ⇧ + P ) was not working but F1 did it. Thanks! – T to the J Mar 27 '18 at 19:38
After (⇧⌘P), just an example, use the View:Toggle Integrated Terminal command. – AMIC MING May 17 '18 at 18:20
^That's not what is being asked here. – Ahmad Awais May 17 '18 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 Jun 12 '18 at 01:23
^You must be on windows or linux. Use Ctrl instead of ⌘ there. – Ahmad Awais Jun 12 '18 at 01:29
I believe (⌘ + ⇧ + P ) is for if you are using the Sublime Text key mappings. Worked for me Otherwise you can just open the command palette from the top menu bar > View > Command Palette. – Lauren Jul 16 '18 at 17:30
I have tried this and worked. However, Every time I restart my machine, code . is not recognized anymore – aRyhan Mar 17 '19 at 00:56
That's weird. File that as an issue on https://github.com/Microsoft/vscode/issues/ – Ahmad Awais Mar 18 '19 at 02:08
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 Nov 04 '19 at 16:11
May I ask you where is the file which the PATH is added? – NeoZoom.lua Apr 16 '20 at 05:42
What if "Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH command" doesn't show up? Only two options populate: 1. (Preview) PowerShell Command Explorer: Focus on PowerShell Commands View 2. View: Show (Preview) PowerShell Command Explorer – Chris Nov 29 '21 at 21:42

score 57 · Answer 3 · answered Jan 24 '17 at 06:16

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

score 40 · Answer 4 · edited Mar 15 '18 at 13:23

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.

edited Mar 15 '18 at 13:23

Josh Unger

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answered Jun 03 '15 at 18:50

Benjamin Pasero

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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 Jun 19 '15 at 01:55
@BenjaminPasero see my answer for a version which works with mingw32. Please add to VSCode setup docs if possible. – Ilan Aug 16 '15 at 22:21

Imran Zahoor · Answer 5 · 2020-08-05T15:19:02.113

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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.

edited Aug 05 '20 at 15:19

answered Aug 05 '20 at 15:13

Imran Zahoor

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worked for me in version 11 (2015) – Muhammad Uzair Oct 20 '21 at 18:09
This should be selected as the correct answer – Thomas Bindzus Jan 16 '22 at 04:25
Thanks Thomas, it doesn't matter as for as it helps people. Upvote does the job well :) – Imran Zahoor Jan 17 '22 at 12:19

Daniel Diner · Answer 6 · 2018-07-04T18:09:02.410

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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

edited Jul 04 '18 at 18:09

answered Jul 04 '18 at 18:03

Daniel Diner

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This was the only solution that worked for me. VS Code's CMD+SHIFT+P was not maintaining state. – Edgar Froes Apr 21 '21 at 16:59
Worked perfect! – Rachid Atmai Apr 29 '21 at 04:22
code ~/.zshrc worked for me thanks – Stephen Ó Connor Sep 29 '21 at 09:28
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 Aug 30 '22 at 16:27

score 12 · Answer 7 · answered Sep 22 '15 at 17:32

12

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.

answered Sep 22 '15 at 17:32

Tracker1

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in bash_profile can add a function.
`function code { VSCODE_CWD="$PWD" open -n -b "com.microsoft.VSCode" --args $* }` – Py_minion Jan 02 '20 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 Mar 18 '21 at 07:04

score 11 · Answer 8 · answered Aug 31 '18 at 05:03

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

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, Nov 17 '20 at 11:57

score 10 · Answer 9 · edited Jun 20 '20 at 09:12

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:

Press (Command, Up, P)
Type > (this will show and run commands)
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

score 8 · Answer 10 · answered May 02 '15 at 10:45

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.

answered May 02 '15 at 10:45

peterdn

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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 May 16 '15 at 15:00
You could use open -n -a ... to open a new instance. – mr_eko Oct 29 '15 at 12:39

score 8 · Answer 11 · answered Jul 30 '20 at 15:43

8

If you are using VS Code Insiders:

code-insiders .

If you are using VS Code:

code .

answered Jul 30 '20 at 15:43

Vương Hữu Thiện

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score 7 · Answer 12 · answered Dec 03 '19 at 03:16

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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.

answered Dec 03 '19 at 03:16

Forhad

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score 7 · Answer 13 · answered Jul 18 '22 at 09:56

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

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

score 6 · Answer 14 · answered May 16 '20 at 09:22

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 .

score 5 · Answer 15 · answered Nov 24 '17 at 12:23

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

answered Nov 24 '17 at 12:23

xverges

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score 4 · Answer 16 · answered Aug 16 '15 at 22:18

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 $* ;}

answered Aug 16 '15 at 22:18

Ilan

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FYI: You should probably ask/answer your own separate question for Windows specifically for this, if there isn't already one. – Tracker1 Sep 22 '15 at 17:30
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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 Dec 05 '15 at 06:30

score 4 · Answer 17 · answered Sep 27 '18 at 07:59

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

score 3 · Answer 18 · answered Mar 22 '17 at 16:09

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!

answered Mar 22 '17 at 16:09

mmilutinovic1313

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score 3 · Answer 19 · answered Jun 08 '20 at 17:33

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.

Edit your ~/.zprofile file: vim ~/.zprofile
Add the following code in it, on it's own line: code () { VSCODE_CWD="$PWD" open -n -b "com.microsoft.VSCode" --args $* ;}
Save the file: :wq
Re-run the updated file: source ~/.zprofile.
Test that running code . opens your current folder in VS Code!

On Mac OS Monterey also its .zprofile instead of .bash_profile. — node_saini, May 24 '22 at 12:53

score 3 · Answer 20 · answered May 28 '21 at 22:55

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.

answered May 28 '21 at 22:55

Rafael Rozon

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score 3 · Answer 21 · edited Jan 05 '22 at 18:03

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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

edited Jan 05 '22 at 18:03

Shereef Marzouk

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answered Oct 29 '21 at 09:52

user454322

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Thanks for the comment, that worked for me. However, please correct the typo. There needs to be a space after the second backslash. – matrik Jan 03 '22 at 12:48
Worked for me and I modified it just now to have the space thanks @matrik – Shereef Marzouk Jan 05 '22 at 18:03

score 2 · Answer 22 · answered Jul 29 '16 at 12:45

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

answered Jul 29 '16 at 12:45

user1116928

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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 Nov 11 '16 at 02:24

score 2 · Answer 23 · answered Jul 31 '16 at 08:43

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.

answered Jul 31 '16 at 08:43

pungggi

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score 2 · Answer 24 · edited Oct 18 '17 at 03:53

2

For windows Users just type in

>code .

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

edited Oct 18 '17 at 03:53

Bhargav Rao

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answered Oct 18 '17 at 02:19

Luke Angel

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score 2 · Answer 25 · answered Feb 01 '21 at 12:01

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

score 2 · Answer 26 · answered Jul 19 '21 at 09:09

2

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

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

answered Jul 19 '21 at 09:09

Krismu

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David A. Gray · Answer 27 · 2017-04-25T05:25:44.657

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

score 1 · Answer 28 · answered Jun 04 '21 at 08:54

1

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

answered Jun 04 '21 at 08:54

Mohamed El hadjaoui

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score 0 · Answer 29 · answered Apr 08 '20 at 18:29

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 ."

1

OP wanted a OSX solution. – colidyre Apr 09 '20 at 00:17

score 0 · Answer 30 · answered Jul 01 '20 at 21:27

0

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

answered Jul 01 '20 at 21:27

edikgat

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score 0 · Answer 31 · edited Jan 02 '21 at 05:05

0

For Windows you can use Command:

start Code filename.extension

The above line works for me.

edited Jan 02 '21 at 05:05

Dharman

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answered Jan 02 '21 at 04:59

pankajmalviya

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score 0 · Answer 32 · answered Apr 17 '22 at 11:26

0

Just update your python to python3.9 i did that and it worked for me.

answered Apr 17 '22 at 11:26

Joehagan

1

Your answer could be improved with additional supporting information. Please [edit] to add further details, such as citations or documentation, so that others can confirm that your answer is correct. You can find more information on how to write good answers [in the help center](/help/how-to-answer). – Community Apr 17 '22 at 11:46

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

32 Answers32

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