VSCode

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Summary. Visual Studio Code (VSCode) is the lab’s default code editor. It is free, cross-platform, and — with a few extensions — handles our Python work, Jupyter notebooks, Git, remote lab machines, and Docker from a single window. This guide covers installing it, the extensions we recommend, and a baseline configuration.

Prerequisites

A laptop or lab workstation running Windows 10/11, macOS, or Linux.
Administrator rights to install software (or ask a lab member).
For Python work, a Python environment — see Python Environments.

Install

Windows

Download the User Installer from https://code.visualstudio.com/.
Run the installer. On the Select Additional Tasks screen, tick “Add to PATH” and “Register Code as an editor for supported file types”.
Launch VSCode from the Start menu.

macOS

Download the macOS build from https://code.visualstudio.com/ (choose Apple Silicon or Intel to match your Mac).
Unzip and drag Visual Studio Code.app into Applications.
Open VSCode, then press Cmd+Shift+P and run “Shell Command: Install ‘code’ command in PATH” so you can launch it from the terminal with code ..

Linux (Debian/Ubuntu)

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y wget gpg
wget -qO- https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | gpg --dearmor > packages.microsoft.gpg
sudo install -D -o root -g root -m 644 packages.microsoft.gpg /etc/apt/keyrings/packages.microsoft.gpg
echo "deb [arch=amd64,arm64,armhf signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/packages.microsoft.gpg] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/code stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vscode.list > /dev/null
rm -f packages.microsoft.gpg
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y code

On other distributions you can install the Snap (sudo snap install code --classic) or the .rpm/.deb package from the download page.

Verify the install from a terminal:

code --version

Recommended Extensions

Open the Extensions view with Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+X and search by name, or install from the terminal with code --install-extension <id>.

Extension	ID	What it does
Python	`ms-python.python`	Core Python support: run, debug, select interpreter
Pylance	`ms-python.vscode-pylance`	Fast IntelliSense and type checking
Jupyter	`ms-toolsai.jupyter`	Run and edit `.ipynb` notebooks inside VSCode
Ruff	`charliermarsh.ruff`	Fast Python linter/formatter
Black Formatter	`ms-python.black-formatter`	Opinionated Python code formatter
GitLens	`eamodio.gitlens`	Rich Git history, blame, and comparisons
Remote - SSH	`ms-vscode-remote.remote-ssh`	Edit code on a lab server/robot over SSH
Docker	`ms-azuretools.vscode-docker`	Build and manage Docker images/containers

Lab note: (list any extensions that are required/standard for our projects here — to be added.)

Install the core set in one command:

code --install-extension ms-python.python \
     --install-extension ms-python.vscode-pylance \
     --install-extension ms-toolsai.jupyter \
     --install-extension charliermarsh.ruff \
     --install-extension eamodio.gitlens

Configuration

Select the Python interpreter

Open a project folder (Ctrl/Cmd+K Ctrl/Cmd+O), then press Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+P and run “Python: Select Interpreter”. Pick the environment you created in the Python Environments guide (e.g. your .venv or a conda env).

Baseline settings

Open the Command Palette → “Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON)” and add:

{
  "editor.formatOnSave": true,
  "editor.rulers": [88],
  "files.trimTrailingWhitespace": true,
  "files.insertFinalNewline": true,
  "[python]": {
    "editor.defaultFormatter": "ms-python.black-formatter",
    "editor.codeActionsOnSave": {
      "source.organizeImports": "explicit"
    }
  }
}

Project-specific settings go in a .vscode/settings.json file committed with the repo, so everyone on the project shares the same setup.

Integrated terminal

Open it with Ctrl+` (backtick). It inherits your selected Python environment, so python, pip, and jupyter point at the right place.

Working on a Lab Machine (Remote - SSH)

To edit and run code directly on a lab server or a robot’s host computer:

Install the Remote - SSH extension.
Press Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+P → “Remote-SSH: Connect to Host…”.
Enter user@hostname (or pick a host from your ~/.ssh/config).
Once connected, open the remote folder — extensions like Python run on the remote machine, not your laptop.

Lab note: (add the lab’s server/robot hostnames and SSH access instructions here — to be added.)

Useful Shortcuts

Action	Windows/Linux	macOS
Command Palette	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`P`	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`P`
Quick open file	`Ctrl`+`P`	`Cmd`+`P`
Toggle terminal	`Ctrl`+` \| `Cmd`+`
Format document	`Shift`+`Alt`+`F`	`Shift`+`Option`+`F`
Comment line	`Ctrl`+`/`	`Cmd`+`/`
Go to symbol	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`O`	`Cmd`+`Shift`+`O`

Tips & Troubleshooting

code command not found (macOS): run “Shell Command: Install ‘code’ command in PATH” from the Command Palette.
Wrong Python / packages not found: re-run “Python: Select Interpreter” and make sure the integrated terminal shows the expected environment name in its prompt.
Formatter not running on save: confirm the Black Formatter (or Ruff) extension is installed and that editor.formatOnSave is true.
Notebook kernel missing: in a .ipynb, click the kernel picker (top right) and select your environment; install ipykernel in that environment if prompted.

References

VSCode documentation: https://code.visualstudio.com/docs
Python in VSCode: https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/python/python-tutorial
Jupyter notebooks in VSCode: https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/datascience/jupyter-notebooks
Remote development over SSH: https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/remote/ssh