Run / Open VSCode from Mac Terminal

Question

I'd like to run / open Visual Studio Code from the Mac OSX Terminal by running this command code .. I found instructions here:

https://code.visualstudio.com/Docs/setup

Apparently I need to include this in my .bashrc file, so I did, but to no avail.

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

I edited the .bashrc file here:

~/.bashrc which points to /Users/username/.bashrc

Which .bashrc should I be editing?

have you sourced the .bashrc after adding the function? `$ source ~/.bashrc`. I would suggest you to source the `.bashrc` from `~/.bash_profile`. — Sarbbottam, May 06 '15 at 00:03
In `OS X` you would generally add that to your `~/.bash_profile` — not `~/.bashrc` then restart `Terminal.app` or source it like mentioned. — l'L'l, May 06 '15 at 00:12
Has anyone else had the issue that this works for the "first" thing you open - but once Visual Studio Code is launched, you can't open "other" files from terminal using this technique ? — scolestock, Jun 02 '15 at 14:13
With VS Code 0.3.0 we recommend to use a different syntax for the code command. This new syntax supports multiple arguments and correctly identifies the current working directory: code () { VSCODE_CWD="$PWD" open -n -b "com.microsoft.VSCode" --args $* } — Benjamin Pasero, Jun 03 '15 at 18:41
[This](http://stackoverflow.com/a/36882426/1374488) should be the correct answer. — lukas_o, Apr 06 '17 at 09:05
pple in 2017 pls see @kylebrandt's comment to the answer below — swyx, Jun 07 '17 at 18:01
Possible duplicate of [How to call VS Code Editor from command line](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/29963617/how-to-call-vs-code-editor-from-command-line) — rofrol, Nov 13 '17 at 07:45
Explained precisely in couple of mins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWfNLB_CBFs — Om Sao, Sep 17 '20 at 16:24

score 2517 · Accepted Answer · edited Jul 20 '22 at 11:56

2517

According to the docs on Launching from the command line:

Open Visual Studio Code
Open the command pallette with Command + Shift + P (or F1)
Type Shell in command palette
Select Shell Command: Install code in PATH from suggested list

That's it.

Now open your terminal type.

$ code .

To make this change persist after restart on MacOS

Many Mac users find this is forgotten and needs to be re-applied after any restart. This may happen if MacOS has applied the quarantine attribute to VS Code, which the OS uses for the "Are you sure?" notice applied on first using apps downloaded from the internet.

To check if this attribute is applied, look for com.apple.quarantine in the list returned by this command (changing the path if that's not where you installed it):

xattr "/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app"

If that does return com.apple.quarantine, you can remove the attribute using the same command with the -d flag (alongside -r to recursively remove it from all contained files and sudo to allow the change):

sudo xattr -r -d com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app"

...then do Shell Command : Install code in PATH as above after the attribute has been removed, and it should persist after restart.

Credit: derflounder.wordpress.com article linked to by RicardoVallejo in this comment.

edited Jul 20 '22 at 11:56

KyleMit

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answered Apr 27 '16 at 06:52

Raja Jaganathan

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15

this works not by updating PATH with full path to reach VSCode, instead it introduces a symlink `/usr/local/bin/code@ -> /Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/bin/code` which coming from a linux background seems strange yet I guess this is how OSX rolls – Scott Stensland Aug 07 '17 at 17:00
10

For anyone experiencing the loss of the "code ." command when restarting, then you may have the code program as quarantine. https://derflounder.wordpress.com/2012/11/20/clearing-the-quarantine-extended-attribute-from-downloaded-applications – RicardoVallejo Jan 23 '19 at 10:56
@RZKY Do you have any reference? I'm still seeing those command in v1.44.2 – Raja Jaganathan Apr 21 '20 at 11:49
Works as expected. OS X 10.15.4 – bananaforscale Apr 27 '20 at 17:32
7

I've just ```ln -s "/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/bin/code" /usr/local/bin/vscode``` – Andre Ravazzi May 05 '20 at 16:10
9

How come this doesn't persist, I have to do this after every restart – Cezar Cobuz Jun 22 '20 at 09:01
2

@CezarCobuz I've [editted in a section](https://stackoverflow.com/revisions/36882426/11) on how to avoid needing to re-do this after restart, based on [the link](https://derflounder.wordpress.com/2012/11/20/clearing-the-quarantine-extended-attribute-from-downloaded-applications) in [RicardoVallejo](https://stackoverflow.com/users/3429457/ricardovallejo)'s [comment](https://stackoverflow.com/questions/30065227/run-open-vscode-from-mac-terminal#comment95469686_36882426) above. – user56reinstatemonica8 Mar 22 '21 at 15:21
@ScottStensland they certainly do that so it works on any shell (Bash, zsh, ...) and don't take the risk to break your config. It also works for all users. – gagarine Jun 24 '21 at 12:53
I used to manually create symlink for `code` till today realise this can be done much easier. thx. – seedme Apr 05 '22 at 01:32
Thanks, It works for me on version mac 11.6.1 Big Sur – Zaenury Adhiim Jul 02 '22 at 11:38
doesn't macos use zsh by default? so shouldn't the op be adding those lines to their `~/.zshrc?`? – Eakan Gopalakrishnan Dec 25 '22 at 16:13
getting this even with sudo `xattr: [Errno 1] Operation not permitted: '/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents'` – ahmadalibaloch Jan 02 '23 at 12:38

score 73 · Answer 2 · answered Oct 23 '15 at 13:24

I just want to pull out Benjamin Pasero's answer from inside his comment as it seems the best solution. It is the tip given on the Setting up Visual Studio Code page where it says ...

If you want to run VS Code from the terminal, append the following to your ~/.bash_profile file (~/.zshrc in case you use zsh).

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

Now, you can simply type code . in any folder to start editing files in that folder. [Or code test.txt to go to work on the test.txt file]

what I love about this method is that I can use "vscode" instead of "code" to launch vscode. — jj., Jun 10 '22 at 23:20

score 59 · Answer 3 · answered Aug 05 '21 at 12:25

59

To setup path permanently for mac users;

open ~/.zshrc using the below command

vi ~/.zshrc

Add the following path

export PATH="$PATH:/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/bin"

And source it using below command

source ~/.zshrc

Now close the terminal and reopen and run code . command should work properly.

answered Aug 05 '21 at 12:25

Vaibhav Jain

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Did not work for me – Eydwales Aug 23 '22 at 10:19
Check for the path. May be different for your system. – Tejashree Aug 24 '22 at 15:20
Worked like a charm, thanks! You can also open the file just with open from the root folder. ie open .zshrc – Mara Tata San Jan 13 '23 at 08:54
You don't need to close the terminal if you source the config file – Martian Jul 05 '23 at 09:13

score 32 · Answer 4 · answered Sep 07 '21 at 06:29

32

follow some simple steps :

open your visual studio code (vs code).
press F1.
pallete will open in top center with symbol >
type shell .
select intall 'code' command in PATH.
it will be automatically intalled.

Now you can use from terminal by typing

$ code .

answered Sep 07 '21 at 06:29

sherkhan

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Simplest answer from all above! – Hamza Jul 28 '22 at 05:43
nice one! Simple and effective – EigenFool Jul 29 '22 at 07:33

score 23 · Answer 5 · answered Sep 26 '21 at 08:53

23

Open VSCode, press Command + Shift + P, type Shell in command palette, Select that option => Install code in PATH from suggested list in command palette.

answered Sep 26 '21 at 08:53

Ahmed Raza

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score 22 · Answer 6 · edited Jan 09 '17 at 13:14

22

If you are on Mac OSX Maverick, it's ~/.bash_profile not ~/.bashrc

Try putting the code in there, close the terminal and then try again. Should be working

edited Jan 09 '17 at 13:14

Mosh Feu

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answered May 06 '15 at 09:45

Jabran Saeed

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This is no longer the up to date method, use the instructions in http://stackoverflow.com/a/36882426/107156 instead. This is now a built-in feature to code, and you just have to tell it to install it for you. – Kyle Brandt May 12 '16 at 19:42
thanks @KyleBrandt for posting the updated instructions – swyx Jun 07 '17 at 18:01

score 19 · Answer 7 · answered Apr 22 '17 at 15:03

19

For Mac you can do : View > Command Palette > Shell command > "install code command in path". I'd assume there would be something similar for other OS's. After I do

which code

and it tells me it put it in /usr/local/bin

answered Apr 22 '17 at 15:03

JGFMK

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This answer doesn't answer the question exactly, but this command is a good addition to my knowledge of commands. This is very helpful to find the source of any command that we use. – Aswin Prasad Jul 16 '20 at 08:48
1

My thought was ... as long as I can type `code` and it launches from the terminal that'll do for me. I used which to see where it put it. Had it not worked automatically I would have gone editing profiles etc. I like the 'kiss' rule ;-) – JGFMK Jul 16 '20 at 13:06

score 18 · Answer 8 · answered Feb 13 '22 at 16:51

18

For macOS 12.0 and above:

Open profile in Notepad

open ~/.zshrc

Create an alias for code, Paste below:

alias code='open -a "Visual Studio Code"' # open file or folder in VSCode e.g. code ~/.zshrc

Now you can open the current folder e.g. code . or any other file/folder by providing its path.
Profit

PS: You can add as many aliases as needed to open a file/folder with different editors. Just mention the editor's name in the alias. For example, open file/folder with sublime text:

alias subl='open -a "Sublime Text"' # open file or folder in sublime e.g. subl ~/.zshrc

And use it like subl .

answered Feb 13 '22 at 16:51

GorvGoyl

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2

I prefer this solution since I did not care to overwrite my existing $PATH variable. – Jesse H. Jun 06 '22 at 17:21
1

Good! Worked for me and I didn't have to mess with the $PATH – Cattani Aug 22 '22 at 15:08

score 17 · Answer 9 · answered Jul 19 '19 at 03:55

Sometimes, just adding the shell command doesn't work. We need to check whether visual studio code is available in "Applications" folder or not. That was the case for me.

The moment you download VS code, it stays in "Downloads" folder and terminal doesn't pick up from there. So, I manually moved my VS code to "Applications" folder to access from Terminal.

Step 1: Download VS code, which will give a zipped folder.

Step 2: Run it, which will give a exe kinda file in downloads folder.

Step 3: Move it to "Applications" folder manually.

Step 4: Open VS code, "Command+Shift+P" and run the shell command.

Step 5: Restart the terminal.

Step 6: Typing "Code ." on terminal should work now.

score 15 · Answer 10 · answered Mar 10 '20 at 13:18

15

To set up VS code path permanently on Mac OS;

just open .bash_profile using the following command on terminal

open -t .bash_profile

Then add the following path to .bash_profile

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

save the .bash_profile file and quit the terminal. Then reopen the terminal and type code .to open VS code.

answered Mar 10 '20 at 13:18

Kalhara Tennakoon

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Great answer. To add a tip: If you don't want to restart the terminal, after you edit the .bash_profile run `source ~/.bash_profile` and it reloads the latest configuration in the current terminal. – Bere Feb 11 '21 at 10:26

score 14 · Answer 11 · answered Jul 06 '20 at 18:32

14

Somehow using Raja's approach worked for me only once, after a reboot, it seems gone. To make it persistent across Mac OS reboot, I added this line into my ~/.zshrc since I'm using zsh:

export PATH=/Applications/Visual\ Studio\ Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/bin:$PATH then

source ~/.zshrc now, I could just do

code .

even after I reboot my Mac.

answered Jul 06 '20 at 18:32

Fisher Coder

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Does not work after closing and opening terminal. Works only for one session – Ganesh Chowdhary Sadanala Feb 28 '21 at 05:46
Official Documentation works properly suggested by @Raja Jaganathan – Ganesh Chowdhary Sadanala Feb 28 '21 at 05:48

score 13 · Answer 12 · answered Jul 02 '19 at 13:15

For Mac users:

One thing that made the accepted answer not work for me is that I didn't drag the vs code package into the applications folder

So you need to drag it to the applications folder then you run the command inside vs code (shown below) as per the official document

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

score 10 · Answer 13 · answered Jan 17 '23 at 06:39

10

Open Visual Studio Code
Open the command pallette with Command + Shift + P
Type Shell in command palette
Select Shell Command: Install code in PATH from suggested list
Type code . in mac terminal

answered Jan 17 '23 at 06:39

Shikhar Saxena

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score 8 · Answer 14 · answered Apr 05 '22 at 00:18

8

Yo do this:

Launch Visual Studio Code.
Press Cmd ⌘ + Shift ⇧ + P to open the Command Palette.
Type in shell command and select the Shell command: Install ‘code’ command in PATH to install it.

answered Apr 05 '22 at 00:18

Bikash Pokharel

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shell is not in the list – Prakhar Sharma Oct 07 '22 at 16:21

score 7 · Answer 15 · answered Jan 03 '20 at 22:11

7

How about a simple Bash alias that you stick in your .bash_profile ?

alias code="open -a /Applications/Visual\ Studio\ Code.app"

To open the current directory:

code .

answered Jan 03 '20 at 22:11

Wolfgang

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Rushikesh · Answer 16 · 2022-10-13T10:38:06.220

4

I follow this step it work for me .

first open VSC . open terminal of VSC.

Press cmd+shift+p

uninstall path . Give permission to it.

Press cmd+shift+p

install path .

then open Mac terminal navigate to root project file type

code . in root folder It will open VSC . :)

edited Oct 13 '22 at 10:38

answered Oct 13 '22 at 10:37

Rushikesh

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score 3 · Answer 17 · answered Jun 03 '20 at 20:16

I just made a symbolic link from the "code" program supplied in the Visual Studio Code.app bundle to /usr/local/bin (a place where I prefer to put stuff like that and which is already in my path on my machine).

You can make a symbolic link using ln -s like this:

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

score 2 · Answer 18 · answered Feb 14 '17 at 03:15

2

To set it up, launch VS Code. Then open the Command Palette (⇧⌘P) and type shell command to find the Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH command.enter image description here

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

answered Feb 14 '17 at 03:15

menzil

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How does this differ from the highest voted answer already here? – Stephen Rauch Feb 14 '17 at 03:37

score 2 · Answer 19 · edited Sep 20 '20 at 05:23

2

add below snipped in your bash profile -

PATH="/Library/Frameworks/Python.framework/Versions/3.6/bin:${PATH}"
code () { VSCODE_CWD="$PWD" open -n -b "com.microsoft.VSCode" --args $* ;}

edited Sep 20 '20 at 05:23

Arghya Sadhu

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answered Sep 19 '20 at 21:54

Yash Bhardwaj Shukla

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score 2 · Answer 20 · answered Dec 17 '20 at 17:23

2

I moved VS Code from Downloads folder to Applications, and then i was able to run code in the terminal. I guess, it might help you too.

answered Dec 17 '20 at 17:23

daniilorain

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score 2 · Answer 21 · answered Dec 17 '22 at 05:33

2

Open VSCode
Go to view --> Command Palette
Search for "shell...install 'code'
Open your terminal and place in the directory you wanna open
Use $ code .

answered Dec 17 '22 at 05:33

Diana Aviles

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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 Dec 22 '22 at 12:30

Rich · Answer 22 · 2016-01-21T00:20:35.903

1

I simply created a file called code:

#!/bin/bash

open /Applications/Visual\ Studio\ Code.app $1

Make it executable:

$ chmod 755 code

Then put that in /usr/local/bin

$ sudo mv code /usr/local/bin

As long as the file sits someplace that is in your path you can open a file by just typing: code

edited Jan 21 '16 at 00:20

answered Jan 21 '16 at 00:15

Rich

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score 1 · Answer 23 · answered Feb 13 '19 at 09:18

I prefer to have symlinks in the home directory, in this case at least. Here's how I have things setup:

: cat ~/.bash_profile | grep PATH
# places ~/bin first in PATH
export PATH=~/bin:$PATH

So I symlinked to the VSCode binary like so:

ln -s /Applications/Visual\ Studio\ Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/bin/code ~/bin/code

Now I can issue code . in whichever directory I desire.

score 1 · Answer 24 · answered Jul 13 '21 at 01:20

Since, default shell is zsh in macOS, you can try this:

cat << EOF >> ~/.zshrc
# Add Visual Studio Code (code)
export PATH="\$PATH:/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/bin"
EOF

This will add a path to your VS Code, restart your terminal and voila, you're good to go.

code example.py

score 1 · Answer 25 · answered Dec 05 '21 at 03:57

1

alias code="/Applications/Visual\ Studio\ Code\ 2.app/Contents/Resources/app/bin/code $1"

the alias to the vs code's bin file with parameters works well

you can do code . after having sourced your bash file

answered Dec 05 '21 at 03:57

lobamo

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score 0 · Answer 26 · answered May 11 '19 at 11:13

0

open finder and go to applications and make sure that vscode exists there ,then open type in terminal export PATH="/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/bin"

answered May 11 '19 at 11:13

HeshamSalama

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score -1 · Answer 27 · answered Dec 07 '18 at 08:24

code () {
    if [[ $# = 0 ]]
    then
        open -a "Visual Studio Code"
    else
        echo "Opening: "$@
        "/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/MacOS/Electron" $@
    fi
}

I put that into my .bash_profile I tested it and it works.

Run / Open VSCode from Mac Terminal

27 Answers27

To make this change persist after restart on MacOS

Linked

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