How To Run Python Code in Visual Studio Code

Python is a general-purpose programming language. It’s easy to learn and use also has libraries that allow you to build software, apps, and websites. This article shows you how to get started with Python development in Visual Studio Code.

Things to do before you can run Python in VS Code

Verify The Python Installation

Before installing Python, we should check if we have Python already installed. If you’re on Windows, open a command prompt window, and type

py —version

Then press Enter.

Verifying Python Installation — Type these commands in the command prompt to verify Python installation.

Download And Install Python

If you don’t have Python installed, follow these steps:

Go to python.org/downloads. Click on the download button to begin downloading the latest Python version.
Go to python.org/downloads to download Python.
When given the option, choose to run the installer. After the installer starts, be sure to enable Add Python to PATH. Then run the download and select Install Now. There’s no need to further customize the installation.
Click on Install Now to run the Python installation.

Installing Python Extension

While you could run Python programs using the default installation of Visual Studio Code, the Python Extension will make it much easier. This extension will save a lot of time when you have to run the program multiple times. Follow these steps to install the extension:

From the side bar select Extensions. This will open an extensions panel.
Click on Extensions from the sidebar on the left side.
Search for “Python” in the search box and click on Install button.
Look for Python and then Install it.
After installation, reload/ restart Visual Studio Code.

Creating Python Program

With Python installed in your machine, you’re ready to write basic Python code in Visual Studio Code for testing. Follow the below steps:

Create a folder to store your Python programs. Click Open folder.
Click on Open folder button to start creating a folder.
Create a folder in the preferred directory. I’m going to call it “Test.”
Choose your preferred directory for your folder.
You’ll see a project explorer view for your project, which shows programs or directories for your project. Now, we can create a Python program in this folder by pressing the New File button next to your folder heading. I will call it “hello.py”, as it will print out the words “Hello World.” Note that I put .py, which is the extension for python files.
Click on New File to start writing your Python program.
Save the file.

Running Python

You can run the python program in the terminal through the default code, or by using shortcuts supported by the Python Extension.

Default Method

Select New Terminal from the “Terminal” section or use the shortcut CTRL ~ to run this program. It will open a terminal panel below the code editor area.
Form Terminal section, select New Terminal.
To launch your python file in the terminal, type python followed by the name of the python file. For this example, type
```
Python hello.py
```
Then hit Enter.

Write Python followed by the filename to run the program.

It will run the python file. As you can see, I successfully ran the program.

Python Extension Shortcut

The problem with the above method is that we’ll have to type the code every time we want to run the code. This is where Python Extension is useful. The extension will add a “Run” button in the upper-right corner.

Click on the Run button and it will run the python file directly within the integrated terminal in Visual Studio Code.

Output using Python Extension — Click on the Run button and it will fetch you the result.

You’re ready to write and run python programs in Visual Studio Code! Installing Python Extension streamlines the running process – try to explore some of the other benefits provided by the extension.

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