These instructions refer to Anaconda Distribution exclusively, but will also work with Miniconda.
Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is a free, cross-platform source code editor that works with Anaconda Distribution and Miniconda. Installing the Python for Visual Studio Code extension enables VS Code to connect to a ’s version of Python as an interpreter for your Python code files.
Before starting your Python project, Anaconda recommends creating a conda environment to isolate your project’s software packages and manage their dependencies.
You must have the Python for Visual Studio Code extension installed to create new conda environments from within VS Code on Windows.If VS Code doesn’t display your conda environments, make sure at least one environment has Python installed. The base environment alone might not be sufficient for VS Code to detect conda. See Creating a new environment for details on creating environments with Python.
Windows
macOS/Linux
Open the Command Palette by pressing Ctrl+Shift+P.
Select Python: Create Environment…
Select the environment type:
Conda
Venv
Creates a .conda environment in your workspace. Select the Python version to install in the environment.
Creates a virtual environment using Python’s built-in venv module. Select a Python installation to use, or select Enter interpreter path… to browse to one on your file system.
Open the Command Palette by pressing Ctrl+Shift+P (Linux)/Cmd+Shift+P (macOS).
Select Python: Create Environment…
Select the project, folder, or script you want to create the environment for.
Click OK.
Select the environment manager option that best fits your needs:
Quick Create
Conda
Global
venv
Enter Interpreter Path
Creates a .conda environment in your workspace automatically using the current Python version and installs any workspace dependencies found in your project.
Creates a conda environment. Continue with the following steps:
Select the environment type:
Named: Creates a globally accessible named environment stored in your conda environments directory.
Prefix: Creates an environment in your current workspace folder.
Select the Python version to install in the environment.
Enter a name for the environment and press Enter twice to confirm.
Uses your system-wide Python installation rather than an isolated environment.
Creates a virtual environment using Python’s built-in venv module. Continue with the following steps:
Select a Python interpreter for the environment.
Enter a name for the environment (the default is venv) and press Enter to confirm.
Browse to and select a Python interpreter from anywhere on your system.
If your new environment doesn’t appear in the interpreter list, open the Command Palette and run “Developer: Reload Window”, then try selecting the interpreter again.
Now that your conda environment has been created, select the environment as an interpreter. This ensures that your code has access to the correct Python version and packages installed in your conda environment.
Open any Python file.
Open the Command Palette by pressing Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows, Linux)/Cmd+Shift+P (macOS).
Select Python: Select Interpreter.
Select the conda environment you want to use. Conda environments appear with the environment name, Python version, and path (for example, hello-conda-env (3.12.13) ~/miniconda3/envs/hello-conda-env/bin/python).
You can also select Enter interpreter path… to browse to a Python interpreter manually.For more information on finding a specific interpreter path in your Anaconda installation, see Finding your Anaconda Python interpreter path.The selected interpreter appears in the bottom right corner of the status bar in VS Code. You can also click the interpreter in the status bar to change it.
On Windows, you can run conda commands in both Powershell and Command Prompt terminals in VS Code.
When you select the new environment, you might see a notification that says, “Selected conda environment was successfully activated, even though ‘(.conda)’ indicator may not be present in the terminal prompt.” You can still run conda commands in the terminal. See VS Code’s official documentation for more information on activating environments in terminal.
You are now ready to run Python scripts in VS Code!
Create a new Python (.py) file.
Add the following code to your file:
# This will display "Hello, World!" in the terminalprint("Hello, World!")# This will display your system version in the terminalimport sysprint(sys.version)
Save the file.
Click Run Python File.
The terminal displays your output, confirming the script ran successfully with your conda environment’s Python interpreter:
Hello, World!3.x.x | packaged by Anaconda, Inc. | ...
The second line shows the Python version installed in your environment and confirms that Python was distributed by Anaconda, Inc. rather than from another source.For more information on working with Python in VS Code, see Python in Visual Studio Code.
