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VS Code Installation

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is a free, lightweight code editor that has become the standard tool for data engineers and developers. It runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux.

Why VS Code?

  • Free and open-source — no license needed
  • Built-in terminal — run commands without leaving the editor
  • Git integration — see changes, make commits, and push directly from the editor
  • Extensions — add support for Python, Jupyter notebooks, AI assistants, and more
  • Lightweight — starts fast, uses less than 500 MB on disk

Install VS Code

  1. Go to code.visualstudio.com/download
  2. Click Download for Mac (it auto-detects Intel vs Apple Silicon)
  3. Open the downloaded .zip file
  4. Drag Visual Studio Code.app to your Applications folder
  5. Open VS Code from Applications

Add the code command to your terminal:

  1. Open VS Code
  2. Press Cmd + Shift + P to open the Command Palette
  3. Type shell command and select Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH

Now you can open any folder from the terminal:

code ~/projects/data-engineering-workshop
  1. Go to code.visualstudio.com/download
  2. Click Download for Windows
  3. Run the installer (VSCodeUserSetup-x64-*.exe)
  4. During installation:
    • Accept the license agreement
    • Check "Add to PATH" (so you can type code in the terminal)
    • Check "Add 'Open with Code' action to file context menu" (optional but handy)
  5. Click Install and Launch

After installation, restart your terminal and verify:

code --version

# Download and install the .deb package
sudo apt update
sudo apt 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 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
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y code

Or use Snap:

sudo snap install code --classic

After installing VS Code, add these extensions for the workshop. Open VS Code and click the Extensions icon in the left sidebar (or press Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + X), then search for each one:

Essential

Extension What it does
Python (by Microsoft) Python language support, IntelliSense, debugging
Jupyter (by Microsoft) Run Jupyter notebooks inside VS Code
GitLens Enhanced Git integration — see who changed what and when
Extension What it does
Pylance Fast, feature-rich Python language server
autoDocstring Generate Python docstrings with a shortcut
Rainbow CSV Color-codes CSV columns so they're easier to read
Material Icon Theme Better file icons in the sidebar

To install from the terminal:

code --install-extension ms-python.python
code --install-extension ms-toolsai.jupyter
code --install-extension eamodio.gitlens

Quick Tour

Open a project folder

# From the terminal
code ~/projects/data-engineering-workshop

Or in VS Code: File → Open Folder

The integrated terminal

Press Ctrl + ` (backtick) to toggle the built-in terminal. This is where you'll run Python scripts, Git commands, and more — without leaving the editor.

Key shortcuts

Shortcut Action
Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + P Command Palette (search for any action)
Ctrl + ` Toggle terminal
Ctrl/Cmd + P Quick Open (search for files)
Ctrl/Cmd + B Toggle sidebar
Ctrl/Cmd + S Save file
Ctrl/Cmd + / Toggle comment on selected lines
F5 Start debugging

Select your Python interpreter

When you open a Python file, VS Code may ask you to select an interpreter:

  1. Press Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + P
  2. Type Python: Select Interpreter
  3. Choose the one from your workshop Conda environment (e.g., ~/miniforge3/envs/workshop/bin/python)

Verify Your Setup

  1. Open VS Code
  2. Open the integrated terminal (Ctrl + `)

  3. Activate your Conda environment:

    conda activate workshop

  4. Create a test file:

    echo 'print("VS Code is ready!")' > test.py
python test.py

  5. You should see VS Code is ready! in the terminal

If you see the output, your editor is set up and ready!

Next: GitHub Account Setup →