Home

Set Up VS Code for Claude Code on Windows

You’ve installed Claude Code on your Windows machine - now you want a visual editor to work with your code. VS Code lets you edit files visually while running Claude Code in the integrated terminal, right next to each other in the same window.

Key Concepts

• VS Code - A free code editor from Microsoft with a built-in terminal
• Integrated Terminal - A PowerShell terminal panel inside VS Code, so you don’t need to switch windows to run Claude Code
• Workspace folder - The folder you open in VS Code; Claude Code reads and edits files within it

What You’ll Need

• Finished Installing Claude Code on Windows
• Finished VS Code Basics
• 10-15 minutes

Step 1: Create a Project Folder

• Open File Explorer (click the folder icon in your taskbar)
• Navigate to Documents
• Right-click in the empty space, select New > Folder
• Name the folder test_claude

Step 2: Start VS Code

• Click the Windows Start button (bottom-left corner of your screen)
• Type Visual Studio Code or VS Code in the search box
• Click on Visual Studio Code when it appears in the search results
• VS Code opens with a Welcome tab - you can close this tab

Step 3: Open the Folder in VS Code

• In VS Code, click File in the menu bar, then Open Folder
• Navigate to Documents, select the test_claude folder
• Click Select Folder. VS Code reloads with your test_claude folder
• If prompted “Do you trust the authors?”, click Yes, I trust the authors

Step 4: Start Claude Code

• After VS Code reloads, open a new terminal: click Terminal in the menu bar, then New Terminal
• In the terminal panel, type:

  claude
  

Log in with your Claude subscription following the installation tutorial. After logging in, you’ll see a welcome message and the Claude Code prompt.

Step 5: Test the Workflow

• In Claude Code, type:

  Write a short article explaining why LLMs like to use Markdown format. Save it as article.md
  

• Claude Code creates the file - you’ll see article.md appear in the Explorer panel on the left
• Click on article.md in the Explorer to view it in the editor
• To preview the formatted article: right-click on the article.md tab and select Open Preview
• You’ll see the Markdown rendered with proper headings, bullet points, and formatting

Reopening Claude in VS Code Later

After closing VS Code, here’s how to get back to your project:

• Option A: Open VS Code, click File > Open Recent, and select test_claude
• Option B: Open File Explorer, right-click the test_claude folder, and select Open with Code

Next Steps

• Ask Claude Code to explain an existing codebase: “Explain what this project does”
• Have Claude Code help you write new features: “Add a function that calculates the average of a list”
• Use Claude Code to fix bugs: “This code gives an error, can you fix it?”
• Try the Claude Code VS Code extension for a visual interface with inline diffs (search “Claude Code” in Extensions)

Troubleshooting

• claude command not found - Run claude --version in the VS Code terminal to check if Claude Code is installed; if not, follow the installation tutorial first
• Using WSL instead? - If you set up the optional WSL/Ubuntu path, install the WSL extension from the Extensions sidebar, click the blue/green icon in the bottom-left corner, and select Connect to WSL before opening your project folder (accessed at /mnt/c/Users/YOUR_USERNAME/Documents/test_claude)

Workflow Overview

• VS Code runs on Windows and provides the visual editor interface
• Integrated Terminal runs Claude Code right inside VS Code
• Edit files in the editor, chat with Claude Code in the terminal - best of both worlds

Created by Steven Ge on December 10, 2025.