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Set Up VS Code for Claude Code on WSL

You’ve installed WSL and Claude Code on your Windows machine - now you want a visual editor to work with your code. VS Code bridges the gap between Windows and your Linux environment, letting you edit files visually while running Claude Code in the integrated terminal. Think of VS Code as a window into your Linux world.

Key Concepts

• VS Code - A free code editor from Microsoft that runs on Windows but can connect to WSL
• WSL Extension - Connects VS Code to your Linux environment so you can run Linux tools like Claude Code
• Integrated Terminal - A terminal panel inside VS Code that runs in your WSL (Linux) environment
• /mnt/c/ - How WSL accesses your Windows files (e.g., /mnt/c/Users/... = C:\Users\...)

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: Install the WSL Extension

• In VS Code, click the Extensions icon in the left sidebar (it looks like four squares)
• Type WSL in the search box
• Find WSL by Microsoft (it should be the first result)
• Click the blue Install button
• Wait for installation to complete (a few seconds)

Step 4: Connect VS Code to WSL

• Look at the bottom-left corner of VS Code - you’ll see a blue or green icon
• Click this icon to open the remote connection menu
• Select Connect to WSL from the menu
• VS Code will reload and connect to your Ubuntu installation
• The bottom-left corner should now show WSL: Ubuntu

The first time you connect, VS Code installs a small server in WSL. This takes about 30 seconds.

Step 5: Open the Folder in VS Code

• In VS Code (still connected to WSL), click File in the menu bar, then Open Folder
• A Open Folder dropdown appears in the top center.
• Find your folder by typing:

  /mnt/c/Users/YOUR_USERNAME/Documents/test_claude
  

  Replace YOUR_USERNAME with your Windows username (e.g., John.Smith)

• Click OK. VS Code reloads with your test_claude folder
• If prompted “Do you trust the authors?”, click Yes, I trust the authors

Step 6: 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
  

• Claude Code starts - you’ll see the familiar Claude Code interface
• You’re now ready to use Claude Code while editing files in VS Code

Step 7: 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 WSL projects:

• Option A: Open VS Code, click the bottom-left corner, select Connect to WSL, then File > Open Recent. Select /mnt/c/Users/YOUR_USERNAME/Documents/test_claude [WSL: Ubuntu]
• Option B: Open Ubuntu App from Windows, navigate to your project in the terminal, and type code .

VS Code remembers your recent folders, so Option A with Open Recent is usually the quickest.

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)
• To handle bigger files more efficiently, create a folder in the WSL file system (/home/user/). From Windows, look for the Linux icon at the bottom of the sidebar in File Explorer. Or enter \\wsl.localhost\ in the address bar.

Troubleshooting

• “WSL: Ubuntu” not showing in bottom-left - Make sure WSL is installed correctly; try opening Ubuntu terminal first to verify it works
• Terminal shows PowerShell instead of Linux - Click the dropdown arrow next to the + in the terminal panel and select Ubuntu (WSL)
• claude command not found - Run claude --version to check if Claude Code is installed; if not, follow the WSL installation tutorial first

Workflow Overview

• VS Code runs on Windows and provides the visual editor interface
• WSL Extension connects VS Code to Ubuntu so you can run Linux tools
• Integrated Terminal runs Claude Code inside WSL
• Your files stay in Windows (Documents folder) - WSL accesses them via /mnt/c/
• Edit files in the editor, chat with Claude Code in the terminal - best of both worlds

Created by Steven Ge on December 10, 2025.