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Installing VS Code

Background

PowerShell is an interpreted scripting language. It can be typewritten and executed directly in a shell. Or it can be typed into a plain text file and executed later. This file is called a script. PowerShell scripts use the file extension "PS1". Any text editor, such as Notepad, can be used to write PowerShell code.

A programming language might have a dedicated editor called an Integrated Development Environment or IDE. This software provides enhancements related to editing code.

Common IDE features are:

Syntax Highlighting: Stylizing text depending on its role in the language.
Autocomplete: Suggestions while typing ranging from completing variable names to inserting large code snippets.
Linting: Analyzing code for software bugs or style errors.
Execution: Running code directly from the editor.
Debugging: Stepping through a program one line at a time to troubleshoot bugs.
Help: Select a command within the text and access information about syntax and usage.
Source Control: Integrating with software that manages large projects with many authors.
Diff: Comparing two versions of a code file and highlighting changes.
Extensions: Allowing third parties to provide additional features to the IDE.

The version of PowerShell which ships with Windows comes bundled with its own IDE called Windows PowerShell Integrated Scripting Environment (ISE). However, ISE is deprecated. That means ISE is not receiving new features or fixes even though it is still available.

The successor to ISE is Visual Studio Code (VS Code) plus the PowerShell extension. This combination provides all the IDE features mentioned to PowerShell authors. And these two projects are where Microsoft is focusing its attention and providing updates.

Today, I will install VS Code and the PowerShell extension. Then we will create, edit, and run a simple PowerShell script within VS Code.

Since I previously installed PowerShell 7 on my computer, the PowerShell extension in VS Code will load PowerShell 7 by default. I covered installing PowerShell in a previous gemlog. See link below.

It is possible to search for and install extensions without leaving VS Code. And it is possible to visit the Visual Studio Marketplace in a Web browser and to install an extension from the store. Today, I will demonstrate the former and use the Extensions view within VS Code to install my extension.

VS Code has many options and functions. And there is only one, unifying interface for these which is VS Code's command-line interface: known as the Command Palette. After activating the palette, a small command line and search results will be overlaid on your workspace. While VS Code has menus, keyboard shortcuts, and side panels; everything appears in the Command Palette. When I need access to a setting or IDE function, I will refer to the Command Palette. It is a good idea to get accustomed to the Command Palette in VS Code.

Fortunately, the Command Palette will show suggestions based on partial names. It also displays recently used commands. So you can repeat commands by simply selecting an entry with your arrow keys and pressing Enter. One tip is that commands require a leading '>' which is provided by default. Backspacing over that will show you a list of open tabs, recent files, or let you open a file by typing its path. If you want to search the list of commands again, you must re-add the greater-than sign to the start.

The default keyboard shortcuts for the Command Palette are Ctrl+Shift+P and F1. The Command Palette can also be reached from the menu via View > Command Palette. You might find it useful to set a more convenient keyboard shortcut for the palette. I will cover changing a keyboard shortcut later.

Install VS Code

Download a copy of VS Code from its home page. See link below. For example, after visiting the Web site, I see a large "Download for Windows" button. And I click on that.
Run the VS Code setup file. You can just double-click on the downloaded file. The first slide of the setup process will show: License Agreement.
Click the 'I accept the agreement' radio button.
Click the Next button at the bottom. Now the 'Select Destination Location' slide will show.
Click Next to accept the default installation location. By default, VS Code installs within user space and does not require elevation.
Click Next to accept the default Start Menu Folder name. The next slide is Select Additional Tasks.
You may choose any options. Choose an option by clicking in the checkbox next to the option to fill it in. There is no harm in choosing all the options. And I suggest choosing them all. These will integrate VS Code with Windows Explorer, add a shortcut to your desktop, and allow you to launch VS Code from the command-line.
Click Next to confirm your options. This will bring you to the Ready to Install slide.
Click Install. After the installation completes, you will be given the option to launch VS Code.
Click Finish to close the setup process.

VS Code is now installed.

Install PowerShell Extension

VS Code must be running before we can install an extension.

Open the Start Menu.
Begin typing "Visual Studio Code".
Press Enter to launch VS Code.

Now VS Code is running.

We will use the Command Palette to access the Extensions view.

In VS Code, open the Command Palette by pressing F1.
Begin typing "view show extensions".
Press Enter. This will expand the Extensions side panel. Your cursor will default to the extensions search box.
Begin typing "powershell". The top result should be the "PowerShell" extension by Microsoft. This is the extension we are looking for.
Click the tiny Install button within the top search result. This should begin installing the extension and open a tab for the extension's marketplace page within VS Code.

The PowerShell extension is now installed.

One option you have is to activate the classic PowerShell ISE color theme included with the PowerShell extension. Activating a color theme makes no functional changes. But for those who remember ISE or who prefer a light color theme then this might be a useful option.

If you still have the PowerShell marketplace tab open after installing the extension, you can simply click the 'Set Color Theme' button shown near the top of the page. It is also possible to use the Command Palette to activate the theme which I cover next.

Press F1 to activate the Command Palette.
Begin typing "preferences color theme".
Press Enter to switch to the color theme mode. Now the Command Palette changes. Our command is cleared. And the commands we can enter are limited to installed themes and a command to install more.
Begin typing "powershell ise". While a theme is selected, VS Code will change and the color theme will be previewed.
Press Enter to accept the new color theme, or press Esc to cancel the preview and close the Command Palette.

Sample Run

Let us go through the process of creating a new PowerShell script file, typing some commands, and running the script. This will give us the basic skills to create scripts for ourselves in the future.

Because VS Code is used with many programming languages, it needs some way to recognize what language we're using before it can load the relevant features. There are two ways to set the language mode. If we create an untitled file, VS Code embeds a hint in the file asking us to select a language mode. Alternatively, VS Code will automatically set the language based on the file extension. I will demonstrate creating a file with the PowerShell file extension.

We need VS Code to be running.

Open the Start Menu.
Begin typing "Visual Studio Code".
Press Enter to launch VS Code.

Now VS Code is running.

Press F1 to open the Command Palette.
Begin typing "file new untitled file".
Press Enter to create a new file. You will see the inline prompt to select a language. Let's ignore that for now.
Press F1 to open the Command Palette.
Begin typing "file save as".
Press Enter to launch the file picker. From here we'll choose a location and file name for our new file. The Desktop folder should appear among the options on the left.
Click on the Desktop folder within the file picker.
Select the text for the file name: "Untitled-1".
Replace the name with the following: "hello.ps1". Note that I included the "PS1" file extension which will identify this file as a PowerShell script.
Press Enter or click Save to save the file with the new name. If it has not already, a terminal should load at the bottom of VS Code. This terminal is where your script output will show.
Let's type or copy the following PowerShell code into the main blank space within our editor:

$hello = "hello world"
Out-Host -InputObject $hello

Notice the syntax highlighting applied to the code. The variable $hello appears in light red. The string "hello world" appears in dark red. The cmdlet Out-Host appears in blue. And the parameter -InputObject appears in black. Syntax highlighting is one of the features which depends on setting the correct language mode.

Let's save our file.

Press F1 to open the Command Palette.
Begin typing "file save".
Use the arrow keys and Enter, or use the mouse to activate "File: Save" from among the suggestions.

Let's run our file.

Press F1 to open the Command Palette.
Begin typing "debug start".
Choose "Debug: Start Debugging" from among the options.

Assuming there are no typos, the script will run and the output, "hello world", will be output in the terminal.

Change a Keyboard Shortcut

Since we use the Command Palette so often, it would be useful to change the keyboard shortcut to something more convenient. With F1 or Ctrl+Shift+P, I inevitably have to move my fingers off the home row to activate the palette. Something like Ctrl+S would be more useful. Feel free to use a different keyboard shortcut. Just replace Ctrl+S in the instructions below with your shortcut.

Let's open the user interface for keyboard shortcuts.

Press F1 to open the Command Palette.
Begin typing "preferences open keyboard shortcuts".
Choose the "Preferences: Open Keyboard Shortcuts" option.

There are two ways to search for keyboard shortcuts. You can search by the name of the command or by shortcut: ex. Ctrl+Shift+P

Since I proposed using Ctrl+S, let's search for that shortcut to see if anything is bound to it already.

Type "Ctrl+S" within the keyboard shortcuts search box.

The results will show several shortcuts. The main one we have to worry about is 'File: Save' which shows a plain Ctrl+S in the Keybinding column.

One tip for searching is that if you include the double quotes when searching for a shortcut:

"Ctrl+S"

then only exact matches will be included. In our case, this will eliminate the extraneous search results. Note, this only works for keybindings and not commands.

Continuing, let's clear this Ctrl+S binding to make room for the Command Palette.

Right-click on the 'File: Save' line.
Click on the Remove Keybinding option.

Now, let's set Ctrl+S to the Command Palette.

Return to the search box and search for "command palette".

There seems to be a problem. None of the search results appears to correspond to opening the Command Palette.

We know that we can search for shortcuts and that one of the shorcuts for the Command Palette is Ctrl+Shift+P. Let's search for that shortcut.

Return to the search box and search for "Ctrl+Shift+P".

Now we should see "Show All Commands" as one of the results. This appears to be the command for the Command Palette. Let's search for that command to see what turns up.

Return to the search box and search for "Show All Commands".

Now we see two results. We know the Command Palette has two keyboard shorcuts: Ctrl+Shift+P and F1. And we see both shortcuts represented in these results.

There is no reason to erase these shortcuts. Let's add a shortcut for Ctrl+S.

Right-click on one of the "Show All Commands" lines.
Click on the Add Keybinding option.
Press the 'Ctrl' key and 's'.
Press Enter to save the new keybinding.

Because we left "Show All Commands" in the search box, the results will update to show the new keybinding.

Now we can press Ctrl+S to bring up the Command Palette.

References

Installing PowerShell

Visual Studio Code Home Page

Created: Thursday, August 19, 2021

Updated: Thursday, August 19, 2021