VS Code Project Setup Tool

This utility automates the setup of a Python development environment in Visual Studio Code. It installs recommended extensions via the command line and generates standard configuration files (settings.json, launch.json) for linting, formatting, and debugging.

Modules Used:

subprocess: To execute VS Code CLI commands.
json: To generate configuration files.
pathlib: To handle file paths and directory creation.

Prerequisites

Visual Studio Code must be installed.
The code command must be added to your system's PATH (usually done during installation).

The Code

Save this as vscode_setup.py.

import subprocess
import json
import argparse
from pathlib import Path
import shutil
import sys

# Recommended extensions for Python development
EXTENSIONS = [
    "ms-python.python",
    "ms-python.vscode-pylance",
    "njpwerner.autodocstring",
    "njqdev.vscode-python-typehint",
    "donjayamanne.githistory"
]

# Standard Python settings
SETTINGS_JSON = {
    "python.defaultInterpreterPath": "${workspaceFolder}/.venv/bin/python",
    "python.formatting.provider": "black",
    "python.linting.enabled": True,
    "python.linting.pylintEnabled": True,
    "editor.formatOnSave": True,
    "python.analysis.typeCheckingMode": "basic"
}

# Standard Debug configuration
LAUNCH_JSON = {
    "version": "0.2.0",
    "configurations": [
        {
            "name": "Python: Current File",
            "type": "python",
            "request": "launch",
            "program": "${file}",
            "console": "integratedTerminal"
        }
    ]
}

def check_code_cli():
    """Checks if 'code' command is available."""
    if not shutil.which("code"):
        print("Error: VS Code CLI ('code') not found in PATH.")
        return False
    return True

def install_extensions():
    print("Installing VS Code extensions...")
    for ext in EXTENSIONS:
        try:
            print(f"  Installing {ext}...")
            # shell=True might be needed on Windows depending on how code is added to path
            subprocess.run(["code", "--install-extension", ext, "--force"], check=True, shell=True)
        except subprocess.CalledProcessError:
            print(f"  Failed to install {ext}")

def create_configs(project_dir):
    vscode_dir = Path(project_dir) / ".vscode"
    vscode_dir.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)

    # Write settings.json
    settings_path = vscode_dir / "settings.json"
    if not settings_path.exists():
        print(f"Creating {settings_path}...")
        with open(settings_path, "w") as f:
            json.dump(SETTINGS_JSON, f, indent=4)
    else:
        print(f"Skipping {settings_path} (already exists).")

    # Write launch.json
    launch_path = vscode_dir / "launch.json"
    if not launch_path.exists():
        print(f"Creating {launch_path}...")
        with open(launch_path, "w") as f:
            json.dump(LAUNCH_JSON, f, indent=4)
    else:
        print(f"Skipping {launch_path} (already exists).")

if __name__ == "__main__":
    parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description="VS Code Python Project Setup")
    parser.add_argument("directory", nargs="?", default=".", help="Project directory (default: current)")
    parser.add_argument("--no-ext", action="store_true", help="Skip extension installation")

    args = parser.parse_args()

    if not args.no_ext:
        if check_code_cli():
            install_extensions()

    create_configs(args.directory)
    print("\nSetup complete! You can now open the project with:")
    print(f"code {args.directory}")

Usage

# Setup current directory
python vscode_setup.py

# Setup a specific project folder
python vscode_setup.py ./my_new_project

programming/python/python

Created: March 17, 2026 • Last Modified: January 28, 2026

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VS Code Project Setup Tool

Prerequisites

The Code

Usage