Claude Code in VS Code
Claude Code installs in VS Code as an extension, so there is no command to run. Here is the setup I use, and why I work here rather than in the desktop app.
You do not install Claude Code in VS Code with a command. It is an extension, so it installs from the sidebar like any other.
But a terminal is still worth having, and this is where people get the wrong idea. You need one to sign into other tools, to run a CLI, to check a version. VS Code has one built in, so wanting a terminal and wanting to avoid one stop being the same question.
That combination is the reason to work here rather than in the desktop app: your files, your agent and your terminal in one window.
- Why VS Code rather than the Claude desktop app
- The 1 command that installs the extensions and the settings together
- Running Claude, Codex and Gemini side by side in the same window
- The setting people miss, and why an agent behaves oddly without it
- Cursor, and what changes there
And I'll start with the choice, because the desktop app is the right answer for some people.
VS Code or the Claude desktop app?
Both are solid, and the desktop app has come a long way. Its Code tab works on your local files, with a file editor, a terminal, diff review and parallel sessions. It runs the same engine and reads the same CLAUDE.md, skills and connectors.
If Claude is the only agent you use, work there. There is nothing to set up.
VS Code is for the other case. It runs Claude, Codex and Gemini in one window on the same folder, so you can put a second agent on the first one's work and have it checked by something that did not write it.
Same Claude, same account, same subscription, either way.
Installing Claude Code in VS Code
Get VS Code from code.visualstudio.com if you do not have it. It is free.
Then 1 command installs the 9 extensions and applies the settings together. Your existing settings are backed up first and the path is printed, so nothing you had is lost.
If you would rather not change the setup you already have, import the profile instead. It lands as a separate profile you can switch in and out of.
Then open the Claude Code panel at the bottom and sign in with your Claude account. A Pro or Max subscription works and you do not need an API key.
The step people skip
Open a folder. File, then Open Folder.
VS Code is built around a folder, and Claude reads everything inside the one you open. Point it at your whole home directory and it will behave accordingly.
Make a fresh folder for your first week so you are not aiming an agent at anything that matters.
Do you need the terminal?
Not to install Claude Code. The extension carries its own copy of the CLI for its panel, so claude does not go on your PATH and you never type a command to get it working.
You will still want one. Signing into other tools, running a CLI, checking a version: all terminal jobs, and VS Code has a terminal built in.
Worth knowing the contrast: the JetBrains plugin is the opposite. It bundles nothing and runs claude in the IDE's own terminal, so there you do need the standalone CLI installed.
What about Cursor?
Cursor is VS Code underneath, so all of this works there the same way.
The only difference is the import link, which opens in VS Code. In Cursor, install the extensions from the sidebar and paste the settings in by hand.
Claude Code publishes a Cursor install link of its own, so the extension is a documented target rather than something that happens to work.
What to do next
- Install VS Code, or open the one you have
- Run the setup command, or import the profile if you would rather keep your settings
- Sign in to Claude in the panel at the bottom
- Open a folder, and make it a fresh one for the first week
- Sign in to Codex and Gemini if you want a second opinion on the first agent's work
Claude Code and VS Code questions
What people ask before they move editors, and after.
Claude Code installs in VS Code as an extension, so there is no command to run. Search for it in the Extensions view, or use the setup repo, which installs it along with 8 other extensions and the settings in 1 step.
Then sign in from the Claude panel at the bottom of the window.
No. The extension bundles its own copy of the CLI for its panel, so nothing goes on your PATH and no command installs it.
You will still want a terminal for other things, such as signing into other tools or running a CLI, and VS Code has one built in.
For 1 agent, no. The desktop app runs the same engine, reads the same files, and needs no setup at all.
VS Code wins when you want more than 1 agent in the same window on the same folder, so a second agent can check work the first one wrote.
No, and this catches people out. It carries a private copy of the CLI for its own panel only.
If you want `claude` in a terminal, install the CLI separately. The JetBrains plugin is the reverse: it bundles nothing and requires the standalone CLI.
No. The installer backs up what you have first and prints the path to the backup.
If you would rather not touch your setup at all, import the profile instead. That lands as a separate profile you can switch in and out of.
Yes. Cursor is VS Code underneath and Claude Code publishes a Cursor install link, so it is a documented target rather than a lucky accident.
The only difference is the profile import link, which opens in VS Code. In Cursor, install the extensions from the sidebar and paste the settings in.
Yes, in one window on the same folder. That is the main reason to work in VS Code rather than the desktop app.
It also means a second agent can review the first one's work, which is worth more than a second opinion in chat.
Yes. Configuration, project memory and MCP servers are shared across the CLI, Desktop, VS Code and JetBrains, so all 4 read the same files.
So a CLAUDE.md you wrote for the terminal works here with nothing to change.