Installing Microsoft Visual Studio Code IDE

Welcome — this guide shows how to download, install, and configure Microsoft Visual Studio Code on your local machine so you can edit, run, and test Terraform and other code from a single workspace.

Download and install

Go to the official download page: https://code.visualstudio.com/download and choose the installer for your operating system (Windows, Linux, or macOS). Pick the installer that matches your platform and architecture (for example, macOS Apple Silicon vs Intel) and run the downloaded package.

A screenshot of the Visual Studio Code download page. It shows the main "Download Visual Studio Code" header with download buttons and OS logos for Windows, Linux (Tux), and macOS.

After installation, open VS Code. The following sections explain the key UI areas and show how to open a folder containing Terraform code.

VS Code layout — quick orientation

When you open VS Code, the left-hand Activity Bar is the primary navigation for common workflows. The table below summarizes the main Activity Bar items and their typical uses.

Activity Bar item	Purpose
Explorer	Open folders, browse files, and manage your workspace.
Search	Find text across files in the current workspace.
Source Control	Git integration: stage changes, commit, push, and pull.
Extensions	Discover and install extensions for language support, formatting, linting, and more.

To open a project, use Explorer → Open Folder and select the folder you want to work on. In this example we open a demo folder that contains Terraform configuration files.

A screenshot of Visual Studio Code with a macOS folder picker open, focused on a "demo" folder. The folder contains Terraform-related files (main.tf, providers.tf, terraform.tfstate and terraform.tfstate.backup).

Example Terraform workspace files

Once the folder is open, files appear in the Explorer. Below are sample Terraform files commonly found in a workspace. main.tf:

resource "aws_vpc" "production" {
  cidr_block = "10.0.0.0/16"

  tags = {
    Name = "production"
  }
}

resource "aws_vpc" "dev" {
  cidr_block = "10.10.0.0/16"

  tags = {
    Name = "dev"
  }
}

resource "aws_subnet" "workloads" {
  vpc_id     = aws_vpc.production.id
  cidr_block = "10.0.1.0/24"

  tags = {
    Name = "workloads"
  }
}

providers.tf:

terraform {
  required_providers {
    aws = {
      source  = "hashicorp/aws"
      version = "5.62.0"
    }
  }
}

Explorer also supports multi-root workspaces: right-click → Add Folder to Workspace if you need multiple project roots.

Source control and extensions

Source Control integrates directly with Git. If your folder is a Git repository (or you connect to a GitHub repository), you can stage changes, create commits, push to remotes, and review diffs without leaving VS Code. Extensions add language support, formatting, linting, and other productivity improvements. Open the Extensions view to search and install extensions for Terraform, Docker, dev containers, and coding assistants.

A dark‑mode Visual Studio Code window showing the Extensions sidebar (CodeSnap, Dev Containers, Docker, GitHub Copilot, etc.) and a context menu open over a Terraform file (providers.tf) in the editor.

Recommended extensions — quick reference:

Extension	Why install it
Terraform / HCL support	Syntax highlighting, formatting, linting, and validation for `.tf` files.
Docker	Build, run, and debug containers from within VS Code.
Dev Containers	Develop inside reproducible containerized environments.
GitHub Copilot	AI-assisted code completion and inline suggestions.
CodeSnap	Capture beautiful screenshots of code snippets for documentation.

A few useful notes about extensions:

CodeSnap is helpful for creating documentation-ready images of code.
Terraform/HCL extensions improve editor support for lifecycle, interpolation, and validation.
GitHub Copilot can speed up writing infrastructure code, but always review suggested changes.

Integrated terminal

Use the Integrated Terminal to run CLI commands for Terraform, Git, or any other tools from within the context of the open folder. To open a terminal that starts in the folder root: right-click the folder or a file in Explorer → Open in Integrated Terminal. The terminal pane will appear at the bottom and its working directory will be set to the opened folder. Example: check the current directory in the integrated terminal:

bk~$ pwd
/Users/bk/Terraform/demo
bk~$

You can have multiple terminal sessions and switch between them using the terminal dropdown. The integrated terminal uses your system shell (for example, zsh on macOS). A typical interactive shell start message may look like this:

zsh
Process ID (PID): 86610
Command line: /bin/zsh '-il'
Shell integration activated

Running Terraform from the integrated terminal is convenient because you can edit code and invoke CLI commands in the same window.

We’ll use Visual Studio Code throughout these lessons. Install VS Code and any helpful extensions (Terraform/HCL, Docker, Dev Containers, etc.) before continuing.

Next steps and references

Now that VS Code is installed and configured, you can:

Open your Terraform project folder in Explorer.
Install the Terraform/HCL extension for better editing and validation.
Use the Integrated Terminal to run terraform init, terraform plan, and terraform apply from inside VS Code.

Helpful links:

Visual Studio Code download: https://code.visualstudio.com/download
VS Code documentation: https://code.visualstudio.com/docs
Terraform language support (Marketplace) — search within the Extensions view in VS Code

Proceed to download and configure VS Code so you’re ready for the rest of the lessons.

Course Introduction

Preparing Your Environment

Terraform Foundations

The Core Terraform Workflow

Terraform CLI

Terraform File Structure and Organization

Terraform Configuration - Fundamentals

Understading and Managing Terraform State

Marking Code Reusable

Refactoring Terraform State

Terraform Modules

Managing Resource Behavior and Dependencies

Securing Terraform Configurations

Terraform Troubleshooting

HCP Terraform

Installing Microsoft Visual Studio Code IDE

Download and install

VS Code layout — quick orientation

Example Terraform workspace files

Source control and extensions

Integrated terminal

Next steps and references

Watch Video

​Download and install

​VS Code layout — quick orientation

​Example Terraform workspace files

​Source control and extensions

​Integrated terminal

​Next steps and references

Watch Video

Download and install

VS Code layout — quick orientation

Example Terraform workspace files

Source control and extensions

Integrated terminal

Next steps and references