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quickstart-05-python-visual-studio-open-folder.md

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title description ms.date ms.topic author ms.author manager ms.technology ms.custom ms.workload monikerRange
Quickstart - Open a Python code folder
In this quickstart, you open and run Python code from a folder without using a Visual Studio project (Visual Studio 2019 only).
05/12/2022
quickstart
rjmolyneaux
rmolyneaux
jmartens
vs-python
devdivchpfy22
python
data-science
>= vs-2019

Quickstart: Open and run Python code in a folder

::: moniker range="vs-2019" Once you've installed Python support in Visual Studio 2019, it's easy to run existing Python code in Visual Studio 2019 without creating a Visual Studio project. ::: moniker-end

::: moniker range=">=vs-2022" Once you've installed Python support in Visual Studio 2022, it's easy to run existing Python code in Visual Studio 2022 without creating a Visual Studio project.

Note

Visual Studio 2017 and earlier require you to create a Visual Studio project to run Python code, which you can easily do using a built-in project template. See Quickstart: Create a Python project from existing code. ::: moniker-end

::: moniker range="vs-2019"

  1. For this walkthrough, you can use any folder with Python code that you like. To follow along with the example shown here, clone the gregmalcolm/python_koans GitHub repository to your computer using the command git clone https://github.com/gregmalcolm/python_koans in an appropriate folder.

  2. Launch Visual Studio 2019 and in the start window, select Open at the bottom of the Get started column. Alternately, if you already have Visual Studio running, select the File > Open > Folder command instead.

    :::image type="content" source="media/quickstart-open-folder/01-open-local-folder.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the Visual Studio startup screen.":::

  3. Navigate to the folder containing your Python code, then choose Select Folder. If you're using the python_koans code, make sure to select the python3 folder within the clone folder.

    :::image type="content" source="media/quickstart-open-folder/02-select-folder.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the Select Folder dialog from the Open Folder command.":::

  4. Visual Studio displays the folder in Solution Explorer in what's called Folder View. You can expand and collapse folders using the arrows on the left edges of the folder names:

    :::image type="content" source="media/quickstart-open-folder/03-expand-collapse-folders.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the controls to expand and collapse folders in Solution Explorer.":::

  5. When opening a Python folder, Visual Studio creates several hidden folders to manage settings related to the project. To see these folders (and any other hidden files and folders, such as the .git folder), select the Show All Files toolbar button:

    :::image type="content" source="media/quickstart-open-folder/05-view-hidden-folders.png" alt-text="Screenshot of a view of hidden folders in Solution Explorer.":::

  6. To run the code, you first need to identify the startup or primary program file. In the example shown here, select the startup file contemplate-koans.py, right-click that file and select Set as Startup Item.

    :::image type="content" source="media/quickstart-open-folder/06-set-as-startup-item-command.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the setting a startup item in Solution Explorer.":::

    [!Important] If your startup item is not located in the root of the folder you opened, you must also add a line to the launch configuration JSON file as described in the section, Set a working directory.

  7. Run the code by pressing Ctrl+F5 or selecting Debug > Start without Debugging. You can also select the toolbar button that shows the startup item with a play button, which runs code in the Visual Studio debugger. In all cases, Visual Studio detects that your startup item is a Python file, so it automatically runs the code in the default Python environment. (That environment is shown to the right of the startup item on the toolbar.)

    :::image type="content" source="media/quickstart-open-folder/07-start-debug-toolbar.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the start debugger toolbar button.":::

  8. The program's output appears in a separate command window:

    :::image type="content" source="media/quickstart-open-folder/08-result-window.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the output window for running Python code.":::

  9. To run the code in a different environment, select that environment from the drop-down control on the toolbar, then launch the startup item again.

  10. To close the folder in Visual Studio, select the File > Close folder menu command.

::: moniker-end

::: moniker range=">=vs-2022"

  1. For this walkthrough, you can use any folder with Python code that you like. To follow along with the example shown here, clone the gregmalcolm/python_koans GitHub repository to your computer using the command git clone https://github.com/gregmalcolm/python_koans in an appropriate folder.

  2. Launch Visual Studio 2022 and in the start window, select Open at the bottom of the Get started column. Alternately, if you already have Visual Studio running, select the File > Open > Folder command instead.

    :::image type="content" source="media/quickstart-open-folder/vs-2022/01-open-local-folder.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the Visual Studio startup screen.":::

  3. Navigate to the folder containing your Python code, then choose Select Folder.

    :::image type="content" source="media/quickstart-open-folder/vs-2022/02-select-folder.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the Select Folder dialog from the Open Folder command.":::

  4. Visual Studio displays the folder in Solution Explorer in what's called Folder View. You can expand and collapse folders using the arrows on the left edges of the folder names:

    :::image type="content" source="media/quickstart-open-folder/vs-2022/03-expand-collapse-folders.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the controls to expand and collapse folders in Solution Explorer.":::

  5. When opening a Python folder, Visual Studio creates several hidden folders to manage settings related to the project. To see these folders (and any other hidden files and folders, such as the .git folder), select the Show All Files toolbar button:

    :::image type="content" source="media/quickstart-open-folder/vs-2022/05-view-hidden-folders.png" alt-text="Screenshot of a view of hidden folders in Solution Explorer.":::

  6. To run the code, you first need to identify the startup or primary program file. In the example shown here, the startup file contemplate-koans.py. Right-click that file and select Set as Startup Item.

    :::image type="content" source="media/quickstart-open-folder/vs-2022/06-set-as-startup-item-command.png" alt-text="Screenshot of setting a startup item in Solution Explorer.":::

    [!Important] If your startup item is not located in the root of the folder you opened, you must also add a line to the launch configuration JSON file as described in the section, Set a working directory.

  7. Run the code by pressing Ctrl+F5 or selecting Debug > Start without Debugging. You can also select the toolbar button that shows the startup item with a play button, which runs code in the Visual Studio debugger. In all cases, Visual Studio detects that your startup item is a Python file, so it automatically runs the code in the default Python environment. (That environment is shown to the right of the startup item on the toolbar.)

    :::image type="content" source="media/quickstart-open-folder/vs-2022/07-start-debug-toolbar.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the start debugger toolbar button.":::

  8. The program's output appears in a separate command window:

    :::image type="content" source="media/quickstart-open-folder/vs-2022/08-result-window.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the output window for running Python code.":::

  9. To run the code in a different environment, select that environment from the drop-down control on the toolbar, then launch the startup item again.

  10. To close the folder in Visual Studio, select the File > Close folder menu command.

::: moniker-end

Set a working directory

::: moniker range="vs-2019" By default, Visual Studio runs a Python project opened as a folder in the root of that same folder. The code in your project, however, might assume that Python is being run in a subfolder. For example, suppose you open the root folder of the python_koans repository and then set the python3/contemplate-koans.py file as startup item. If you then run the code, you see an error that the koans.txt file can't be found. This error happens because contemplate-koans.py assumes that Python is being run in the python3 folder rather than the repository root.

In such cases, you must also add a line to the launch configuration JSON file to specify the working directory:

  1. Right-click the Python (.py) startup file in Solution Explorer and select Debug and Launch Settings.

    :::image type="content" source="media/quickstart-open-folder/09-debug-launch-settings-menu-command.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the Solution Explorer Folder view with the contemplate-koans.py file selected, and Debug and Launch Settings selected on the context menu.":::

  2. In the Select debugger dialog box that appears, select Default and then choose Select.

    :::image type="content" source="media/quickstart-open-folder/10-select-debugger.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the Select a Debugger dialog with the Default debugger selected and the Select button chosen.":::

    [!Note] If you don't see Default as a choice, be sure that you chose a Python .py file when selecting the Debug and Launch Settings command. Visual Studio uses the file type to determine which debugger options to display.

  3. Visual Studio opens a file named launch.vs.json, which is located in the hidden .vs folder. This file describes the debugging context for the project. To specify a working directory, add a value for "workingDirectory", as in "workingDirectory": "python3" for python-koans example:

    {
    "version": "0.2.1",
    "defaults": {},
    "configurations":    
    [    
        {
            "type": "python",
            "interpreter": "(default)",
            "interpreterArguments": "",
            "scriptArguments": "",
            "env": {},
            "nativeDebug": false,
            "webBrowserUrl": "",
            "project": "contemplate_koans.py",
            "projectTarget": "",
            "name": "contemplate_koans.py"
        }    
    ]
}

  4. Save the file and launch the program again, which now runs in the specified folder. ::: moniker-end

::: moniker range=">=vs-2022"

By default, Visual Studio runs a Python project opened as a folder in the root of that same folder. The code in your project, however, might assume that Python is being run in a subfolder. For example, suppose you open the root folder of the python_koans repository and then set the python3/contemplate-koans.py file as startup item. If you then run the code, you see an error that the koans.txt file can't be found. This error happens because contemplate-koans.py assumes that Python is being run in the python3 folder rather than the repository root.

In such cases, you must also add a line to the launch configuration JSON file to specify the working directory:

  1. Right-click the Python (.py) startup file in Solution Explorer and select Add Debug Configuration.

    :::image type="content" source="media/quickstart-open-folder/vs-2022/09-debug-launch-settings-menu-command.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the Solution Explorer Folder View with the contemplate-koans.py file selected, and Add Debug Configuration selected on the context menu.":::

  2. In the Select debugger dialog box that appears, select Default and then choose Select.

    :::image type="content" source="media/quickstart-open-folder/vs-2022/10-select-debugger.png" alt-text="Screenshot of the Select a Debugger dialog with the Default debugger selected and the Select button chosen.":::

    [!Note] If you don't see Default as a choice, be sure that you chose a Python .py file when selecting the Add Debug Configuration command. Visual Studio uses the file type to determine which debugger options to display.

  3. Visual Studio opens a file named launch.vs.json, which is located in the hidden .vs folder. This file describes the debugging context for the project. To specify a working directory, add a value for "workingDirectory", as in "workingDirectory": "python3" for python-koans example:

        
{
    "version": "0.2.1",
    "defaults": {},
    "configurations":    
    [    
        {
            "type": "python",
            "interpreter": "(default)",
            "interpreterArguments": "",
            "scriptArguments": "",
            "env": {},
            "nativeDebug": false,
            "webBrowserUrl": "",
            "project": "contemplate_koans.py",
            "projectTarget": "",
            "name": "contemplate_koans.py"
        }    
    ]
}

  4. Save the file and launch the program again, which now runs in the specified folder.

::: moniker-end

Next steps

[!div class="nextstepaction"] Tutorial: Work with Python in Visual Studio

See also