What are vs code workspaces?

Question

Bhaudas Purushothan · Answer

A project that consists of one or more root folders, along with all of the Visual Studio Code configurations that belong to that project. These configurations include:

Visual Studio Code does not use the term consistently across the UI (I've opened a GitHub issue to address this). Sometimes it refers to a workspace as described above, and other times it refers to a workspace as a project that is specifically associated with a .code-workspace file.

A good example being the recent files widget. Notice in the linked screenshot that all projects are grouped under the same "workspaces" heading, which would indicate that everything there is a workspace. But then projects with a .code-workspace file are given a "Workspace" suffix, contradicting the heading and indicating that only those files are actually workspaces.

It is a JSON file with comments that stores all of the configuration data mentioned above, in addition to the location of all root folders belonging to a workspace.

Only if you're creating a multi-root workspace, in which case you'll have a single .code-workspace file that automatically restores all of the workspace settings, in addition to all of the root folders that you want to be displayed in the Explorer.

Everything is automated.

When you open a folder in Visual Studio Code and start making modifications to the editor that are specifically related to the project you're currently working on, Visual Studio Code automatically creates a .vscode folder and stores it in the root of the project folder that you're working on. This .vscode folder has files that store the changes you made.

For example, if you change Visual Studio Code settings that you want to apply only to your current project, Visual Studio Code creates a settings.json file with those updates, and that file is stored in the .vscode folder.

You can create a .code-workspace file that includes just a single root folder if you really want to. You'd then be able to either open the project folder directly, or open the workspace file. But I can't think of any reason why this would be beneficial.

Go to menu File → Save Workspace As...

Go to menu File → Add Folder to Workspace....

Go to menu File → Open Workspace....

Ginger Fairbrass · Answer

Your Workspace is often the local copy of the team’s codebase that you can use to test and develop your code. In most cases, it’s created automatically when you open a VS folder. However, you might want to create multiple files to keep track of all the changes you make in different branches of the project. Here’s how to consolidate those files into a VS Code Workspace.

Your new Workspace has now been created on VS Code, and the name will show up as (Name).code-Workspace.

These settings override default settings and can be used to customize your Workspace to your liking. They are stored in JSON files, and their location will be determined by how you open your folder.

If you open a folder as a Workspace, the settings will be found in .vscode/settings.json.

If the folder you open is a .code-workspace file, all Workspace settings will be added to the .code-workspace file.

You can still customize settings per root folder, but the settings will override those defined in the .code-workspace.

Similar to how settings are configured for Workspace, tasks and launches can also be personalized to suit a Workspace. If you have a folder opened as a .code-workspace file or a Workspace, the locations of task and launch configurations are in the .vsh file or .workspace file. These configurations can also be adjusted from the folder.

With built-in support for various programming languages, including TypeScript, Javascript, and Node JS, Workspace is an ideal tool for developers. These tips will make the platform more efficient and easier to navigate.

You might be utilizing the default terminal provided by your operating system. With VS Code, the platform wanted to make it so that you don’t have to rely on the OS feature. VS Code comes with a built-in terminal that has all your requirements in one place. It’s a great way to keep track of your development projects and ensure that they are running smoothly. With the ability to rename or change the icon color, it’s also easier to differentiate between the various terminals for your project.

This feature is handy for developers who are working on large projects where multiple components are being used. It can be hard to keep track of all the files when moving from one component to another. In VS Code, tabs appear in the browser, and you will have to scroll from one to the other when you want to view what’s inside them.

A more efficient method would be to wrap these tabs by clicking Cmd + and searching for “Wrap Tabs.” This feature will make it easier to see what is in different tabs.

As a developer, it’s advisable to keep your Workspace as organized as possible. You can do this by pining tabs you often use to the front of your screen. You can also customize the look and feel of these tabs by hitting the Cmd + or Ctrl + buttons and searching for “Pin Tab.”

The interface of your terminal is set up so that it has various options, such as explorer, search, project manager, and output. It also has a footer-like section where you can easily find and modify multiple details. In VS Code, it is possible to drag and drop these tabs, rearranging them to your liking. You can place the more frequently used options closer to the top or customize them to make them easier to access. Personalizing the user interface makes your Workspace easier to navigate.

When creating a new page in Visual Studio Code, the file is untitled, and you will have to fill in those details yourself. You would then have to move to the file’s name and enter the extension. The process can be tedious, especially when dealing with a large number of files.

You can optimize the process by allowing the IDE to look at the files. It will then use the previous naming system to assign names to new files that you create.

VS Code has some frustrating features. For example, if you open a file in preview and then open another one immediately after without making changes to the first one, the program will close the first file. If you would like to change this and keep both files open in preview, go to Settings and search for “Enable Preview.” Tick the checkbox to make the necessary changes.

You may have customized and personalized your VS Code Workspace to your liking, only to get a new PC. While a new machine is great, having to reconfigure your Workspace can be annoying.

Setting Sync allows you to save all of your configurations in one place. When you get another device, it will automatically apply the settings of the old one to the new VS Code Workspace. This way, you don’t have to reconfigure Workspace on your new PC.

Getting started with debugging a web app in production can be challenging and time-consuming. With OpenReplay, you can monitor and replay everything that your users do, allowing you to see how the app behaves and detect any issues that may appear. OpenReplay is an excellent option as it is a free, open-source alternative to other debugging applications like LogRocket and FullStory. Using a debugging program saves you a lot of time when using Workspace.

VS Code comes with a built-in GitHub integration. This allows you to push your files to GitHub quickly. Connecting to GitHub from VS Code means that you don’t have to spend time writing git commands. The VS Code integration makes maintaining your files simpler.

udvi Veronica · Answer

A Visual Studio Code "workspace" is the collection of one or more folders that are opened in a VS Code window (instance). In most cases, you will have a single folder opened as the workspace but, depending on your development workflow, you can include more than one folder, using an advanced configuration called Multi-root workspaces.

The concept of a workspace enables VS Code to:

You may see the terms "folder" and "workspace" used interchangeably in VS Code documentation, issues, and community discussions. Think of a workspace as the root of a project that has extra VS Code knowledge and capabilities.

The easiest way to open a workspace is using the File menu and selecting one of the available folder entries for opening. Alternatively if you launch VS Code from a terminal, you can pass the path to a folder as the first argument to the code command for opening.

You don't have to do anything for a folder to become a VS Code workspace other than open the folder with VS Code. Once a folder has been opened, VS Code will automatically keep track of things such as your open files and editor layout so the editor will be as you left it when you reopen that folder. You can also add other folder-specific configurations such as workspace-specific settings (versus global user settings), task definitions, and debugging launch files (see below in the workspace settings section).

A single-folder workspace opened inside VS Code

Multi-root workspaces are an advanced capability of VS Code that allows you to configure multiple distinct folders to be part of the workspace. Instead of opening a folder as workspace, you will open a .code-workspace JSON file that lists the folders of the workspace. For example:

A multi-root workspace opened in VS Code

It is easy to add or remove folders in your workspace. You can start off by opening a folder in VS Code and then later add more folders as you see fit. Unless you already have opened a .code-workspace file, the first time you add a second folder to a workspace, VS Code will automatically create an "untitled" workspace. In the background, VS Code automatically maintains a untitled.code-workspace file for you that contains all of the folders and workspace settings from your current session. The workspace will remain "untitled" until you decide to save it to disk.

An untitled multi-root workspace opened in VS Code

Workspace settings enable you to configure settings in the context of the workspace you have opened and always override global user settings. They are physically stored in a JSON file and their location depends on whether you opened a folder as a workspace or you opened a .code-workspace file.

Refer to the settings documentation for a comprehensive explanation of setting scopes and their file locations.

Workspace settings will be stored in .vscode/settings.json when you open a folder as workspace.

The Settings editor when a folder is opened as workspace

When you open a .code-workspace as workspace, all workspace settings will be added into the .code-workspace file.

You can still configure settings per root folder and the Settings editor will present a third setting scope called Folder Settings:

The Settings editor when a multi-root workspace is opened

Settings configured per folder will override settings defined in the .code-workspace.

Similar to how workspace settings are specific to a workspace, tasks and launch configurations can also be scoped to a workspace. Depending on whether you have a folder opened as workspace or a .code-workspace file, the location of workspace task and launch configurations will either be inside the .vscode folder or inside the .code-workspace file. In addition, task and launch configurations can always be defined at the level of a folder, even when you have opened a .code-workspace file.

Refer to tasks and debugging chapters for a more comprehensive overview of how to use tasks and launch configurations in VS Code.

The most obvious advantage is that a multi-root workspace allows you to work with multiple projects that may not be stored inside the same parent folder on disk. You can pick folders from anywhere to add to the workspace.

Even if you are mainly working in a single-folder-based project, you can benefit from using .code-workspace files. You can store multiple .code-workspace files inside the folder to provide a scoped folder-view of certain aspects of the project depending on the scenario (for example client.code-workspace, server.code-workspace to filter out unrelated folders from the File Explorer). Since .code-workspace files support relative paths for the folders section, these workspace files will work for everyone independent of where the folder is stored.

Finally, if for some projects you want to apply the same set of workspace settings or tasks/launch configurations, consider adding these into a .code-workspace file and add/remove these folders from that workspace.

Untitled workspaces are designed to be something you must explicitly decide to keep or not. The first time an untitled workspace is created, VS Code adds the specified folders into the workspace file and also all existing workspace settings. This user data is always restored and displayed in a VS Code window until the untitled workspace is saved or deleted.

You can delete an untitled workspace by closing its window and dismissing the prompt to save the untitled workspace.

It is possible to leave the folders section of a .code-workspace file empty so that you end up with an instance of VS Code that does not show any root folders. You can still store workspace settings and even tasks or launch configurations in this case.

VS Code doesn't have the concept of a "project" or "solution" as they are sometimes defined in other development tools, for example Visual Studio IDE. You may see the term "project" used in VS Code documentation but it usually means "the thing you're working on". Depending on your programming language or framework, the toolset itself may support something called a "project" to help define build configurations or enumerate included files.

Keith Macías · Answer