# Writing Scripts in VS Code

VS Code with Microsoft's free PowerShell extension colors a script, suggests commands as you type, underlines problems such as a missing quote or an alias before you run anything, and runs the whole script with F5 in a terminal inside the editor.

Apprentice · PowerShell · Updated November 10, 2026

## After this lesson you can

- Open a folder of scripts in VS Code with code ., and run a script with F5 in the PowerShell extension's terminal
- Read a problem VS Code underlines in a script, such as a missing quote or an alias, and fix the line it marks

## Key takeaways

- VS Code is a free code editor for Windows, Macs and Linux, and Microsoft's PowerShell extension teaches it PowerShell. Both are optional: edit still works.
- code . opens the folder you're in, with its files listed on the left. The extension colors each part of a script and suggests commands as you type.
- A red wavy line is a mistake PowerShell can't read, such as a missing quote. A script with one doesn't run at all, not even its first lines.
- A yellow wavy line is advice from PSScriptAnalyzer, such as using a full command name instead of an alias. Point at the line to read the message.
- F5 saves the script and runs it in the terminal at the bottom of the window. F8 runs only the lines you've selected.

`edit` is fine for a three-line script. But the scripts in this module grow: a backup that checks before it copies, a loop over thirty files, a menu. At that size you want what a word processor gives you for an essay: colors that set the parts apart, line numbers, and a spell checker that underlines a mistake before you hand it in. For PowerShell scripts, that's **VS Code** with the **PowerShell extension**. Both are free and both are optional: if `edit` or Notepad suits you, keep using it. Every lesson shows a script's contents, not the editor it was typed in. VS Code is also what many developers and system administrators use every day, so it's worth knowing your way around.

## VS Code and the PowerShell extension

VS Code (Visual Studio Code) is a free **code editor** from Microsoft for Windows, Macs and Linux: a text editor made for code. Download it from `code.visualstudio.com`, or install it with winget (*Installing Apps and Modules: winget and the PowerShell Gallery*):

```powershell
winget install Microsoft.VisualStudioCode
```

On its own, VS Code knows a little about PowerShell. The **PowerShell extension** teaches it the rest. In VS Code, click the Extensions icon on the left (or press **Ctrl+Shift+X**), search for `PowerShell`, and check the publisher before you click **Install**: it should say **Microsoft**, the same habit as checking who published a module.

Windows also comes with an older editor, the Windows PowerShell ISE. It works only with Windows PowerShell 5.1 and gets no new features; Microsoft recommends VS Code instead.

## Open your scripts folder: code .

In PowerShell, go to the scripts folder from *A Script Is an Application* and open it, `.` being "this folder":

```powershell
Set-Location "$HOME\terminal-practice\scripts"
code .
```

VS Code opens with the folder's files listed on the left. The first time, it may ask whether you trust the authors of the files in this folder: they're yours, so choose **Yes**. Click the New File icon beside the folder's name, call the file `greeting.ps1`, and type these lines:

```powershell
# greeting.ps1: says hello, then lists the scripts in my practice folder.
Write-Output "Hello, $env:USERNAME!"
gci "$HOME\terminal-practice\scripts" -Name
```

As you type, the extension colors each part: comments in one color, commands in another, text in quotes in a third. Every line has a number, so an error about line 3 takes a second to find. Type `Get-Ch` and a list of commands appears under the cursor, the same list Ctrl+Space shows at the prompt: press Tab or Enter to take one.

## Problems underlined as you type

A wavy line under part of your script means VS Code has spotted something. Point at it with the mouse, and a box shows the message. **Ctrl+Shift+M** opens the Problems panel, which lists every one with its line number.

Look at `gci` on line 3: it has a yellow wavy line. That's advice from **PSScriptAnalyzer**, a **linter**: a program that reads your code without running it and points out lines that are likely to cause trouble. The extension brings it with it. Its message is:

```text
'gci' is an alias of 'Get-ChildItem'. Alias can introduce possible problems and make scripts hard to maintain. Please consider changing alias to its full content.
```

It's the rule from *Short Names: Aliases*: short names at the prompt, full names in scripts, so other people (and you in six months) can read them. Change `gci` to `Get-ChildItem`, and the line disappears.

![VS Code with greeting.ps1 open: gci on line 3 has a yellow wavy underline, and a box above it shows PSScriptAnalyzer's message that 'gci' is an alias of 'Get-ChildItem'](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/TODO)

A **red** wavy line is more serious: something PowerShell can't read at all. Delete the closing `"` after `scripts` on line 3, and `"$HOME\terminal-practice\scripts -Name` gets one. Here's what running that script would give you:

```text
ParserError: C:\Users\Sam\terminal-practice\scripts\greeting.ps1:3
Line |
   3 |  Get-ChildItem "$HOME\terminal-practice\scripts -Name
     |                ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
     | The string is missing the terminator: ".
```

The **terminator** is the closing quote. Notice that nothing ran, not even the greeting on line 2: PowerShell reads the whole script before it starts, and a script it can't read doesn't run at all. VS Code shows you the same message the moment you type, before you run anything. Put the `"` back.

## F5: run it inside the editor

Press **F5**. VS Code saves the script and runs it in a terminal that opens at the bottom of the window, running PowerShell 7, and the output appears under your code:

```text
Hello, Sam!
greeting.ps1
hello.ps1
```

Yours shows your own name, and any other scripts you made in earlier lessons. To run only part of a script, select the lines and press **F8**. You can type commands into that terminal too, the same as any PowerShell window; **Ctrl+`** (the backquote key, above Tab) shows or hides it.

On a Mac, the keys use **Cmd** where Windows uses **Ctrl**. To get `code` at the Mac's prompt, open VS Code, press **Cmd+Shift+P**, type `shell command`, and choose *Install 'code' command in PATH*.

## Check yourself

2 questions to try on the lesson page.

## So what

VS Code shows your script in color, underlines a mistake before it bites, and runs the script without leaving the editor. It's a more comfortable desk, not a different job: everything you write runs the same from any PowerShell window.

## Key terms

- [VS Code](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/vs-code)
- [Code Editor](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/code-editor)
- [PowerShell Extension](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/powershell-extension)
- [PSScriptAnalyzer](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/psscriptanalyzer)
- [Linter](https://www.ask-codey.com/glossary/linter)

## Cheat sheets

- [Writing Scripts in VS Code](https://www.ask-codey.com/cheat-sheets/powershell-scripts-in-vs-code-cheat-sheet)

## Related

- [Editing in the Terminal: edit](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/powershell-editing-with-edit)
- [Your First Script](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/powershell-your-first-script)
- [Short Names: Aliases](https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/powershell-aliases)

Source: https://www.ask-codey.com/lessons/powershell-scripts-in-vs-code