IDE Integration - Claude Code

Claude Code integrates seamlessly with Visual Studio Code through the official extension, bringing AI-powered coding assistance directly into your editor.

Installation

VS Code Extension

Open VS Code
Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
Search for “Claude Code”
Click Install

Or install via command line:

code --install-extension Anthropic.claude-code

Prerequisites

VS Code: Version 1.85.0 or higher
Claude Code CLI: Must be installed globally
Authentication: Anthropic account with API access

Getting Started

First Launch

Open a project folder in VS Code
Open the Claude Code sidebar (click icon in activity bar)
Authenticate with your Anthropic account
Start chatting with Claude

Interface Overview

Sidebar Panel: Main chat interface

Message input at bottom
Conversation history
File attachments
Model selection

Activity Bar Icon: Quick access to Claude Code Status Bar: Shows session info and context usage

Core Features

Chat Interface

Send messages: Type and press Enter (or Shift+Enter for multi-line) File references: Type @ to mention files Slash commands: Type / for quick actions Code blocks: Hover for copy/insert actions

File Context

Attach files to provide context: Drag and drop: Drag files from explorer to chat @-mentions: Type @ and select files Selection: Highlight code and use “Ask Claude” from context menu

Code Actions

Inline suggestions: Click code blocks to:

Copy to clipboard
Insert at cursor
Create new file
Show diff

Quick fixes: Right-click code for:

Explain this code
Find bugs
Improve performance
Add tests
Refactor

Multi-file Editing

Claude can edit multiple files simultaneously:

> Refactor the authentication system: move logic from
  app.ts to a new AuthService class

Claude will:

Show planned changes for each file
Display diffs side-by-side
Apply changes after approval

Extension Settings

Configure via Settings (Ctrl+, / Cmd+,) and search “Claude Code”:

General Settings

{
  // Model selection
  "claudeCode.model": "claude-sonnet-4.6",
  
  // Enable/disable features
  "claudeCode.enableInlineChat": true,
  "claudeCode.enableCodeActions": true,
  
  // Context window management
  "claudeCode.autoCompact": true,
  "claudeCode.compactThreshold": 0.8,
  
  // Session management
  "claudeCode.autoSaveSessions": true,
  "claudeCode.sessionHistoryLimit": 50
}

Python Environment

{
  // Auto-activate Python virtual environments
  "claudeCode.usePythonEnvironment": true,
  
  // Python interpreter path (auto-detected if not set)
  "claudeCode.pythonPath": "/path/to/python"
}

Performance

{
  // Process wrapper for debugging
  "claudeCode.claudeProcessWrapper": "",
  
  // Disable features for better performance
  "claudeCode.disableBackgroundTasks": false,
  "claudeCode.disableMCPTools": false
}

Keyboard Shortcuts

Default shortcuts (customizable):

Action	Windows/Linux	macOS
Open Claude Code	`Ctrl+Shift+C`	`Cmd+Shift+C`
New conversation	`Ctrl+Shift+N`	`Cmd+Shift+N`
Focus input	`Ctrl+L`	`Cmd+L`
Insert code	`Ctrl+Enter`	`Cmd+Enter`
Explain selection	`Ctrl+Shift+E`	`Cmd+Shift+E`
Find bugs	`Ctrl+Shift+B`	`Cmd+Shift+B`

Customize Shortcuts

Open Keyboard Shortcuts (Ctrl+K Ctrl+S)
Search “Claude Code”
Click pencil icon to edit
Press new key combination

Workflows

Code Explanation

Select code in editor
Right-click → “Ask Claude” → “Explain this code”
Read explanation in sidebar

Bug Fixing

Select problematic code
Right-click → “Ask Claude” → “Find bugs”
Review suggested fixes
Click “Apply” to insert fix

Refactoring

Select code to refactor
Type in chat: “Refactor this to use async/await”
Review diff
Accept or request changes

Test Generation

Select function to test
Ask: “Write unit tests for this function”
Review generated tests
Insert into test file

Multi-file Feature Development

Open chat
Describe feature: “Add user authentication with JWT”
Review Claude’s plan
Approve implementation
Review diffs for all files
Apply changes

Session Management

Viewing Sessions

Click “Sessions” button in sidebar to:

View conversation history
Resume previous sessions
Search sessions by content
Filter by date or branch

Resume Session

Open sessions panel
Search or browse sessions
Click to resume
Continue conversation

Session Forking

Explore alternative approaches:

Open session
Click message where you want to branch
Click “Fork from here”
New session starts from that point

Remote Sessions

For OAuth users:

Browse sessions from claude.ai
Resume sessions from other devices
Sync across VS Code instances

Plan Mode

Review Claude’s plan before implementation:

Ask Claude to implement a feature
Claude shows implementation plan
Review plan in sidebar
Comment on specific steps
Approve or request changes
Claude implements approved plan

Plan features:

Step-by-step breakdown
File changes preview
Inline comments
Accept/reject workflow

Usage Tracking

View usage in sidebar: Current session:

Tokens used
Tool calls
Duration

Plan usage:

Monthly usage
Remaining quota
Usage by project

Use /usage command for details.

Plugin Support

VS Code extension supports Claude Code plugins:

Installing Plugins

Open command palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)
Run “Claude Code: Manage Plugins”
Browse and install plugins

Plugin Marketplace

Browse plugins directly in VS Code:

Search by name or category
View install counts
Read descriptions
See trust warnings
Install with one click

Local Plugins

Project-specific plugins in .claude/ are automatically loaded.

Advanced Features

Background Agents

Run agents while you work:

> Launch code-reviewer in the background to analyze the entire codebase

View progress in status bar and tasks panel.

MCP Tools

MCP servers configured in .claude/.mcp.json are available:

> List GitHub issues assigned to me
> Query the production database for recent errors

Custom Commands

Project commands in .claude/commands/ appear in command palette:

Press Ctrl+Shift+P
Type command name
Execute

Git Integration

Git operations work seamlessly:

> /commit
> /commit-push-pr
> Show me what changed

PR status shown in status bar.

Troubleshooting

Extension Not Starting

Issue: Claude Code sidebar is empty or shows error Solutions:

Ensure Claude Code CLI is installed: claude --version
Check authentication: claude auth status
Restart VS Code
Check extension logs: Developer → Show Logs → Extension Host

File References Not Working

Issue: @-mentions don’t autocomplete Solutions:

Ensure folder is opened in VS Code (not just files)
Check file search is enabled in workspace settings
Reload window: Ctrl+Shift+P → “Reload Window”

High CPU Usage

Issue: VS Code uses excessive CPU Solutions:

Disable background tasks: claudeCode.disableBackgroundTasks: true
Use simple mode: Set CLAUDE_CODE_SIMPLE=true in environment
Reduce MCP servers
Compact conversation: /compact

Sessions Not Syncing

Issue: Remote sessions don’t appear Solutions:

Verify OAuth authentication
Check internet connection
Refresh sessions panel
Re-authenticate: claude auth login

Keyboard Shortcuts Conflict

Issue: Shortcuts don’t work or trigger wrong actions Solutions:

Check for conflicts in Keyboard Shortcuts editor
Customize bindings
Disable conflicting extensions

Best Practices

Use @-mentions: Provide specific file context for better results

Review diffs carefully: Always check proposed changes before applying

Leverage plan mode: For complex features, review plans before implementation

Save sessions: Name important sessions for easy resumption

Use background agents: Run long analysis tasks in background

Comparison: VS Code vs Terminal

Feature	VS Code Extension	Terminal
Code actions	✓ Quick fixes, inline suggestions	✗
File navigation	✓ Integrated file explorer	Manual paths
Diff view	✓ Side-by-side diffs	Text diffs
Plan mode	✓ Visual plan review	Text-based
Session UI	✓ Graphical history	Command-line resume
Git integration	✓ PR status in UI	Status in prompt
Multi-file edits	✓ Visual diff	Text diff
Plugins	✓ Visual marketplace	CLI commands
Performance	Slightly slower	Faster
Flexibility	IDE-bound	Works anywhere

Use VS Code when:

Working on complex features
Need visual diffs
Want integrated experience
Use code actions frequently

Use Terminal when:

Quick tasks
Remote servers
CI/CD integration
Maximum performance

Next Steps

Quickstart

Learn basic commands and workflows

Git Workflows

Master git operations

Task Automation

Create custom commands and agents

Settings

Customize extension settings

Get Started

Core Concepts

Guides

Configuration

​Installation

​VS Code Extension

​Prerequisites

​Getting Started

​First Launch

​Interface Overview

​Core Features

​Chat Interface

​File Context

​Code Actions

​Multi-file Editing

​Extension Settings

​General Settings

​Python Environment

​Performance

​Keyboard Shortcuts

​Customize Shortcuts

​Workflows

​Code Explanation

​Bug Fixing

​Refactoring

​Test Generation

​Multi-file Feature Development

​Session Management

​Viewing Sessions

​Resume Session

​Session Forking

​Remote Sessions

​Plan Mode

​Usage Tracking

​Plugin Support

​Installing Plugins

​Plugin Marketplace

​Local Plugins

​Advanced Features

​Background Agents

​MCP Tools

​Custom Commands

​Git Integration

​Troubleshooting

​Extension Not Starting

​File References Not Working

​High CPU Usage

​Sessions Not Syncing

​Keyboard Shortcuts Conflict

​Best Practices

​Comparison: VS Code vs Terminal

​Next Steps

Quickstart

Git Workflows

Task Automation

Settings

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Installation

VS Code Extension

Prerequisites

Getting Started

First Launch

Interface Overview

Core Features

Chat Interface

File Context

Code Actions

Multi-file Editing

Extension Settings

General Settings

Python Environment

Performance

Keyboard Shortcuts

Customize Shortcuts

Workflows

Code Explanation

Bug Fixing

Refactoring

Test Generation

Multi-file Feature Development

Session Management

Viewing Sessions

Resume Session

Session Forking

Remote Sessions

Plan Mode

Usage Tracking

Plugin Support

Installing Plugins

Plugin Marketplace

Local Plugins

Advanced Features

Background Agents

MCP Tools

Custom Commands

Git Integration

Troubleshooting

Extension Not Starting

File References Not Working

High CPU Usage

Sessions Not Syncing

Keyboard Shortcuts Conflict

Best Practices

Comparison: VS Code vs Terminal

Next Steps