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Open Files and Folders in VS Code on Mac: Finder and Terminal Methods

Drag a Finder item into VS Code, open a folder as a workspace, or install the code command for repeat launches from Terminal.
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To open a file or folder you can see in Finder, drag it into Visual Studio Code. For a project folder, use File > Open Folder… to make it the active workspace. If you launch items repeatedly, install VS Code’s code command and open them from Terminal.

Choose the method that fits what you’re opening

  • One-time Finder action: Drag the file or folder into VS Code.
  • Project folder: Choose File > Open Folder… in VS Code to load it as a workspace.
  • Repeat launches or Terminal: Install the code command, then run it with a file or folder path.

Drag a file or folder from Finder into VS Code

  1. Launch Visual Studio Code.
  2. In Finder, locate the file or folder you want to open.
  3. Drag it into VS Code’s Explorer area.

When the Explorer is empty, dropping a file there opens it in the editor. Dropping a folder brings its contents into the Explorer. VS Code documents drag-and-drop from outside the application in its interface guide.

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Open a project folder as a workspace

  1. In VS Code, choose File > Open Folder….
  2. Select the project folder in the dialog and confirm.

The selected folder becomes a workspace, giving you a project tree and access to its files together. This is different from opening a single loose file. See the VS Code getting-started tutorial for the folder-based workflow.

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Open a file or folder from Terminal

Install the code command

  1. Launch VS Code and press Command-Shift-P to open the Command Palette.
  2. Search for shell command and run Shell Command: Install ‘code’ command in PATH.
  3. Restart Terminal so it picks up the PATH change.

VS Code documents this macOS setup in its macOS installation guide.

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Run the command with a path

Use code followed by the path to the item:

code ~/Documents/notes.txt
code ~/Projects/my-project

The CLI accepts file and folder paths. Relative paths are resolved from the current directory. To control which window receives the item, the CLI also provides --new-window and --reuse-window; see the command-line interface documentation.

If Terminal cannot find code

If Terminal reports that code is not recognized, run the Command Palette installation steps above, then restart Terminal. If you previously added an older code alias manually to a shell profile, the macOS guide recommends removing that alias and reinstalling the shell command.

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Find an item in Finder from VS Code

VS Code’s interface guide also describes revealing an item in Finder from VS Code’s context menu. That navigates from the editor to Finder; it is separate from opening an item by dragging it from Finder into VS Code.

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