How to Install VS Code on Ubuntu and Run Your First Python Script

Install Prerequisites

First, install the full Python package on Ubuntu: sudo apt-get install python3-full -y After Python is installed, download the VS Code .deb package from the official website, locate it in the Downloads folder, and install it either by double‑clicking or via the command line:

cd ~/Downloads
sudo dpkg -i *.deb

Configure VS Code with Python

Create a project directory, open it in VS Code, and install the Python extension.

mkdir project
cd project
code .

In VS Code press Ctrl+Shift+P, run “Python: Create Environment”, choose venv, and select the latest interpreter. Then create a new file hello.py with the following content:

msg = "Hello, New Stack!"
print(msg)

Save the file (Ctrl+S) and run it by clicking the play button; the output “Hello, New Stack!” appears in the terminal.

Congratulations, you have created and run your first Python application in VS Code on Linux.