Using Windows Terminal and VS Code for Python Development on Windows

On Windows, developers can choose between plain text editors and full‑featured IDEs; this article introduces Microsoft’s official Windows Terminal and Visual Studio Code (VS Code) as tools to streamline Python development.

Windows offers a rich ecosystem, but developers often face challenges such as file encoding, environment control, and dependency errors. Using MS Terminal and VS Code can mitigate many of these issues.

VS Code is a lightweight, extensible, cross‑platform editor that has become popular for Python development, offering features comparable to PyCharm and Jupyter Notebook.

The article outlines the following topics:

What is Microsoft Terminal

Microsoft Terminal features

Installing Visual Studio Code

Finding and installing the Python extension

Writing a simple Python application

Running and debugging existing Python programs

Connecting VS Code to Git and GitHub

Microsoft Windows Terminal is an open‑source terminal that supports multiple tabs, PowerShell, Command Prompt, and SSH, providing a Linux‑like command‑line experience with customizable themes and transparency.

VS Code can be installed on any platform; the official website provides installers for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It supports a wide range of languages and offers an extensive extension ecosystem.

The Python extension adds features such as IntelliSense, linting, debugging, code snippets, unit testing, conda and virtual‑environment support, and Jupyter notebook integration.

Additional useful extensions include GitLens, auto‑save, Settings Sync, and Docker support.

To start a new Python project, create a folder, open it in VS Code, and use the terminal commands:

cd /path/to/project code .

VS Code automatically detects virtual environments and provides Git integration when a .git folder is present, allowing commits, pushes, branch management, and conflict resolution directly from the UI.

Debugging in VS Code supports breakpoints, variable inspection, call‑stack navigation, and can be configured for Django, Flask, or remote debugging via a generated .vscode/launch.json file.

Overall, the article demonstrates that VS Code, combined with Windows Terminal, offers a comprehensive, customizable, and free solution for Python development on Windows.

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