Visual Studio Code

You will need to install a source code editor so you are able to work with the Process code. Visual Studio Code, or VSCode for short, is a great choice. It is a lightweight but powerful source code editor which runs on your desktop and is available for Windows, MacOS and Linux. It has a vast extension package allowing ease of use with a range of languages. Visual Studio Code is available for install here and more information can be found on the docs pages.

WSL with VS Code

To connect WSL to VS Code, the following extension should be installed in VS Code upon opening: Remote - WSL. This allows for opening of any folder in the Windows Subsystem for Linux. This is performed by using Ctrl+Shift+X on VS Code, searching for Remote - WSL and then installing.

Automatically activating virtual environment on VS Code Open

When VS Code is first opened, you are able to set it such that the command:

source env/bin/activate

is executed automatically. This saves manually activating the virtual environment every time you open the application. This is done by first using Ctrl+Shift+P and searching for Python:Select Interpreter. The select: Python *version* ('env':venv) ./env/bin/python. This should be starred as the recommended version.

You will see that in your project the .vscode directory will contain a settings.json file. Open this and inside of it add:

"python.terminal.activateEnvironment": true

Don't forget to add a comma before to separate it from already present key value pairs.

Now, close your terminal and close VS Code. Reopen and open a new terminal which should now automatically point to the virtual environment signalled by an (env) in front of your user.