If you've only ever run Claude Code by typing claude in a terminal, you're using the harder half of it. Anthropic ships a native VS Code extension that puts Claude in a panel next to your code — with side-by-side diffs you can edit before accepting, your current selection fed in as context automatically, and a single keystroke to jump between writing code and talking to Claude. The official docs call the extension "the recommended way to use Claude Code in VS Code". Here's how to install it, connect it, and what you actually get over the bare terminal.

The fastest path: install and sign in#

You need VS Code 1.94.0 or higher and a paid Claude plan — Pro, Max, Team, or Enterprise, or a Claude Console account. No API key required (docs).

  1. Install the extension. In VS Code, press Cmd+Shift+X (Mac) or Ctrl+Shift+X (Windows/Linux) to open the Extensions view, search for Claude Code, and click Install. If you'd rather do it from the Marketplace listing, it's published by Anthropic under anthropic.claude-code.
  2. Open the Claude panel. Open any file, then click the Spark icon in the editor toolbar (top-right corner of the editor — it only shows when a file is open). No file open? Click ✱ Claude Code in the status bar at the bottom-right, or open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P) and type "Claude Code."
  3. Sign in. The first time the panel opens, a sign-in screen appears. Click Sign in and finish authorization in your browser. That's it — no key to paste.
  4. Prompt against your workspace. Ask Claude to explain a file, fix a bug, or make a change. Select some code first and Claude sees it automatically; the prompt box footer shows how many lines are in context.

That's the whole setup. The steps above come straight from the VS Code extension guide.

The other install path: let the CLI do it#

If you already use the terminal CLI, you don't have to touch the Marketplace at all. Install the standalone CLI, then run claude inside VS Code's integrated terminal — it auto-installs the extension for you.

# macOS, Linux, WSL
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash
# Windows PowerShell
irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex

Homebrew (brew install --cask claude-code) and npm (npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code) both work too (setup docs). Once installed, open the integrated terminal (` Ctrl+ ` or Cmd+ ``) and run:

claude

Running the CLI in a VS Code terminal reinstalls the IDE extension automatically — you can turn that off with Auto-install IDE extension in /config if you'd rather manage it yourself (docs). Worth knowing: the extension bundles its own private copy of the CLI for the chat panel, but that copy is not on your PATH. Typing claude in a terminal still requires the standalone install above. They're two pieces that cooperate, not one.

Using a VS Code fork like Cursor, Kiro, or Devin Desktop? Search "Claude Code" in that editor's Extensions view, or grab it from the Open VSX registry.

What the extension adds over the terminal#

This is the part that justifies switching. The panel isn't just the terminal in a sidebar — it's a genuinely different surface (feature overview):

Under the hood, all of this runs through a small local ide MCP server the extension starts on loopback. That's the bridge the CLI uses to open diffs in the native viewer and read your selection — you never configure it, but it's why the terminal and the panel feel connected (docs).

When the terminal still wins#

The extension exposes a subset of Claude Code — type / to see which commands are available in the panel. A few power features stay CLI-only, and the docs are explicit about it (comparison):

The good news: you don't have to choose. Open the integrated terminal, run claude, and it connects to the same IDE — diffs still open in the native viewer, selection is still shared. If you're in an external terminal, run /ide inside Claude Code to connect it to VS Code. The extension and CLI share the same conversation history, so you can start a task in the panel and continue it in the terminal with claude --resume.

Still deciding whether Claude Code is even the terminal agent to standardize on? We put it head to head with the other two in Claude Code vs Codex CLI vs Gemini CLI, and against the cheaper contenders in the solo-founder terminal-agent bake-off. The VS Code extension in this guide sits on top of whichever CLI you land on.

JetBrains users: there's an official plugin too#

If your editor is IntelliJ, PyCharm, WebStorm, PhpStorm, GoLand, or Android Studio, Anthropic ships a parallel "Claude Code [Beta]" plugin from the JetBrains Marketplace. The feature set mirrors VS Code: diff viewing in the IDE, automatic selection context, file-reference shortcuts (Cmd+Option+K), diagnostic sharing after edits, and the same Cmd+Esc / Ctrl+Esc quick launch (JetBrains docs).

One difference matters: the JetBrains plugin does not bundle the CLI. Install the standalone claude CLI first, then the plugin, then run claude from the IDE's integrated terminal. If Claude can't find the binary, you'll see a "Cannot launch Claude Code" notice — point the plugin's Claude command setting at your claude path.

The bottom line for solo builders#

Install the extension, sign in with the Claude plan you already pay for, and make the panel your default surface. You get editable diffs, plan review, and checkpoints that the raw terminal can't show you — and you keep the terminal one ` Cmd+ `` away for the handful of commands the panel doesn't carry. For a founder shipping features solo, that combination — review-heavy in the editor, drop to the shell for power moves — is the fastest way to keep an agent honest while it writes your code.