Activating Claude Code in VS Code

With VS Code and the Claude Code CLI installed, the final step is to enable the Claude Code extension inside the editor.

Install the Extension

  1. Open VS Code
  2. Open the Extensions sidebar (Ctrl+Shift+X on Windows/Linux, Cmd+Shift+X on macOS)
  3. Search for Claude Code
  4. Click Install on the extension by Anthropic

Alternatively, install from the terminal:

code --install-extension anthropic.claude-code

Open a Project

  1. Clone one of the ext.dev project repositories
  2. Open the project folder in VS Code (File → Open Folder... or code . from the terminal)

Start Using Claude Code

Open the Claude Code panel:

  • Click the Claude Code icon in the Activity Bar (left sidebar), or
  • Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+L (Windows/Linux) / Cmd+L (macOS)

The Claude Code chat panel opens. You can now type messages or use slash commands.

Verify Custom Commands

Type / in the Claude Code chat panel. You should see the project’s custom commands listed (e.g. /issue, /rollout, /merge). These commands are defined in the project’s .claude/commands/ directory and are available automatically.

Next Steps

Head to the Command Reference to learn what each slash command does and how to use it.