To use Python in Visual Studio Code (VS Code) on a Mac, you need to follow these steps to set up your environment properly:
Install Python
- Make sure you have Python installed on your Mac. You can download it from the official Python website.
- After installation, you can verify the installation by opening the Terminal and typing
python3 --version. You should see the Python version number.
Install Visual Studio Code
- If you haven’t already, download and install VS Code from the official site.
Install the Python extension for VS Code
- Open VS Code.
- Go to the Extensions view by clicking on the Extensions icon in the Activity Bar on the side of the window or by pressing
Cmd+Shift+X. - Search for
Pythonand find the extension by Microsoft. - Click
Installto install the Python extension.
Configure the Python Interpreter
- Open the Command Palette in VS Code by pressing
Cmd+Shift+P. - Type
Python: Select Interpreterand select it. - Choose the Python interpreter you want to use from the list (it should detect the Python installations on your system).
Create or open a Python file
- Create a new file with a
.pyextension or open an existing Python file.
Run Python code
- You can run Python code by right-clicking in the editor window and selecting
Run Python File in Terminal, or by using the play button in the top right corner when a Python file is open.
How to Install Python Libraries on a Mac
Here’s how you can achieve the equivalent in Python using virtualenv and pip directly in a terminal on a Mac:
First, you need to install virtualenv if it’s not already installed:
pip install virtualenv
Create a new virtual environment named my-python:
virtualenv my-python
Activate the virtual environment:
source my-python/bin/activate
Install the required packages using pip within the virtual environment:
pip install matplotlib numpy pandas scipy seaborn scikit-learn keras statsmodels plotly ecos scs QuantLib tensorflow
This set of commands will create a virtual environment named my-python and install the listed packages into it. Remember to activate the virtual environment (source my-python/bin/activate) each time you want to use it. When you’re done, you can deactivate it by typing deactivate.
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