Visual Studio Code is a free and open source editor developed by Microsoft. It’s a cross-platform editor that supports many languages, including Swift.
Out of the box, Visual Studio Code supports syntax highlighting and code formatting for Swift. However, you can greatly extend its functionality by installing the Swift extension. The result is a very capable editor:
✅ Syntax highlighting
✅ Formatting
✅ Completion
✅ Quick help
✅ Diagnostics
✅ Fix-its
❌ Refactoring
✅ Run executables
✅ Debugging
✅ Testing
Download and install Visual Studio Code from code.visualstudio.com or from the Microsoft Store:
After installation, you can launch Visual Studio Code from the Start menu. You can also launch it from the command line, using the code command:
code
To install the Swift extension, select View ▸ Extensions from the menu bar, search “swift”, and install the extension published by the Swift Server Work Group:
The Swift extension includes the CodeLLDB extension, on which it depends to run and debug programs using LLDB.
After installation, the extension will prompt you to configure a Swift-specific version of LLDB:
Select Global unless you intend to configure a custom version of LLDB.
To edit files with Visual Studio Code, select File ▸ Open File... from the menu bar or specify the files you want to open as arguments for the code command:
code hello.swift
If you specify a file that doesn’t exist, Visual Studio Code will create it for you. Alternatively, you can create files by selecting File ▸ New File from the menu bar.
To edit a Swift package, select File ▸ Open Folder... from the menu bar and open the directory that contains the Package.swift file. On the command line, you specify this directory as an argument for the code command:
code hello
To run your code, select Run ▸ Run Without Debugging from the menu bar or press Ctrl+F5.
Unfortunately, Visual Studio Code will open an external terminal and you won’t see the output of your program. Therefore, you may want to run your program from the integrated terminal instead:
If the terminal is hidden, select View ▸ Terminal from the menu bar to show it.
If your package contains multiple executable targets, select View ▸ Run from the menu bar to open the Run and Debug view. There, you can select a target to run:
To debug a program, first set a breakpoint by clicking next to the line of code where you want the debugger to pause execution:
Next, select Run ▸ Start Debugging from the menu bar or press F5 to start the debugger:
Use the debug console and the floating toolbar to interact with the program.
When you’re done debugging, use the Stop button on the floating toolbar or press Shift+F5 to stop the debugger.
To run unit tests, select View ▸ Testing from the menu bar to open the Test Explorer. There, you can either run all tests, or run a specific target, class, or test:
If the Test Explorer shows a test discovery error, select Terminal ▸ Run Build Task... from the menu bar and run the swift: Build All task to build the test targets.
Test results will appear in the integrated terminal, in the Test Explorer, and in the editor.
Last updated: 23 Sept. 2022
Author: Steven Van Impe