How to Set Up GitHub Projects in a VS Code Workspace
Tags: vscode, github, beginners
Published: 2019-06-18 15:54:59

---
title: How to Set Up GitHub Projects in a VS Code Workspace
published: true
description: A simple guide for setting up a basic VSCode workspace and cloning GitHub repositories to it.
tags: vscode, github, beginners
---

# How to Set Up GitHub Projects in VSC Workspace

>This is written as though you do not already have a Workspace created.

## Step 1: Create a local dev folder

This is simply a folder somewhere on your local machine that you save code to. You probably already have one. Once you've created it, return to VSCode and click `File > Add Folder to Workspace...`  and select your folder that you want to work from. 

It is my personal preference to also create a folder called `local` within this folder to stash random files.

This will serve as a base for your Workspace (as I am currently unaware of a way to create a Workspace from scratch.)

## Step 2: Create a local GitHub folder

>This step is not required, I just prefer it for organizational purposes. Feel free to skip this step, name the folder something different or add additional folders within it before cloning any projects* 

If this does not already exist on your machine, create a folder somewhere (I personally created it in my Documents directory on my Windows machine) and name it GitHub. 

Now, return once more to VS Code and click `File > Add Folder to Workspace...`, selecting your newly created GitHub folder.

## Step 3: Save your Workspace

VS Code will typically use the last workspace you had loaded as default when it loads up, but there have been a time or two when I was thankful I had taken the time to save my workspace settings. 

You can save this by selecting `File > Save Workspace As...` in the menu.

## Step 4: 'Open in Terminal' the GitHub folder

By right clicking the GitHub folder in the Explorer sidebar, you can click the option in the resulting menu `Open in Terminal` to make Visual Studio Code's integrated Terminal open up with the prompt location already set to the folder you clicked.

>On occasion, I've noticed this will be a directory level up from what I anticipated, so it's always important to double check the location and make adjustments via `cd` if necessary.

## Step 5: Git Clone All the Things

Now that you've got this terminal open, it's a simple matter of using the `git clone` command using the clone URL from the project your wanting to clone! I've included a few links below in case you need any additional help with cloning the desired repository or using version control in VS Code.

## Resources:

* [GitHub Help: Cloning a Repository](https://help.github.com/en/articles/cloning-a-repository)
* [Using Version Control in VS Code](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/editor/versioncontrol)
* [VS Code and Workspace Settings](https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/getstarted/settings)

## Lastly,

Thank you for taking the time to check out this guide. If you have any constructive criticism or suggestions on the content or style of this article, I encourage you to share it with me, as I am always seeking to improve my communication skills! :)