What is the difference between a Python terminal vs. a bash terminal in VS Code?

Question

I'm often in VS Code writing a .py file, with a python environment chosen. The integrated bash terminal is enabled by default. In the command window, I have the option to choose "Python: create terminal". The terminals seems the same to me. What are the differences?

More info: The terminal is not interactive at all. It looks and acts just like the bash terminal from what I can tell. Typing a Python command like "import re" results in the same message as a bash terminal in vs code (picture below)

The "Python terminal" is likely referring to a Python interpreter running in interactive mode, right? — AMC
– AMC, Commented Feb 22, 2020 at 2:12

wjandrea · Accepted Answer · 2024-06-24 00:02:49Z

2

There is at least one difference. Starting a new bash terminal in VS Code will open with your system's existing python environment as active (the one seen in a new terminal outside VS Code). Creating a terminal with the "Python: create terminal" command in VS Code opens an integrated terminal with the same active environment used by the interpreter.

For instance, if you are in this state with m5 as the interpreter environment in VSCode:

# conda environments:
#
base                  *  /home/jpm/miniconda3
m5                      /home/jpm/miniconda3/envs/m5

VsCode will open a regular bash shell with 'base' active . VsCode will open a Python shell with 'm5' active. Behavior with venv and conda environments is similar.

edited Jun 24, 2024 at 0:02

wjandrea

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answered Mar 18, 2020 at 21:16

JohnM

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jovany merham · Accepted Answer · 2020-02-22 03:39:44Z

1

If you mean clicking right click and run selection/line in python terminal,

what that does is writes the command 'python' in terminal like you would, and it becomes a python command line, where you can type python commands that you would write in a script file. So you can write import {package} and it would import it. As opposed to the bash terminal, which is just a normal terminal embedded in VSCode

answered Feb 22, 2020 at 3:39

jovany merham

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