Executing HTML Code in Visual Studio Code

Ahsan Ilyas Abbasi
2 min readJan 3, 2024

Introduction: Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is a popular code editor that provides excellent support for web development, including the ability to create and run HTML files seamlessly. In this brief tutorial, we’ll walk through the steps to set up and run HTML code within the Visual Studio Code environment.

Step 1: Install Visual Studio Code: If you haven’t installed Visual Studio Code yet, visit the official website (https://code.visualstudio.com/) and download the latest version for your operating system. VS Code is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Step 2: Create a New HTML File: Launch Visual Studio Code and create a new HTML file by selecting File -> New File and saving it with the ".html" extension. Alternatively, you can open an existing HTML file by navigating to File -> Open and selecting the file from your file system.

Step 3: Write HTML Code: Use the built-in text editor to write your HTML code. You can include standard HTML elements such as <html>, <head>, <body>, and others to structure your document. Add your HTML content between the opening <body> and closing </body> tags.

Step 4: Open HTML File in Browser: Visual Studio Code allows you to open your HTML file directly in your default web browser for quick previewing. Right-click on the HTML file in the file explorer or open the file and right-click anywhere in the editor. Select Open with Live Server to open your HTML file in the default browser.

Step 5: Run HTML Code: For a simple HTML file without the need for a server, you can open the HTML file directly in the browser. Right-click on the HTML file in the file explorer and select Open with Live Server if you want to use a local server for dynamic content.

Step 6: Debugging HTML: VS Code provides debugging support for JavaScript within HTML files. You can set breakpoints, inspect variables, and debug JavaScript code associated with your HTML. To launch the debugger, use the F5 key or navigate to Run -> Start Debugging.

Conclusion: Visual Studio Code makes running and testing HTML code a breeze with its intuitive interface and built-in features. Whether you’re creating a simple web page or a complex web application, VS Code offers a streamlined development experience for HTML and associated technologies. By following these steps, you’ll be able to write, execute, and debug your HTML code efficiently, enhancing your web development workflow.

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