Fixing "deactivate" command for virtual environments

"deactivate" not working by default is a limitation of our new approach to activate terminals. To fix this the following script needs to be added to any of the init scripts for the shell you're using:

Tip: Clicking the "Edit <script>" button on the notification automatically does this editing for you.

Bash

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• Download the deactivate script into say, ~/.vscode-python directory.

• Edit your ~/.bashrc file to add the following, you can run code ~/.bashrc in bash to open the file in VS Code:

  # >>> VSCode venv deactivate hook >>>
  source <path_to_dir>/deactivate
  # <<< VSCode venv deactivate hook <<<

  where <path_to_dir> is the directory where you downloaded the deactivate script.

• For example, if path to directory was ~/.vscode-python:

  

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Powershell

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• Download the deactivate.ps1 script into say, ~/.vscode-python directory.

• Edit your PowerShell profile to add the following, you can run code $Profile in pwsh to open (or if need be, create) the file in VS Code:

  # >>> VSCode venv deactivate hook >>>
  & "<path_to_dir>/deactivate.ps1"
  # <<< VSCode venv deactivate hook <<<

  where <path_to_dir> is the directory where you downloaded the deactivate script.

• For example, if path to directory was ~/.vscode-python:

  

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Zsh

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• Download the deactivate script into say, ~/.vscode-python directory.

• Edit your ~/.zshrc file to add the following, you can run code ~/.zshrc in zsh to open the file in VS Code:

  # >>> VSCode venv deactivate hook >>>
  source <path_to_dir>/deactivate
  # <<< VSCode venv deactivate hook <<<

  where <path_to_dir> is the directory where you downloaded the deactivate script.

• For example, if path to directory was ~/.vscode-python:

  

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Fish

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• Download the deactivate.fish script into say, ~/.vscode-python directory.

• Edit your config.fish file to add the following, you can run code $__fish_config_dir/config.fish in fish to open the file in VS Code:

  # >>> VSCode venv deactivate hook >>>
  source <path_to_dir>/deactivate.fish
  # <<< VSCode venv deactivate hook <<<

  where <path_to_dir> is the directory where you downloaded the deactivate script.

• For example, if path to directory was ~/.vscode-python:

  

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Csh

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• Download the deactivate.csh script into say, ~/.vscode-python directory.

• Edit your ~/.cshrc file to add the following, you can run code ~/.cshrc in csh to open the file in VS Code:

  # >>> VSCode venv deactivate hook >>>
  source <path_to_dir>/deactivate.csh
  # <<< VSCode venv deactivate hook <<<

  where <path_to_dir> is the directory where you downloaded the deactivate script.

• For example, if path to directory was ~/.vscode-python:

  

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Other shells

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• Use default script for the OS:
  • If on Windows, use the script under Powershell category.
  • Otherwise, use the script under Bash category.
• Add the script at the end of corresponding initialization script for your shell.

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Make sure to restart the shell after editing your script, reloading VS Code will not work to apply this change.

Why it works:

In the new approach, we do not run <venv>/<bin>/activate script which traditionally registers the deactivate shell hook. Hence we need to add it manually to shell initialization script (~/.bashrc for example) which is executed automatically when a terminal starts.

Alternative solution:

Turn off auto-activation: Set "python.terminal.activateEnvironment": false and reopen the shells.