Visual Studio Code Set Up

Step 1. Download Visual Studio Code

Navigate to this link to download the latest version of Visual Studio Code compatible with your machine.

The specifics of Visual Studio Code: check this out, as well as this.

Step 2. Download necessary extensions

Open Visual Studio code and navigate to the "extensions" tab. Search for and install the "CircuitPython" extension. 

Link to it: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=joedevivo.vscode-circuitpython

Step 3. Plug in CircuitPython Board.

Plug your CircuitPython board with your assembled circuit in to your machine. 

Step 4. Open the whole CircuitPython drive from within Visual Studio Code.

From the main page of VS Code, open up the CircuitPython Drive. The image below shows where to find this.

Step 5: Allow other extensions/dependencies to load

There are usually a few other extensions or dependencies that might be required depending on your existing VS Code profile. These should automatically download once you open the main.py or code.py file.

Step 6: Make sure the correct board is chosen

In the bottom right corner of VS Code, ensure that the correct board and port are chosen. You can select various CircuitPython Boards. 

Step 7: Access the serial output

You can access serial output and several other CircuitPython commands through the Command Palette. To access this, press View > Command Palette. A text bar should drop down from the top of the screen. Type in "CircuitPython" to see the full list of commands you can use.