Creating a Workspace Folder

As you learn to code, you'll create many projects — small experiments, tutorial exercises, personal tools, and eventually larger applications. Without organization, these files scatter across your computer, becoming impossible to find.

A workspace folder is a dedicated location for all your coding projects. Think of it like a filing cabinet: one central place where everything coding-related lives, with separate folders for each project inside.

Choosing a Location

Most developers create their workspace in their home directory with a simple, memorable name:

mkdir C:\code

mkdir ~/code

Organizing Projects

Inside your workspace, create a separate folder for each project:

code/
├── hello-world/
├── number-converter/
├── weather-app/
└── learning-exercises/

This structure keeps projects isolated. Each folder contains everything that project needs — code files, configuration, documentation. Nothing bleeds between projects.

Opening Your Workspace in VS Code

Once you've created your workspace folder, open it in VS Code:

1. Launch VS Code
2. Go to File → Open Folder (or File → Open on macOS)
3. Navigate to your workspace folder and select it

VS Code's file explorer will now show your workspace. You can create new project folders directly from here by right-clicking in the explorer panel.

Why This Matters

Good organization pays dividends:

• Finding things: You always know where to look
• Backups: One folder to back up captures all your work
• Terminal navigation: Consistent paths make command-line work easier
• Version control: Each project can have its own Git repository

Start organized and stay organized. Your future self will thank you when you're juggling multiple projects and can find exactly what you need.

See More

• Navigating Folders
• Understanding Project Structure
• Initializing a Repository