microsoft / microsoft/winget-pkgs
[Package Issue]: Microsoft.VisualStudioCode missing "Open with Code" actions in Windows Explorer file context menu
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Description
Please confirm these before moving forward
- I have searched for my issue and not found a work-in-progress/duplicate/resolved issue.
- I have not been informed if the issue is resolved in a preview version of the winget client.
Category of the issue
Installation issue.
Brief description of your issue
When installing Visual Studio Code manually with the installer the user has the option to:
- Add "Open with Code" action to Windows Explorer file context menu
- Add "Open with Code" action to Windows Explorer directory context menu
from the following dialog shown during the installation:

winget does not offer this possibility. Adding these actions post installation is not an easy feat and requires fiddling with the Windows registry (see this Stack Overflow question).
Steps to reproduce
> winget install --id Microsoft.VisualStudioCode
Actual behavior
The application is installed without allowing the user to choose the aforementioned options.
Expected behavior
The user is allowed to select the aforementioned options, either by having displayed the same dialog as the manual installer or through a command line argument.
Environment
> winget --info
Windows Package Manager v1.4.10173
Copyright (c) Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Windows: Windows.Desktop v10.0.22621.1635
System Architecture: X64
Package: Microsoft.DesktopAppInstaller v1.19.10173.0
Screenshots and Logs
No response
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Research direction
Start with the reported winget install --id Microsoft.VisualStudioCode command and compare its behavior with the Visual Studio Code installer options shown in the issue. Check how the Microsoft.VisualStudioCode package represents installer arguments and whether those options can be exposed. Done means users can select or enable both Explorer context-menu actions through winget, with the behavior verified on Windows.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- vscode
- Domain
- cli
- Issue type
- Feature
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Active
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 48/100