How to Install and Run Flask in VS Code

Flask is a Python web application framework used to create websites and APIs. It’s a microframework, which, as the name suggests, means it is small. Flask comes with a minimal amount of features and, therefore, a minimal amount of code.

Before installing Flask, you must first install a new virtual environment. After, you can run this command in the terminal

pip install flask

This guide shows you how to first install, then run, an example Flask app in VS Code.

Step 1: Install Python

If you don’t already have it, download and install Python from python.org/downloads with default settings.

Step 2: Open a new project folder

In VS Code, click on Open Folder in the “Explorer” tab. Then, open an existing, or create a new folder. In my case, I’m creating a folder named “Test” which will be stored on my Desktop.

Step 3: Install a new virtual environment

Before installing Flask, we first have to install a virtual environment. This is to avoid conflicts with current libraries. Do the following:

1. From the top-level “View” menu, click on Terminal. Alternatively, you can press Ctrl + ‘.

   

2. Inside the terminal, run the following command to create a new virtual environment:

   py -3 -m venv venv(for Windows)

   python3 -m venv venv(for macOS/Linux)

   You’ll notice a folder named “venv” appears inside the Explorers pane.

   

3. Next, we have to activate the environment. Run the following commands:

   venvScriptsactivate(for Windows)

   . venv/bin/activate(for macOS/Linux)

   

Step 4: Install Flask

To install Flask, run the following command in the terminal:

pip install flask

You’ll notice Flask installation in the background with all the packages.

Step 5: Create a web page with Flask

For our example, we will create a flashcard that prints Hello World. Follow the below steps:

1. Click on New File next to the project folder heading.

   

2. Name your file, then add .py as an extension. I’m going to call it “app.py”

   

3. Next, type the following code to print Hello World:

   from flask import Flask
   app = Flask(name)
   @app.route('/')
   def welcome():
   return 'Hello World!'

   

4. Save the file by pressing Ctrl + S.

Step 6: Run the Flast application

Follow the below steps to run the project:

1. Type and run the following code in the terminal:

   flask run

   

2. Left-click on the address shown in the terminal.

   

It will launch the web application. There you have it, our first web page with Flask!