The first question does not make sense. For fish and zsh, install WSL.
this post was submitted on 20 Apr 2026
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@one_old_coder l install vs code onto my windows computer. And then, all the command line functions that's done on a normal linux computer, can I do all those using the vs code as a basic terminal ??
VS Code is a text editor. Not a shell, not an OS, not anything else. You type text, the end.
@one_old_coder are you aware about the v1.116 update ??
There's nothing in that update that has anything to do with what you're asking.
There's apparently some deeper integration between copilot and terminals but that's an entirely separate thing.
@one_old_coder is correct.
@dualphasesaber @ij @communism is it possible to use a normal command line interface/terminal on a windows desktop ??
The app Windows Terminal is preinstalled. On it you can use Powershell. If you want it to be like Linux, open the Microsoft Store app, search for a Linux distro you like (for example Ubuntu) and download it. Then in Windows Terminal in the tab strip you will have an arrow next to the plus icon which will let you choose Linux.
just use either one of wsl, msys2, cygwin
As I understand, VS Code is a code editor that has a built in terminal. On Windows, it uses the terminal for Windows, Powershell, by default (so you are able to use Windows-specific commands). So no, VSCode does not let you install fish or zsh by itself.
However, if you were to install either Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) or something like MSYS2, you would be able to emulate a Linux terminal and install zsh, fish, etc. as well as use other Linux-specific command line utilities. On VSCode, after you install WSL, you select the + icon in the terminal subwindow and click on the terminal you want (in this case, WSL) instead of Powershell. So if you install that, you are able to use zsh and fish in VSCode.
However, I would highly recommend trying to install Linux if you are able to (i.e. not a work machine or something like that). Most application work or have solid alternatives on Linux, or can be run with Wine, especially programming stuff, most of that is here. Gaming on Linux has also improved significantly over the years, so if you need that, Wine and Proton are awesome. On Linux, you have way more freedom to install applications, the file system is so much nicer in my opinion, and you can interchange between different parts as it's modular. Don't like the GUI? You can install a new one. The power manager isn't working? Try a different one, etc.
If you need distro recommendations, I would suggest Linux Mint (either Ubuntu base or LMDE is fine) as it makes things super easy, and Cinnamon is close in appearance to Win10 too (while being plenty customisable). If you do more gaming, there's loads of options (Bazzite, Nobara, etc)
CachyOS and other Arch-based distros are cool, but I would suggest you run stable release options first before diving into rolling release. This is coming from a happy user of EndeavourOS, another Arch-based distro.
@sbeak lovely ๐๐.......
What do you think of mx linux by the way ??๐๐
Haven't used MX Linux myself, but I hear it's pretty neat. It uses XFCE by default as a desktop environment over more featured options like KDE Plasma, GNOME, or Cinnamon, but they do give you non-XFCE desktop options. If you like XFCE, it could be a good option, but if other desktops are better for you, I would try a different distro.
Linux Mint for Cinnamon, Fedora Workstation for vanilla GNOME, Fedora KDE or Kubuntu for Plasma would be my go to recommendations for most people.
If they don't meet your needs, you have others, like Bazzite and Nobara for gaming, Arch-based distros for more tinkering around, OpenSUSE if you like Fedora, but want something based in Europe (over IBM and Red Hat), Debian if you want super stability, various systemd-free forks (like Devuan or Artix) if you want that, etc.