FIX: Clone repository to Visual Studio Code does nothing

Git Repository

In this tutorial I assume that you have installed Visual Studio Code (or another editor). If not, try installing Visual Studio Code first.

It doesn’t matter what repository you use. In my example, I’m talking about Azure DevOps, but it might as well be about Github.

I will go through the steps first and if you are curious how I encountered this problem, you can go to the next chapter.


Let me just clone my Git repository..

You probably only installed Visual Studio Code, or another editor, but you are missing another application. To manage a Git you need ‘Git‘.

As you can see in the below screenshot I manage my Repository with Git.

Cloning a repository to Visual Studio Code
Cloning a Repository to your local device.

Go to https://git-scm.com/downloads and download Git.
After installing Git I was able to clone the Repository to Visual Studio Code.

Cloning a Repository to your local device.
Cloning a Repository to your local device.

And I can finally open the Repository in Visual Studio Code.

Open a Repository in Visual Studio Code.
Open a Repository in Visual Studio Code.

Azure DevOps Repository

I have been given the task in my department to create a Git repository.

I don’t have much experience with a repository besides using a Git repository for my own scripts.
Using Azure DevOps Git repository isn’t such a big deal. How you set up the branches, pull requests, and policies is a whole different level, but Microsoft has a handy docs.microsoft.com for that.

I made a short tutorial for colleagues, but the Git didn’t work properly for one colleague. Visualstudio.com asked if it could open Visual Studio Code, but nothing happened after that.

The pop-up everyone sees (even when it doesn’t work).

Open a Repository in Visual Studio Code.
Open a Repository in Visual Studio Code.

What is Git?

I’m not going to tell you too much about it. The below is from https://git-scm.com/.
If you want to know more about it, go to this website.

Git is a distributed version-control system for tracking changes in source code during software development. It is designed for coordinating work among programmers, but it can be used to track changes in any set of files. Its goals include speed, data integrity, and support for distributed, non-linear workflows.

Git is an open-source product that a company can use and modify itself. A good example is Github and Azure DevOps. In the backend it is almost the same, but both parties have made their own product. Although Microsoft has recently bought Github though.

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Bas Wijdenes

My name is Bas Wijdenes and I work as a PowerShell DevOps Engineer. In my spare time I write about interesting stuff that I encounter during my work.

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