Extension icon doesn't appear

Support Help
1

I cannot see or access the icon of Python Environments`ms-python.vscode-python-envs`.

Screenshot From 2026-07-21 19-09-06
Screenshot From 2026-07-21 19-09-062588×760 148 KB

Version: 3.12.29
VS Code Extension API: 1.128.0
Commit: cd1c87ff9b66021918fb9731605f8d1d5fd2f0b0
Date: 2026-07-21T03:26:05.811Z
Layout: IDE
Build Type: Stable
Release Track: Default
Electron: 40.10.3
Chromium: 144.0.7559.236
Node.js: 24.15.0
V8: 14.4.258.32-electron.0
xterm.js: 6.1.0-beta.256
OS: Linux x64 7.0.0-28-generic
5

Hey, this isn’t a bug. The Python Environments icon is hidden by default behind the python.useEnvironmentsExtension setting. The extension is currently in preview, and Microsoft is rolling it out via a server-side experiment. To enable it manually:

  • Cmd+Shift+P or Ctrl+Shift+P → Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON)
  • Add: "python.useEnvironmentsExtension": true
  • Reload the window Reload Window

After that, the Python icon and the Python Projects and Environment Managers views should show up in the Activity Bar. This is an option in the extension itself, so you’ll see the same behavior in VS Code if you’re not in the experiment group. Let me know if it still doesn’t work.