This setting breaks my terminal window (because PowerShell is blocked due company administrative policy):

Afterwards, I could not open the terminal again.

Restore CMD as default

  • open File > Preferences > Settings (CTRL+,)
  • search for terminal.integrated.defaultProfile.windows and set a default (for me Command Prompt)

Now the terminal should open again. This is not a fix to get PowerShell working in Visual Studio Code, just a guide to restore the terminal window.

Answer from tom on Stack Overflow
🌐
Stack Overflow
stackoverflow.com › questions › 63202834 › visual-studio-code-terminal-is-failing-to-launch
Visual Studio Code terminal is failing to launch - Stack Overflow
Top answer
1 of 16
63

This setting breaks my terminal window (because PowerShell is blocked due company administrative policy):

Afterwards, I could not open the terminal again.

Restore CMD as default

  • open File > Preferences > Settings (CTRL+,)
  • search for terminal.integrated.defaultProfile.windows and set a default (for me Command Prompt)

Now the terminal should open again. This is not a fix to get PowerShell working in Visual Studio Code, just a guide to restore the terminal window.

2 of 16
7

It appears that you're trying to get PowerShell in a Visual Studio Code integrated terminal.

Let me share the process of how I did it.

  1. Open Visual Studio Code
  2. Go to menu File → Preferences → Settings
  3. Type "Terminal" in the search bar
  4. Under Features, click on "terminal"
  5. Scroll down until you find a section like this and make sure the option is empty (this sets a default starting directory):

Terminal › Integrated: Cwd
An explicit start path where the terminal will be launched, this is used as the current working directory (cwd) for the shell process.
This may be particularly useful in workspace settings if the root directory is not a convenient cwd.

  1. Scroll down until you find this other option

Terminal › Integrated › Shell: Windows
The path of the shell that the terminal uses on Windows (default:

  1. Click on edit settings.json

  2. Paste your terminal absolute path within the brackets (make sure you escape the slashes). That's the reason of why I'm using double

"terminal.integrated.shell.windows": "C:\\InstallationDirectory\\PowerShell\\7\\pwsh.exe"

🌐
Reddit
reddit.com › r/raylib › guys pls help i get this error whenever i try to run my visual studio code : the terminal process failed to launch: path to shell executable does not exist
r/raylib on Reddit: guys pls help i get this error whenever i try to run my visual studio code : The terminal process failed to launch: Path to shell executable does not exist
March 25, 2023 -

Top answer
1 of 3
2
Run in folder mode with the proper VSCode project Files. Then compile your program with the F5 key.
2 of 3
1
did u solve this problem? n if yes how did u solve it cuz i have the same problem here but with C language ????!
Discussions
The terminal process failed to launch: Path to shell executable "c:\<my project>\platformio.exe" does not exist
Hello. When building a PlatformIO project, I get the error The terminal process failed to launch: Path to shell executable "c:\[path to my project]\platformio.exe" does not exist. I followed most of the instructions found at this link, but I was unable to fix this issue. More on community.platformio.org
🌐 community.platformio.org
1
0
July 25, 2024
The terminal process failed to launch: Path to shell executable "Git Bash" does not exist.
Does this issue occur when all extensions are disabled?: Yes/No VS Code Version: 1.57.0 (system setup) 91870c OS Version: Windows 10 Home 21H1 19043.1055 Steps to Reproduce: Setup Git bash as your ... More on github.com
🌐 github.com
2
June 17, 2021
visual studio code - VSCode Error: The terminal process failed to launch: Path to shell executable "/usr/bin/tmux" does not exist - Stack Overflow
After VScode installation, when I tried to open my integrated terminal window, each time I am getting error mentioned in the title. I don't know what is the correct path to shell-executable. Before More on stackoverflow.com
🌐 stackoverflow.com
Visual Studio Code error &quot;path to shell executable does not exist&quot;
Connect IQ Connect IQ App Development ... "path to shell executable does not exist" ... Hello! I am new to this, and I appreciate the help. I'm somewhat familiar with visual studio code. I have been following the tutorial here to set up a watch face project. Whenever I get to actually running and debugging, I get the error: "The terminal process failed to launch: Path to shell ... More on forums.garmin.com
🌐 forums.garmin.com
0
0
May 23, 2022
🌐
Julia Programming Language
discourse.julialang.org › tooling › vs code
Start REPL: The terminal process failed to launch: Path to shell executable "\bin\sh" does not exist - VS Code - Julia Programming Language
Top answer
1 of 1
2
I have figured out the problem. There was a setting about persistent settings which I had overlooked. Looks like vscode synced my setting from another computer and tried to find the shell in /bin/sh. Disabling persistent sessions or selecting a different shell seems to solve the problem
🌐
PlatformIO Community
community.platformio.org › platformio ide
The terminal process failed to launch: Path to shell executable "c:\<my project>\platformio.exe" does not exist - PlatformIO IDE - PlatformIO Community
July 25, 2024 - Hello. When building a PlatformIO project, I get the error The terminal process failed to launch: Path to shell executable "c:\[path to my project]\platformio.exe" does not exist. I followed most of the instructions fo…
🌐
GitHub
github.com › microsoft › vscode › issues › 126600
The terminal process failed to launch: Path to shell executable "Git Bash" does not exist. · Issue #126600 · microsoft/vscode
June 17, 2021 - Tried setting path for Git Bash` profile still throws the error · { "terminal.integrated.automationShell.windows": "Git Bash", "terminal.integrated.profiles.windows": { "PowerShell": { "source": "PowerShell", "icon": "terminal-powershell" }, "Command Prompt": { "path": [ "${env:windir}\\Sysnative\\cmd.exe", "${env:windir}\\System32\\cmd.exe" ], "args": [], "icon": "terminal-cmd" }, "Git Bash": { // "source": "Git Bash" "path": "C:\\Program Files\\Git\\bin\bash.exe", "args": [ "--login" ] }, }, }
Author   RatakondalaArun
🌐
Visual Studio Code
code.visualstudio.com › docs › supporting › troubleshoot-terminal-launch
Troubleshoot Terminal launch failures
November 3, 2021 - Test your shell directly. Try running your designated integrated terminal shell outside VS Code from an external terminal or command prompt. Some terminal launch failures might be due to your shell installation and are not specific to VS Code.
🌐
Stack Overflow
stackoverflow.com › questions › 66288206 › vscode-error-the-terminal-process-failed-to-launch-path-to-shell-executable
visual studio code - VSCode Error: The terminal process failed to launch: Path to shell executable "/usr/bin/tmux" does not exist - Stack Overflow
Top answer
1 of 4
22

I solved this issue by changing by default shell for vs-code with following steps:

  1. Open settings-search in VSCode with Cntr + Shift + p
  2. Search for default
  3. clicked Terminal: Select Default Shell
  4. clicked zsh /usr/bin/zsh, I selected zsh as I recently installed it and like to use it, you can use other terminal options as well.

Thank you.

2 of 4
2

I had the same issue. I resolved it by changing the path of "terminal.integrated.shell.linux" in the settings.json file. Link : https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/supporting/troubleshoot-terminal-launch

🌐
Garmin Forums
forums.garmin.com › developer › connect-iq › f › discussion › 295010 › visual-studio-code-error-path-to-shell-executable-does-not-exist
Visual Studio Code error "path to shell executable does not exist" - Connect IQ App Development Discussion - Connect IQ - Garmin Forums
May 23, 2022 - Connect IQ Connect IQ App Development Discussion Visual Studio Code error "path to shell executable does not exist" ... Hello! I am new to this, and I appreciate the help. I'm somewhat familiar with visual studio code. I have been following the tutorial here to set up a watch face project. Whenever I get to actually running and debugging, I get the error: "The terminal process failed to launch: Path to shell executable "C:\Users\Desktop\watch\java" does not exist."
Find elsewhere
🌐
PlatformIO Community
community.platformio.org › platformio ide
Path to shell executable "c:\<myproject>\platformio.exe" does not exist - PlatformIO IDE - PlatformIO Community
April 8, 2022 - I recently purchased a new machine so I could work from the C-drive with default settings. Out of the blue the VS-code with platformIO fails: I get: The terminal process failed to launch: Path to shell executable “c:<m…
🌐
Toradex Community
community.toradex.com › technical support
The terminal process failed to launch: Path to shell executable "qtdesignstudio" does not exist - Technical Support - Toradex Community
February 3, 2024 - When I run task “open-in-qt-design-studio”, it throws error “The terminal process failed to launch: Path to shell executable “qtdesignstudio” does not exist.” I have both QT Creator and QT Design Studio installed on my Windows system. Also, the task “open-in-qt-creator” works well.
🌐
HPC Community
hpc-community.unige.ch › hpc technical
VScode on Baobab: The terminal process failed to launch: Path to shell executable "/bin/bash" does not exist - HPC Technical - HPC Community
June 19, 2023 - The error I am getting is: “The terminal process failed to launch: Path to shell executable “/bin/bash” does not exist.” It is only an issue in VScode. If I ssh into bao and run “apptainer shell -B /srv,/home --nv /home/users/a/al...
🌐
The Windows Club
thewindowsclub.com › the windows club › the terminal process failed to launch in vs code
The terminal process failed to launch in VS Code
February 26, 2024 - The log records all arguments used to create the process which often reveals the issue. Incorrect shell names, arguments, or environment variables can prevent the terminal from launching.
🌐
Linux.org
linux.org › forums › general linux forums › general linux questions
Visual Studio Code debuging error | Linux.org
August 20, 2022 - This means that a sub directory of the current p... github.com Some people suggest that a workaround is to change the task type to "shell" instead of "process". See: Fix Visual Studio Code build task give 'The terminal shell path “dotnet” is a directory' See: https://stackoverflow.com/...
🌐
Chief Delphi
chiefdelphi.com › technical › java
Terminal Process Failed: Path to shell executable "cmd.exe" does not exsist - Java - Chief Delphi
June 19, 2025 - I’m using 2025 WPILib (2025.3.2) with updated 2023 robot code, from the start after installing WPILib 2025 I just couldn’t perform the build without the terminal responding with the “terminal process failed: path to shell executable “cmd.exe” does not exsist.” I updated the code ...
🌐
Chief Delphi
chiefdelphi.com › technical › programming
WPILIB build error - Path to shell executable "cmd.exe" does not exist - Programming - Chief Delphi
Top answer
1 of 1
1
[image] Trying to build but missing cmd.exe? Java cmd.exe itself shouldn’t be on the path, the folder containing cmd.exe (system32) should be. Note after editing it you need to restart vscode for it to see it. [image] How to Add to Windows PATH Environment V…
🌐
CopyProgramming
copyprogramming.com › howto › vscode-error-the-terminal-process-failed-to-launch-path-to-shell-executable-usr-bin-tmux-does-not-exist
VSCode Terminal Process Failed to Launch: Complete Guide to Shell Executable Errors & 2026 Solutions - Process failed to launch complete guide to shell executable errors
November 13, 2025 - The terminal process failed to launch error occurs when VSCode attempts to start a shell session but the path it's looking for doesn't exist, the executable is inaccessible, or the configuration points to an invalid profile.
🌐
Stack Overflow
stackoverflow.com › questions › 75885244 › the-terminal-process-failed-to-launch-path-to-shell-executable-path-on-projec
rust - The terminal process failed to launch: Path to shell executable "/path/on/project/cargo" does not exist - Stack Overflow
Top answer
1 of 2
10

Close all instances of VS Code after installing rust-analyzer, then open the project once again and execute, It worked for me

2 of 2
0

It appears there is an issue with the Visual Studio Code Extension 'SSH Remote'.

I found a solution in this discussion: link here

🌐
Carlos Rodrigues
crodrigues.com › home › vs code and dotnet core: fixing ‘the terminal shell path “dotnet” is a directory’
VS Code and dotnet core: fixing 'The terminal shell path "dotnet" is a directory' : Carlos Rodrigues
January 31, 2022 - I realized, that changing the “type” in the tasks.json file (.vscode folder) from process to shell solved the problem. Vscode can now benefit from any path or other env variables present in the default shell.
🌐
GitHub
github.com › microsoft › vscode › issues › 150483
"Create New Integrated Terminal (Local)" does not apply the correct path to the shell executable · Issue #150483 · microsoft/vscode
May 5, 2022 - (Which, obviously, is true: /usr/bin/bash/ doesn't exist in macOS: the default shell in macOS has been zsh for a few years or so; which happens to not mesh at all with my workflow, so my local PATH includes /opt/homebrew/bin/bash instead.) Anyway, just looking at the source code for CreateNewLocalTerminalAction it seems clear that differences between executable locations between remote and local hosts currently isn't taken into account at all is, is it? Not passing a shellPath argument to const instance = await this._terminalService.createTerminal({ cwd }); looks dubious to me.
Author   wbudd
🌐
Python.org
discuss.python.org › python help
How can i solve this problem ....The terminal process failed to launch: Path to shell executable "C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe" does not exist - Python Help - Discussions on Python.org
January 14, 2025 - The terminal process failed to launch: Path to shell executable “C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe” does not exist. how can i solve this problem