The solution is to define an overrideConfigFile option to point to the location of the ESLint configuration file in the workspace in the settings.json like so:

{
    "eslint.options": { "overrideConfigFile": "./path/to/eslint.config.js" }
}

Since ESLint v8.x, the ESLint extension in VSCode uses the ESLint Class API to "[...] configure how ESLint is started". The extension documents that "[...] to point to a custom .eslintrc.json file using the new ESLint API" is as shown above.

For good measure, since the configuration file used is the new flat config file, the eslint.useFlatConfig setting can also be explicitly set to true. In the settings.json:

{
    "eslint.useFlatConfig": true
}

Since version 3.0.5 of the extension, the activation of this setting works like this:

  • 8.57.0 <= ESLint version < 9.x: setting is honored and defaults to false.
  • 9.0.0 <= ESLint version < 10.x: settings is honored and defaults to true.
Answer from amoralesc on Stack Overflow
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Medium
medium.com › @jeryldev › a-beginners-story-how-to-setup-eslint-in-a-visual-studio-code-project-28b379a33cdb
How to set up ESLint in a Visual Studio Code project — my 5 minute story | by Jeryl Donato Estopace | Medium
December 31, 2018 - After searching for answers over the web, I found out that I need to execute ‘eslint --init’ in the node_modules/eslint sub folder that contains a package.json file. Back in my Command Prompt, I navigated to node_modules\eslint sub folder ...
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Dave Ceddia
daveceddia.com › vscode-use-eslintrc
ESLint + VSCode: How to Format Your Code Using .eslintrc
Most blog posts wanted to make an entire tutorial out of this… how to set up eslint, how to create the .eslintrc file, etc etc… but I didn’t need that. I have an existing project, I just want to configure VSCode to use ESLint instead of Prettier. This turned out to only need 4 lines of settings config and a plugin. ... In VSCode, open the extension browser with the button on the left. On the Mac, the keyboard shortcut Cmd+Shift+X should do the same. ... Install the top result, called “ESLint”. (It’s this one with over 10 million downloads)
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DigitalOcean
digitalocean.com › community › tutorials › linting-and-formatting-with-eslint-in-vs-code
How To Lint and Format Code with ESLint in Visual Studio Code | DigitalOcean
December 12, 2019 - Using the --save-dev flag ensures that eslint will be listed in your package.json file as a development dependency only. Now that ESLint is installed, you can initialize an ESLint configuration for your project using the following command: ... An important piece in this command is the --init flag. The ./node_modules/.bin/eslint section of the command is the path to ESLint in your project.
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Visual Studio Marketplace
marketplace.visualstudio.com › items
ESLint - Visual Studio Marketplace
Extension for Visual Studio Code - Integrates ESLint JavaScript into VS Code.
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GitHub
github.com › microsoft › vscode-eslint
GitHub - microsoft/vscode-eslint: VSCode extension to integrate eslint into VSCode · GitHub
For ESLint v9 and later (or v8.57+ with flat config), this should be one of: ... Read more about ESLint CLI. For projects using older ESLint versions (< 8.57), use a legacy .eslintrc file (.eslintrc.json, .eslintrc.js, etc.).
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YouTube
youtube.com › watch
VSCode and ESLint Setup - YouTube
👨🏻‍💻 I made DevPayHub for solo devs. Payments & users handled.https://devpayhub.com Combine ESLint and VSCode for some helpful code style/quality highligh...
Published   August 3, 2022
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Robin Wieruch
robinwieruch.de › vscode-eslint
How to use ESLint in VSCode
How to install ESLint for VS Code (Visual Studio Code). Install ESLint, configure it per project, and use a local .prettierrc file ...
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DEV Community
dev.to › devdammak › setting-up-eslint-in-your-javascript-project-with-vs-code-2amf
Eslint Vscode: Setting up ESLINT in your JavaScript Project with VS Code - DEV Community
March 4, 2019 - you can download VS Code from their official website VS Code Download · NB: I won't be digging deep into VS Code..everything on VS Code in this post will only be related to ESLINT. ... after the operation was successful it will create a package.json file that will manage all configuration for our project.
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Reddit
reddit.com › r/vscode › use custom path for eslintrc file.
r/vscode on Reddit: use custom path for eslintrc file.
December 22, 2022 - I recently setup eslint with husky in vscode. Due to the structure of my project the. .eslintrc file is inside a folder with name client. Now when I…
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GitHub
github.com › microsoft › vscode-eslint › issues › 2047
Unable to find the ESLint config file of the workspace in the VS Code · Issue #2047 · microsoft/vscode-eslint
April 27, 2025 - 2025-08-07 14:47:53.973 [error] Error: Could not find config file. at assertConfigurationExists (C:\Sources\FE-MainApplication\node_modules\eslint\lib\config\config-loader.js:80:17) at LegacyConfigLoader.loadConfigArrayForFile (C:\Sources\FE-MainApplication\node_modules\eslint\lib\config\config-loader.js:414:3) at async ESLint.lintText (C:\Sources\FE-MainApplication\node_modules\eslint\lib\eslint\eslint.js:940:4) at async c:\Users\hmiyab\.vscode\extensions\dbaeumer.vscode-eslint-3.0.16\server\out\eslintServer.js:1:189380 at async O (c:\Users\hmiyab\.vscode\extensions\dbaeumer.vscode-eslint-3.0
Author   Hamcker
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Codalas
codalas.com › en › 2311 › configuring-vscode-for-subfolder-projects-to-ensure-correct-eslint-operation
Configuring VSCode ESLint for Subfolder Projects in Monorepos | VSCode Tutorial
Adjusting ESLint Configuration: If you need to work with the entire codebase and have ESLint focus on a subfolder, you can modify the ESLint settings within VSCode. Open the Command Palette with Ctrl+Shift+P or Cmd+Shift+P. Type Preferences: Open Settings (JSON) and select it. Add or modify the eslint.workingDirectories setting to include your subfolder, like so: ... "eslint.workingDirectories": [ { "directory": "./path/to/your/subfolder", "changeProcessCWD": true } ]
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GitHub
github.com › microsoft › vscode-eslint › issues › 712
Use file location for `.eslintrc.js` resolution · Issue #712 · microsoft/vscode-eslint
July 11, 2019 - It seems that eslint.workingDirectories could be a (very inelegant and manual) solution to this problem, by specifying every directory, that has an .eslintrc.js file as a working directory. Is there no way for vscode-eslint to "just" follow the same resolution logic that eslint uses?
Author   buschtoens
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DeepWiki
deepwiki.com › microsoft › vscode-eslint › 5-configuration
Configuration | microsoft/vscode-eslint | DeepWiki
November 25, 2025 - Relevant source files · $shared/settings.ts · .vscode/settings.json · CHANGELOG.md · README.md · client/src/client.ts · client/src/settings.ts · package-lock.json · package.json · server/src/eslint.ts · server/src/paths.ts · This page documents the configuration options available in the VS Code ESLint extension.