Change the language for the selected file. In VS Code, we default the language support for a file based on its filename extension. However, at times you may want to change language modes, to do this click on the language indicator - which is located on the right hand of the Status Bar.

Note: This article explains how to change the display language in the VS Code UI via Language Packs such as French or Chinese. If you want to add programming language support, for example for C++ or Java, refer to the Programming Languages section of the documentation.

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You then write some code and use the built-in code editing features, such as IntelliSense and Code Actions, and you learn about running and debugging your code. By installing a language extension, you add support for a different programming language.

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One way to customize language-specific settings is by opening the Settings editor, pressing on the filter button, and selecting the language option to add a language filter. Alternatively, one can directly type a language filter of the form @lang:languageId into the search widget.

The language identifier becomes essential for VS Code extension developers when adding new language capabilities or when replacing a language support. Every language defines its id through the languages configuration point in the extension's package.json file:

To override this behavior, you can use a meta.embedded.* scope to reset VS Code's marking of tokens as string or comment content. It is a good idea to always wrap embedded language in a meta.embedded.* scope to make sure VS Code treats the embedded language properly.

To help you set up quickly, you can install the Coding Pack for Java, which includes VS Code, the Java Development Kit (JDK), and essential Java extensions. The Coding Pack can be used as a clean installation, or to update or repair an existing development environment.

Language Server is a special kind of Visual Studio Code extension that powers the editing experience for many programming languages. With Language Servers, you can implement autocomplete, error-checking (diagnostics), jump-to-definition, and many other language features supported in VS Code.