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VS Code discovers Conda environments but Python: Select Interpreter does not display them #1671
Description
Does this issue occur when all extensions are disabled?: N/A, need python extension to get it to work
VS Code discovers Conda environments but Python: Select Interpreter does not display them
Environment
- VS Code: 1.130.0
- OS: macOS (Apple Silicon)
- Conda: 26.3.2
- Python Environments extension: 1.36.0
- Python extension: current release at time of filing
- Pylance: current release at time of filing
Problem
VS Code no longer displays my Conda environments in the interpreter picker.
When I run Python: Select Interpreter, I only see:
- System Python
- Any interpreter that was manually selected previously
- Enter Interpreter Path
- Create Virtual Environment
My Conda environments are not listed.
However, manually selecting an interpreter by path works correctly.
For example, if I manually select:
<conda-install>/envs/<env-name>/bin/python
the environment works normally afterward.
The issue is specifically that discovered Conda environments are not shown in the interpreter picker.
Steps to Reproduce
- Install Miniforge/Conda and create one or more Conda environments.
- Verify that the environments exist:
conda env list- Open VS Code.
- Install and enable:
- Python
- Python Environments
- Pylance
- Open a workspace/folder.
- Run:
Python: Select Interpreter
Expected Behavior
All discovered Conda environments should appear in the interpreter picker.
For example:
base
<env-1>
<env-2>
...
Actual Behavior
The interpreter picker only displays:
System Python
Enter Interpreter Path
Create Virtual Environment
along with any interpreters that were manually selected previously.
Discovered Conda environments are not shown.
Evidence From Logs
The Python Environments extension reports that Conda environments are being discovered successfully:
Environment discovery complete: 9 environments found (Global: 1, Conda: 8)
Example log entries:
Using conda from persistent state: <conda-install>/bin/conda
Found named environment: <env-1>
Found named environment: <env-2>
Found named environment: <env-3>
Discovered env:
<conda-install>/envs/<env-1>/bin/python
Discovered env:
<conda-install>/envs/<env-2>/bin/python
Discovered env:
<conda-install>/envs/<env-3>/bin/python
The logs indicate that environment discovery is functioning correctly, but the discovered environments are not displayed in the interpreter picker UI.
Troubleshooting Already Attempted
Verified Conda is functioning correctly:
conda env listreturns all expected environments.
Verified Conda executable is present:
which -a conda
conda info --baseBoth return expected results.
Verified the integrated VS Code terminal can use Conda normally.
Verified that manually selecting an interpreter path works and the selected environment functions correctly.
Executed:
Python: Clear Workspace Interpreter Setting
and then:
Developer: Reload Window
Deleted the Python Environments extension cache:
~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/globalStorage/ms-python.vscode-python-envs
Deleted VS Code workspace storage:
~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/workspaceStorage
Restarted VS Code.
Reinstalled VS Code completely.
Issue persists.
Additional Notes
The problem appeared suddenly after previously working correctly.
The integrated terminal is able to use Conda normally, and the Python Environments extension consistently reports successful Conda environment discovery.
This appears to be an issue where discovered Conda environments are not being surfaced in the interpreter picker UI despite being successfully discovered by the Python Environments extension.
Activity
chl916185 commentedon Jul 28, 2026
I'm encountering the same issue. How can I resolve it?
Karthik Nadig (@karthiknadig) Irem Altan (@sodiumnitrate)
mohityadav8 commentedon Jul 28, 2026
Eleanor Boyd (@eleanorjboyd) can i make pr for this
StellaHuang95 commentedon Aug 12, 2026
Irem Altan (@sodiumnitrate) chl916185 , thanks for reporting the issue, I am trying to figure out some missing pieces. If you go to the Python output (not the python environments output), do you see something like
Environment discovery is managed by the Python Environments extension?Also, if you set
"python.useEnvironmentsExtension": true, reload and try again, does the issue repro? This will help us find the root cause. Thanks!sodiumnitrate commentedon Aug 13, 2026
Stella Huang (@StellaHuang95) yes I see the following in the python output:
After setting
"python.useEnvironmentsExtension": trueand reloading, the issue still persists.One additional thing I recently noticed: if I connect to a remote machine (running ubuntu) using the same VS Code installation, the environment discovery works correctly and it detects the conda environments.
Please let me know if you need more information.
StellaHuang95 commentedon Aug 13, 2026
Irem Altan (@sodiumnitrate) Thanks for checking the Python logs and explicitly enabling the setting.
This rules out the issue with legacy discovery path. I now suspect the issue is in the Python extension’s compatibility adapter, which translates environments from the Python Environments API into the older format used by Python and Jupyter.
If the adapter encounters a Conda environment that does not currently have Python installed, its version conversion can fail and prevent the remaining environments in that update batch from reaching the interpreter picker. Could you check whether Environment Manager shows any Conda environment labeled
(no-python), or whether the Python Environments output containsFound a No-Python conda environment, or you have an environment that doesn't have Python installed ?Handle Conda environments without Python in EnvExt adapter (#26112)
tim-the-wizard commentedon Aug 18, 2026
Not OP, but I also had this issue. This also affected selection of the kernel for Jupyter notebooks.
None of my conda environments were labelled
(no-python)when listed withconda env list. I do not know how to access the environments extension logs.But I did have an empty conda environment that I had created without telling it to install Python. This was meant to be "vanilla", to stop me accidentally installing packages onto the base environment. As such the environment folder had no explicit python.
By installing python into this environment, the issue was resolved.
sodiumnitrate commentedon Aug 18, 2026
Stella Huang (@StellaHuang95) I did find one environment that had no python installed. It's not uncommon in bioinformatics, where conda is often used to package and compile non-Python tools. Installing python into that environment resolved the issue. While it would be great if VS Code could handle this scenario gracefully, at least we now understand the root cause and have a straightforward workaround. One thing that may make this issue easier to run into is that newer conda versions appear to create environments without installing python by default.
In any case, thank you so much for investigating! If any additional information or log would be helpful, please let me know.
Also, for anyone encountering the same issue: my environment was not labeled with
(no-python). That may be specific to miniforge, but it made the root case less obvious.sirlluis commentedon Sep 14, 2026
I have the same issue, my solution was to uninstall the extension.
eleanorjboyd commentedon Sep 23, 2026
🤖 Thanks for confirming that installing Python into an otherwise empty Conda environment made the interpreter list return. An environment without Python is a valid Conda use case, so this should not require changing that environment permanently.
To help us pin down and fix the discovery-to-picker handoff, could you confirm the exact current Python and Python Environments extension versions and whether the issue still reproduces with a no-Python Conda environment? If you can reproduce it safely, please set Developer: Set Log Level to Trace, reload VS Code with the no-Python environment present, open Python: Select Interpreter, and share the Python and Python Environments output channels from that attempt (redacting sensitive paths or environment variables). In particular, any version-parsing or environment-conversion errors in Python output would help identify where the other interpreters stop appearing. No need to alter an existing environment just for this test if reproducing would be disruptive.
#1730 reports a similar sidebar-versus-interpreter-picker mismatch with Snakemake Conda environments; we are keeping them separate until we can confirm whether they share this cause.
eleanorjboyd commentedon Sep 24, 2026
hm this also may be the fix: microsoft/vscode-python@e0f1d3c so try it again on pre-release and see if it works now