Azure IoT Hub extension for Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) lets you add extensions, such as languages, debuggers, and tools, to your VS Code installation to support your development workflow. The Azure IoT Hub extension for Visual Studio Code lets you add Azure IoT Hub support to your VS Code installation, so you can manage and interact with your IoT hubs, devices, and modules during development. The Azure IoT Hub extension is available from the Visual Studio Code Marketplace.

Note

Some of the features mentioned in this article, like cloud-to-device messaging, device twins, and device management, are only available in the standard tier of IoT Hub. For more information about the basic and standard/free IoT Hub tiers, see Choose the right IoT Hub tier for your solution.

Install the extension

You can find and install the extension from either within Visual Studio Code or the Visual Studio Code Marketplace.

Install from Visual Studio Code

To find and install the extension from within Visual Studio Code, perform the following steps.

  1. In VS Code, select the Extensions view by either selecting the Extensions view icon from the view bar or selecting Ctrl+Shift+X.

    Screenshot showing the Extensions view icon and shortcut from Visual Studio Code.

  2. Enter Azure IoT Hub in the search box to filter the Marketplace offerings. You should see the Azure IoT Hub extension in the list. Select the extension from the list to display the extension details page.

    Screenshot showing the search bar and list in the Extensions view of Visual Studio Code.

  3. Confirm that the unique identifier for the selected extension, displayed in the More Info section of the extension details page, is set to vsciot-vscode.azure-iot-toolkit.

    Screenshot showing the extension identifier for the Azure IoT Hub extension from the extension details page.

  4. Select the Install button for the selected extension, either from the list or the extension details page, to install the extension.

Install from the Visual Studio Code Marketplace

To find and install the extension from the VS Code Marketplace, perform the following steps.

  1. In your browser, navigate to the Azure IoT Hub extension page in the VS Code Marketplace.

  2. Confirm that the unique identifier for the selected extension, displayed in the More Info section of the Azure IoT Hub extension page, is set to vsciot-vscode.azure-iot-toolkit.

  3. Select the Install button to start Visual Studio Code, if it isn't already running, and display the extension details page for the extension in VS Code.

  4. In VS Code, select the Install button from the extension details page to install the extension.

Installing the Azure IoT Hub extension for Visual Studio Code also installs the Azure Account extension for Visual Studio Code, which provides a single Azure sign in and subscription filtering experience for all other Azure extensions. The Azure Account extension also makes the Azure Cloud Shell service available in VS Code's integrated terminal.

Note

The Azure IoT Hub extension depends on the Azure Account extension for connectivity. You cannot uninstall the Azure Account extension without uninstalling the Azure IoT Hub extension.

Sign in to your Azure account

Before the extension can interact with Azure IoT Hub, you must sign in to your Azure account from Visual Studio Code. You can use the Azure Account extension to:

  • Create an Azure account
  • Sign in and out of your Azure account
  • Filter the Azure subscriptions available to the Azure IoT Hub extension from your Azure account
  • Upload a file to your Azure Cloud Shell storage account

Follow these steps to sign into Azure and select your IoT hub from your Azure subscription:

  1. In the Explorer view of VS Code, expand the Azure IoT Hub section in the side bar.

  2. Select the ellipsis (…) button of the Azure IoT Hub section to display the action menu, and then select Select IoT Hub from the action menu.

  3. If you're not signed into Azure, a pop-up notification is shown in the bottom right corner to let you sign in to Azure. Select Sign In and follow the instructions to sign into Azure.

  4. Select your Azure subscription from the Select Subscription dropdown list.

  5. Select your IoT hub from the Select IoT Hub dropdown list.

  6. The devices for your IoT hub are retrieved from IoT Hub and shown under the Devices node in the Azure IoT Hub section of the side bar.

    Note

    You can also use a connection string to access your IoT hub, by selecting Set IoT Hub Connection String from the action menu and entering the iothubowner policy connection string for your IoT hub in the IoT Hub Connection String input box.

Once signed in, you can interact with your hubs, devices, and modules from either the Command Palette or the action menu in the Explorer view of VS Code. For more information about interacting with the extension, including frequently asked questions and interaction examples, see the wiki for the Azure IoT Hub extension.

Manage your IoT hubs

You can perform the following IoT hub management tasks from the extension:

Manage your devices

You can perform the following device management tasks for the current IoT hub from the extension:

Tip

You can enable a lock on your IoT resources to prevent them being accidentally or maliciously deleted. For more information about resource locks in Azure, see Lock your resources to protect your infrastructure.

Manage your modules

You can perform the following module management tasks for the selected device in the current IoT hub:

Note

Azure IoT Edge system modules are read-only and cannot be modified. Changes can be submitted by deploying a configuration for the related IoT Edge device.

Interact with IoT Hub

You can perform the following interactive tasks for the resources in your current IoT hub:

Interact with IoT Edge

You can perform the following interactive tasks for the Azure IoT Edge devices in your current IoT hub: