Solution to Pylance not working with VSCodium

[felix9743]

Hi everybody, like you, when version 2023.8.20 of Pylance was released, the bypass trick no longer worked and given that I was on vacation, I had thought that someone would find a new solution. But today, we are at version 2023.9.10 (and VSCodium 1.82.2) and it seems to me that there is still no reliable solution to solve the problem...

So, I rolled up my sleeves and I tested again and again... Until when fiddle the files of the extension itself, I managed to make it work again! This method is terribly stupid and not the most convenient, but it worked on 3 of my computers with different configurations and it has the advantage of not need to change the name of the application anymore.

So to make it simple, here are the changes to be made to be able to install the extension and remove the verification (I only have Windows, but it should be the same under Linux and I don't know for MAC):

1. Edit the C:\Program Files\VSCodium\resources\app\product.json or create a product.json in C:\Users\YOUR_USERNAME\AppData\Roaming\VSCodium

2. Set the values of extensionsGallery with:

	"extensionsGallery": {
		"serviceUrl": "https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/_apis/public/gallery",
		"cacheUrl": "https://vscode.blob.core.windows.net/gallery/index",
		"itemUrl": "https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items"
	}

3. Install the Pylance and Python extension. Close the VSCodium when finished.

4. Open this path C:\Users\YOUR_USERNAME\.vscode-oss\extensions\ms-python.vscode-pylance-2023.X.XX\dist\

5. Rename extension.bundle.js to extension.bundle.js.bak (backup).

6. Recreate a empty file extension.bundle.js (to make work the Jupyter extension).

---

Here, I hope it'll be useful to you. If someone wants to modify DOCS.md to put the explanations or highlight this discussion, it would be cool for the others users ^^

PS: Sorry for my english, I not have habitude to write in english.

[ThatIsAPseudo]

On macOS product.json is located in /Applications/VSCodium.app/Contents/Resources/app/product.json or in /Users/User/Library/Application Support/VSCodium/product.json and extension.bundle.js is in /Users/User/.vscode-oss/extensions/ms-python.vscode-pylance-2023.X.XX/dist

[pvares]

And on Linux (Ubuntu 20.04) they were in:

• ~/.config/VSCodium/product.json
• ~/.vscode-oss/extensions/ms-python.vscode-pylance-2023.9.10/dist/extension.bundle.js

[oppykhan2]

waaer

[mdilena]

Thanks very much for this, it worked like a charm! Until they'll do something else to prevent it 😁

[chardoncs]

It works! Thank you folks!

[awsms]

thanks so much OP, wish it was that easy to get the C# debugger to work 🤣

[felix9743]

Sorry but I can't help too much for C# since I've never done one.

[fabifont]

Seems like they patched this workaround in version 2023.10.31

[NiklasMM]

Can confirm it doesn't work anymore in v2023.10.40. I guess it's time to finally switch to PyCharm.

[fabifont]

You can use the previous version or Pyright instead of Pylance

[Whyhow314]

Works fine for me in v2023.10.40, but not the prerelease v2023.10.41.

[an4s911]

I tried Pyright, but Pyright doesn't work when Python extension is turned on

[ykvch]

Now to make pylance work: Extensions -> pylance -> disable -> press "reload required".
After vscodium starts: Extensions -> pylance -> enable
Works until vscodium closed (then disable/enable has to be repeated). And python-specific rulers are not shown.

[skbeh]

To make 2023.10.50 work:

1. Remove extension.bundle.js.

In server.bundle.js:

2. Format the file (maybe with Prettier).
3. Search for _0x1128b5, and add return; to the start of the function found (like ['_enableJin' + _0x5f2a8a(0x1083) + 'y'](_0x1128b5) {).
4. Search for throw new Error(_0x3f799c[_0xcacf35(0x1664)+_0xcacf35(0x1803)]); (throw new Error(_0x3f799c.licenseErrorText);) and remove it.
5. Replace _0x2f33cc[_0x1efd68(0x1934) + _0x1efd68(0x135e)] with void 0x0.

Repack server.bundle.js, install the vsix and it should work.

[claviola]

@skbeh any tips for 2023.11.10?

[felix9743]

Hello, for information, this solution works for me with the latest versions:

• Windows 10 and VSCodium v1.84.2
• Python v2023.20.0 and Pylance v2023.11.10
• Jupyter v2023.10.11

PS: There were 1 or 2 versions where this tips no longer worked but strangely, it works again now....

[robotoshi]

Confirmed, your original solution works for me on Ubuntu 20.04.6 for Pylance 2023.11.10 and vscodium 1.84.2

Thanks so much for your work!

[felix9743]

😊

[CarterSnich]

4. Open this path `C:\Users\YOUR_USERNAME\.vscode-oss\extensions\ms-python.vscode-pylance-2023.X.XX\dist\`

5. Rename `extension.bundle.js` to `extension.bundle.js.bak` (backup).

6. Recreate a empty file `extension.bundle.js` (to make work the Jupyter extension).

Worked for VSCodium 1.84.2 | Pylance v2023.11.10

[CarterSnich]

Seems like that this discussion become active this past few weeks. I'm still on v2023.11.10 and OP's workaround still works for me perfectly fine.

[robotoshi]

Seems like it doesn't work anymore on the new Pylance version 2023.12.1 😢

[Oreeeee]

Yeah. It shows something that you need Visual Studio Code and that working around this limitation is violation of ToS. Downgrading also doesn't work.

[fabifont]

Downgrading to 2023.11.10 worked for me

[Oreeeee]

I'm running v2023.10.53 and it's still showing the error. Maybe the check is in the Python extension and not in Pylance?

Edit: Nope, still not working for me

[tstrose]

One observation I had is that the contents of the extensions folder for VSCode [on Windows this is usually in C:\Users[YOUR USERNAME].vscode\extensions can be copied (wholesale) and used in VSCodium/Cursor.

I have only tested this in Cursor (based on VSCode 1.85), but feel like it should work for VSCodium as well:

1. Have the Python and Pylance extensions installed in VSCode - either through the VSIX or the market place.
2. Copy the relevant extension folders and extensions.json from the .vscode folder to the .vscodium/extensions or .cursor/extensions folder.
3. Make the changes to product.json outlined in the OP.
4. Open VSCodium/Cursor. You will notice that it will have the complaint about Pylance and error out with Code: -32603. However after complaining, if you check the extensions folder, you will notice that it is attempting to download a prior version of Pylance/Python that does not error out (in Cursor as of the date of this post, this was Python 2023.22.1 & Pylance 2023.10.40)
5. Once finished, the Extensions tab will indicate that those extensions require a reload of the IDE.
6. Once reloaded, extensions.json should have been automatically updated to use the newly downloaded versions and you will observe that Pylance works.

Hope this helps someone as I accidentally deleted those newly downloaded versions of the extensions, since I had no idea where they came from, and spent the rest of the afternoon trying to figure out how I broke my Pylance in Cursor.

[fabifont]

Has anyone managed to make v2024.2 work?

[rob4226]

This "FOSS" editor but closed source extension game is getting annoying. What are some other viable options for Python extensions that could replace Pylance?

[fabifont]

I am actually using pyright

[Windows81]

Microsoft will hate me for this: https://gist.github.com/Windows81/0b4f28f47b25192ab372a156ca4ce6da

[Windows81]

Tested to Work on 2024.2.103; Windows

1. Download the Python extensions as .vsix files.
2. If you're running 2024.2.103, Put this file in C:\Users\USERNAME\.vscode-oss\extensions\ms-python.vscode-pylance-2024.2.103\dist\extension.bundle.js. I prettified the code and commented the verif*ckation stuff out (lines 8901-8956). It took me some hours.

[Fissium]

Doesn't work for me

[Windows81]

Heya. Can you send me a screenshot of the ms-python.vscode-pylance-2024.2.103\dist\ directory with the file sizes?

[Oreeeee]

Works for me, thanks

[rob4226]

@Windows81 That's a damn fine job. Thank you so much!!!

[Fissium]

@Windows81

Heya. Can you send me a screenshot of the ms-python.vscode-pylance-2024.2.103\dist\ directory with the file sizes?

[Oreeeee]

It would be much easier if you made a .patch file

[fabifont]

I never did one and every time the extension gets updated the file changes. Also, every user has a different obfuscation and Microsoft may add tracking calls under the hood.

[skbeh]

every user has a different obfuscation

The vsix every user got is same for a specific version.

Microsoft may add tracking calls under the hood.

They actually did. Just search "telemetry" in the deobfuscated code.

[kuolemaaa]

@skbeh May I ask what tool did you use to deobfuscate that js and find what block of code to disable ?

[Windows81]

@kuolemaaa: I prettified the obfuscated code (so that I can see the lines more clearly).

Then I placed strategic console.log statements and kept track of program execution flow.

Reversing JavaScript is much easier than doing the same for x86 because you can easily inject code to change what how a program works.

[iiPythonx]

I know it's less then ideal, but downloading 2024.4.102, installing it, and patching it (following #1641 (comment), or using #1641 (comment)) still works until the latest version can get figured out.

[Wolf359Stella]

The fixes above do not work with newer versions of pylance (tested using ms-python.vscode-pylance-2024.5.103), but using a newer version of vscodium and applying these fixes while using version 2024.4.102 do work well.

[renyuneyun]

Not sure if it's relevant, but I came across this post discussing a problem in the open-source version (of the extension, though in isort): microsoft/vscode-isort#316 (comment)
The "solution"/workaround is the same: use the official/MS version.

[ntluong95]

Any news for the newest version of Pylance?

[blipk]

I spent a while trying to patch it but it looks like they're now doing some kind of verification on the bundled extension file so the extension doesnt load if it's changed at all, and possibly some kind of remove verification as well.

If anyone else want to try searching for the string "licenseErrorText" and "generateVerificationString" in extension.bundle.js will lead you down the rabbit hole of relevant functions.

Any patches are probably going to be pretty fragile though.

Bunch of morons over there at MS trying to buy out the python ecosystem.

I decided I'm just going to use jedi

[ethanc8]

What about basedpyright? It uses a lot of Pylance's codebase, but the maintainer is not hostile to bug reports like Microsoft is, and it's improving its language server a lot

[Windows81]

@ntluong95, @blipk:

#1641 (comment)

[ethanc8]

It looks like basedpyright is trying to reimplement Pylance's features and also provide better typechecking. If you just want a Pylance alternative, you can install the basedpyright extension and set basedpyright.analysis.typeCheckingMode to off. If there are any Pylance features you're missing, I might look into trying to implement them in basedpyright (some code in coc-pyright might be useful for this). In other news, upstream Pyright has become actively hostile to bug reports, which was at least one of the reasons why basedpyright started.

[ethanc8]

You should disable the Pylance extension and restart VSCode/VSCodium/code-oss before attempting to install basedpyright.

[ethanc8]

If there's anything you're missing, you might want to report it here and also at basedpyright's issues.

[sova2007]

To disable type output in basedpyright, how should one proceed?

Already installed.
"basedpyright.analysis.typeCheckingMode": "off"
Doesn't help.

[q-wertz]

Maybe check out "basedpyright.disableLanguageServices"

[ethanc8]

Maybe check out "basedpyright.disableLanguageServices"

That would completely disable the nice features

[Whyhow314]

Try setting editor.inlayHints.enabled to off

[sova2007]

Thank you all for your help.
This is a working option:

"basedpyright.analysis.typeCheckingMode": "off",
"editor.inlayHints.enabled": "off"

[WyattAutomation]

Thank you all for your help. This is a working option:

"basedpyright.analysis.typeCheckingMode": "off", "editor.inlayHints.enabled": "off"

This one worked for me. VS Codium, Ubuntu 22.04, Basedpyright extension

Crazy something as mundane as syntax highlighting gets screwed up. Oh well at least this works

[Oreeeee]

I don't really like Based Pyright. According to it, my entire codebase is a giant error, but actually I've been using it in production for a few months.

[ethanc8]

You should reduce the type checking level. "basedpyright.analysis.typeCheckingMode": "off",
"editor.inlayHints.enabled": "off"

[xjzh123]

Do you use the same config for basedpyright as that for pylance? Maybe it is because you have different config

[willfliaw]

I’ve tried both Pylance and Based Pyright, but I couldn’t get them to work as expected with Jupyter Notebooks. For instance, unused modules are not flagged as such, and other expected hints seem to be missing. Has anyone else experienced similar issues or found a reliable workaround?

[GatienDoesStuff]

Seems to happen here too

[kdlslyv]

I wonder when people will start calling out Microsoft's OpenWashing more loudly than that's currently the case.

[tsukumijima]

I am not a VSCodium user, but I encountered the same issue with Windsurf, so I'm leaving this solution here for anyone who might face it in the future.

I started using Windsurf and soon realized that I couldn't install Pylance.
On Cursor, Pylance works with some mysterious magic (fixed as of version 2024.8.1), and somehow Cursor Pyright was also installed without my intervention.
Despite not installing it myself, IntelliSense and type checking were working perfectly in both local and SSH environments.

First, I downloaded the VSIX for version 2024.8.1 from VsixHub and tried installing it, but it didn’t work.
That’s when I found this issue.
I ended up downgrading Pylance to version 2024.4.1 on both the local and SSH environments and applied the following patch.
After restarting the window, Pylance finally started working. Now, with Windsurf, I can get back to a more “human” coding experience.

# For local environment (tested on MacBook)
perl -i -pe 's/if\(!_0x19.*?disposables.*?};//' ~/.windsurf/extensions/ms-python.vscode-pylance-2024.4.1/dist/extension.bundle.js

# For SSH environment (tested on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS with windsurf-server)
perl -i -pe 's/if\(!_0x19.*?disposables.*?};//' ~/.windsurf-server/extensions/ms-python.vscode-pylance-2024.4.1/dist/extension.bundle.js

ref: https://x.com/izutorishima/status/1895584195986309566

[caenrigen]

[EDIT:] As many others have recommended, I recommend using basedpyright instead of this workaround. The more users drop the proprietary software the better the open source gets!

---

For latest Pylance 2025.3.2

Find and remove or comment this piece of code in ms-python.vscode-pylance-2025.3.2/dist/extension.bundle.js:

return(0x0,_0x54492d[_0x264709(0x5e4)])(_0xb193e1[_0x264709(0x1e7)]),{'client':_0x3202d7,'start':()=>{const _0x4d2638=_0x264709;return _0x2c2de3[_0x4d2638(0x3ed)](_0x22ad8b[_0x4d2638(0x32b)][_0x4d2638(0x170)]),Promise[_0x4d2638(0x5a9)]();},'stop':()=>Promise[_0x264709(0x5a9)](),'disposables':_0xe2dfa8};

Update: Pylance 2025.4.1

return (0x0, _0x302dc7[_0x1e5d1c(0x69a)])(_0x17bc9b[_0x1e5d1c(0x120)]), { 'client': _0x5d8ccf, 'start': () => { const _0x751a33 = _0x1e5d1c; return _0x2bfc9a['sendTelemetryEvent'](_0x1d90e3['EventName'][_0x751a33(0x48e)]), Promise[_0x751a33(0x60e)](); }, 'stop': () => Promise[_0x1e5d1c(0x60e)](), 'disposables': _0x22650a };

NB you might have to fully remove the previous extension, install it again. Quit VS Codium. Edit the file. Open VS Codium again.

---

Why It became harder to find? because in previous versions (I think I got this one from 2024.8.1) it looked similar to this...

return(0x0,_0x3cf4c5[_0x41b32f(0x1cb)])(_0x1802de['licenseErrorText']),{'client':_0x114703,'start':()=>{const _0xdc463e=_0x41b32f;return _0x5f5976[_0xdc463e(0x472)](_0x15fc6b[_0xdc463e(0x596)][_0xdc463e(0x4e4)]),Promise['resolve']();},'stop':()=>Promise[_0x41b32f(0x147)](),'disposables':_0xf1f7d3};

---

NB to get a slightly less obfuscated js paste the original file into https://lelinhtinh.github.io/de4js/ and use the Clean Source option, made it easier to figure it out

[realdimas]

@dontic in my experience, Cursor works fine with Pylance build 2025.4.100.
The caveat is that one needs to update the bundled product.json file that is included in the Cursor installation.
That file contains the maximum allowed version of several extensions, including ms-python.vscode-pylance (the extension ID of Pylance).

In a nutshell:

1. Locate product.json, create a backup

2. Edit the extensionMaxVersions section, bumping ms-python.vscode-pylance from 2024.8.1 to 2025.4.100:

   // <...>
   "extensionMaxVersions": {
     // <...>
     "ms-python.vscode-pylance": {
       "maxVersion": "2024.8.1",
       "minVersion": "2024.4.1"
     },
     // <...>

   change to

   // <...>
   "extensionMaxVersions": {
     // <...>
     "ms-python.vscode-pylance": {
       "maxVersion": "2025.4.100",
       "minVersion": "2024.4.1"
     },
     // <...>

3. Download the .vsix package at https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/_apis/public/gallery/publishers/ms-python/vsextensions/vscode-pylance/2025.4.100/vspackage

4. Drag and drop it into the Extensions tab of Cursor

Updating Pylance resolves a lot of issues with Python LSP including syntax highlighting, code navigation (jump to method), bogus type checker errors, pytest unit tests integration, and many others (compared to the Pylance extension version 2024.8.1 that is available out of the box in Cursor).

The extension "breaks" on each Cursor update since these updates override the product.json file, rolling back the version of the Pylance extension.

Consider updating Cursor manually: https://forum.cursor.com/t/how-do-i-prevent-automatic-updating/59637/10
Background discussion and prior investigation into the problem: https://gist.github.com/joeblackwaslike/752b26ce92e3699084e1ecfc790f74b2
A handy Bash script I use on macOS to automate product.json patching: https://gist.github.com/realdimas/e58723564cfada8efd93adab6efb747c

[thebarkingdog-yh]

I am using AppImage to launch Cursor on Ubuntu 22.04, but I can’t find the product.json file to modify the maximum acceptable version for Cursor. Do you have any ideas?

[darkguy2008]

Yeah this is cute but it does not work properly, I still get "No code actions available" when hitting Cmd+. to call the "Remove unused imports". Does this really work with Pyright + Windsurf? I've installed BasedPyright but it doesn't do anything other than whine that Python 3.13 is not supported.

[realdimas]

It does work. Start by checking if you have Python Language Server in the list of sources on the Output tab:

Make sure you have Pylance set as your "Python: Language Server" in Settings:

You might have to fight off (disable, then uninstall) alternative Python LSP extensions that are trying to activate themselves in place of Pylance.

Don't forget that for Windsurf (and Cursor 1.2 and later), you also need to patch a specific version of the Pylance extension as explained above (#1641 (comment)).

[Hacetate]

Sorry, I've tried using Cursor versions 1.13, 1.17, and 1.21, along with Pylance versions 2024.8.1, 2025.3.2, 2025.4.1, and 2025.4.100. For each combination, I deleted the specified piece of code from extension.bundle.js(For Pylance 2025.4.1 and 2025.4.100, the code snippet was different from the one you provided, so I had to locate it using keywords). However, after these modifications, the Cursor client is still showing 'In order to use Anysphere Python,'ms-python.vscode-pylance' must be uninstalled'. Could you please reiterate the specific version numbers (for both the Cursor and Pylance) and the detailed steps required for this procedure?"

[jamesst20]

Based on @caenrigen comment here #1641 (comment)

I have done some reverse engineering on the current latest version of Pylance (2025.6.101) with Cursor 1.2.2.

Here are the step to get this done!

1. Make sure the Python extension from Anysphere is not installed and close cursor completely

2. You need to update Cursor max version to Pylance

Edit the file:

On MacOS: /Applications/Cursor.app/Contents/Resources/app/product.json
On Windows: C:\Users<user_name>\AppData\Local\Programs\cursor\resources\app\product.json
On Linux: /usr/lib/code/product.json

Find ms-python.vscode-pylance and update its maxVersion to 2025.7.1 or completly remove everything in extensionMaxVersions which is what I personally do.

Note: On MacOS, you might need to run codesign --force --deep --sign - /Applications/Cursor.app afterwards

3. Download the VSCode extension

2025.7.1: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/_apis/public/gallery/publishers/ms-python/vsextensions/vscode-pylance/2025.7.1/vspackage

2025.6.2: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/_apis/public/gallery/publishers/ms-python/vsextensions/vscode-pylance/2025.6.2/vspackage

4. Unzip the extension (rename it to a zip file to make it easier)

5. Lower the minimum required version of VSCode

Edit extension/packages.json and update engines to

    "engines": {
        "vscode": "^1.99.0"
    },

6. Remove the Cursor detection

Edit extension/dist/extension.bundle.js

2025.7.1
Find

return _0x1d2169(_0x1e7a73);

Replace with

return true;

2025.6.2

Find

return _0x1a0cda(_0x18d153);

Replace with

return true;

6. Zip back the extension and rename .zip to .vsix

Zip everything at the root where the extension folder is, then rename to vsix

7. Open Cursor and install the extension

Simply open extension menu and drag and drop the file.

Restart Cursor

Everything should be working now.

For some reason, the extension still shows up as the Python from Anysphere, but when you look at the installation it will show up as the Microsoft one. Also, it keep showing "Restart Extensions" but it's enabled and working.

[jamesst20]

Has anyone try to install Pylance into Positron, another VSCode-based IDE. I followed this guidance but couldn't make it work

Unfortunately I wouldn't know. I took a look and it crash with the following

[error] TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'vscode-languageclient')

Pylance depends on https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-python.python and Cursor can install correctly that extension, but it seems Positron is using something different and won't let you install it

[Hacetate]

It works a little. Functions like go-to-definition are working, but the highlighting is still broken.

Edit: I found that the problem seems to be with my color theme. If I select the 'Dark (Visual Studio)' theme, the highlighting doesn't display, but it works when I use 'Dark Modern'.

[realdimas]

Thanks, @jamesst20! I made a script to automate this process: https://gist.github.com/realdimas/c025cdba50cc05e0f644eb71bf7efbb9

[ntluong95]

Has anyone try to install Pylance into Positron, another VSCode-based IDE. I followed this guidance but couldn't make it work

Unfortunately I wouldn't know. I took a look and it crash with the following

[error] TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'vscode-languageclient')

Pylance depends on https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=ms-python.python and Cursor can install correctly that extension, but it seems Positron is using something different and won't let you install it

Positron uses a fork of MS Python extension. Pylance works fine with version 2024.8.1, but starting from version 2024.9.1, it never works again

[jamesst20]

Hi everyone! Just an heads up, I have updated the patch to the latest Pylance 2025.7.1!

I have edited my first post on how to do it by hand, otherwise see the attachment: unzip it and drag and drop into cursor.

pylance-2025.7.1-cursor.vsix.zip

Other Python extensions that work as is if you update the extensionMaxVersions

https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/_apis/public/gallery/publishers/ms-python/vsextensions/python/2025.12.0/vspackage
https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/_apis/public/gallery/publishers/ms-python/vsextensions/debugpy/2025.10.0/vspackage
https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/_apis/public/gallery/publishers/ms-python/vsextensions/vscode-python-envs/1.2.0/vspackage

[remigermain]

In Codium, I tried what jamesst20 suggested, but it isn’t working. any help ?

[meowabyte]

I have made a simple bash script that automatically patches Pylance's extension.bundle.js to the state in which it correctly shows suggestions!

https://gist.github.com/meowabyte/3a2410f5225ed9c2e3dafeba570f8d82

It relies on Microsoft's allowlist of apps to find needed segment of code and simply patches it to return true even before any check happens.

Hope it helps!

[ntluong95]

What is the point of patching Pylance on VSCode but not on its forks?

[meowabyte]

it works on any fork.