New from Microsoft: VS Code Python Extension Gets 10x Faster IntelliSense and Cross-Package Symbol Search

Breaking: Microsoft Releases March 2026 Update for VS Code Python Extension

Microsoft today announced the March 2026 release of its Python extension for Visual Studio Code, introducing an experimental Rust-based parallel indexer that can deliver up to 10x faster IntelliSense on large projects. The update also adds an opt-in workspace symbol search that surfaces functions and classes from installed packages.

“This is the biggest performance leap we’ve seen for Python in VS Code,” said Dr. Amanda Chen, Principal Engineer at Microsoft. “The new indexer runs out-of-process using Rust, which dramatically cuts down wait times for completions and auto-imports.”

Background

The Python extension is one of the most popular tools in VS Code, used by millions of developers daily. Performance on large codebases has been a recurring pain point, especially when working with virtual environments and third-party libraries.

Previous updates have focused on stability and gradual improvements. This release shifts toward major architectural changes, starting with an experimental indexer that runs separately from the main process.

Key Features

Rust-Based Parallel Indexer (Experimental)

The new indexer replaces Pylance’s built-in engine for completions, auto-imports, and workspace symbol search. In internal testing, Microsoft saw average speeds 10× faster on large Python projects.

This feature is currently experimental and disabled by default. Developers can enable it via the setting python.analysis.enableParallelIndexing set to true, then reload VS Code. To try it:

1. Open Settings (Cmd+, / Ctrl+,).
2. Search for “Parallel Indexing”.
3. Check “Enable Parallel Indexing (Experimental)” under Python > Analysis.

Or add "python.analysis.enableParallelIndexing": true to settings.json. After enabling, use Reload Window to start cleanly.

“We want to validate these gains across the wide variety of project setups our users rely on,” Chen said. “Once confident, we plan to make this the default.”

Workspace Symbol Search in Installed Packages

Pylance now supports including symbols from packages installed in the active virtual environment in Workspace Symbol search (Cmd/Ctrl+T). This is controlled by the setting python.analysis.includeVenvInWorkspaceSymbols.

When enabled:

• Symbols from site-packages appear in workspace search results.
• You can navigate into third-party libraries without leaving VS Code.
• For libraries without py.typed, only symbols exported via __init__.py or __all__ are shown, keeping results focused.

Because indexing installed packages can affect performance, this feature is opt-in. Developers can fine-tune depth per package using python.analysis.packageIndexDepths.

To enable:

1. Open Settings (Cmd+, / Ctrl+,).
2. Search for “Include Venv In Workspace Symbols”.
3. Check the box under Python > Analysis.

What This Means

For developers working on large Python projects, the new indexer promises near-instant code completions and faster navigation. The workspace symbol search eliminates the need to jump between VS Code and external documentation when exploring unfamiliar libraries.

However, both features remain experimental or opt-in. Microsoft advises smaller projects may see less benefit from the parallel indexer. The company is actively seeking feedback before making either feature the default.

“We encourage developers to try the parallel indexer on their real-world codebases,” Dr. Chen said. “Every report helps us ship a more robust experience.”

The full list of improvements is available in the changelogs for the Python and Pylance extensions.