Understanding python.analysis.includeExtraPathSymbolsInSymbolSearch in Pylance

April 8, 2026 · View on GitHub

Pylance is a powerful language server for Python in Visual Studio Code, offering advanced features like IntelliSense, type checking, auto-imports, and more. One of the settings that influence Pylance's workspace symbol search behavior is python.analysis.includeExtraPathSymbolsInSymbolSearch.

This guide explains what the python.analysis.includeExtraPathSymbolsInSymbolSearch setting does, how it affects Workspace Symbol search, and how to configure it.

What is `python.analysis.includeExtraPathSymbolsInSymbolSearch`?

The python.analysis.includeExtraPathSymbolsInSymbolSearch setting controls whether Pylance includes symbols from directories listed in python.analysis.extraPaths when you use Workspace Symbol search (Ctrl+T / Cmd+T).

By default, Workspace Symbol search only returns symbols from your own project files (user code). Enabling this setting expands the search to include symbols from directories you've added to extraPaths — for example, shared libraries or other packages in a monorepo that aren't part of the current workspace folder.

The `python.analysis.includeExtraPathSymbolsInSymbolSearch` Setting

Accepted Values

false (default): Workspace Symbol search only includes symbols from user code.
true: Workspace Symbol search also includes symbols from directories in python.analysis.extraPaths.

Default Value

The default value is false.

How to Change the Setting

To adjust the python.analysis.includeExtraPathSymbolsInSymbolSearch setting:

Open Settings and search for python.analysis.includeExtraPathSymbolsInSymbolSearch.
Toggle the setting on or off.

Alternatively, edit your settings.json file directly:

Open Command Palette, type Preferences: Open Settings (JSON), and select it.

Add or update the following line:

"python.analysis.includeExtraPathSymbolsInSymbolSearch": true

When to Use This Setting

This setting is particularly useful in monorepo setups where you use extraPaths to make other packages importable. Without this setting, Workspace Symbol search won't show symbols from those packages. Enabling it lets you search for functions, classes, and other symbols across your monorepo's shared libraries.

Performance Considerations

Enabling this setting may slow down Workspace Symbol search because Pylance needs to search through additional indexed symbols from extraPaths directories.

python.analysis.extraPaths: The directories whose symbols are included when this setting is enabled.
python.analysis.indexing: Must be enabled for symbol indexing. If indexing is disabled, this setting has no effect.
python.analysis.includeVenvInWorkspaceSymbols: Similar setting for including symbols from the active venv's site-packages.