Understanding python.analysis.userFileIndexFollowSymlinkedFolders in Pylance

June 23, 2026 · View on GitHub

Pylance is a fast and feature-rich language server extension for Python in Visual Studio Code, powered by the Pyright static type checker.

The python.analysis.userFileIndexFollowSymlinkedFolders setting controls whether Pylance follows symbolic links when indexing the user files in your workspace.

What is python.analysis.userFileIndexFollowSymlinkedFolders?

To power features such as auto-import, add-import, and workspace symbol search, Pylance builds an index of the files in your workspace. When this setting is enabled, that user-file indexing follows folders that are symbolic links and indexes the files they point to.

This exists as a performance safeguard. If a workspace contains symlinks that point into very large directory trees, following them can make indexing slow. Disabling this setting tells Pylance not to descend into symlinked folders, keeping indexing fast.

Type: boolean Default: true Scope: resource (can be set per workspace or folder)

How to Change python.analysis.userFileIndexFollowSymlinkedFolders

Using the Settings UI

  1. Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P) and run Preferences: Open Settings (UI).
  2. Search for python.analysis.userFileIndexFollowSymlinkedFolders.
  3. Uncheck the box to stop following symlinked folders.

Using settings.json

{
    "python.analysis.userFileIndexFollowSymlinkedFolders": false
}

When to Use It

  • Keep enabled (the default) if your workspace uses symlinks to include source you actively edit and want those files indexed.
  • Disable if your workspace contains symlinks into very large directory trees and indexing is slow, so Pylance skips them.

See Also

For more information on Pylance settings and customization, refer to the Pylance Settings and Customization documentation.

This document was generated with the assistance of AI and has been reviewed by humans for accuracy and completeness.