Confused about how to make my React website live and next steps in PowerShell terminal (screenshot)

[ripplewave2025]

Prerequisites

• I have written a descriptive issue title.
• I have searched all open and closed issues to ensure it has not already been reported.
• I have read the troubleshooting guide.
• I am sure this issue is with the extension itself and does not reproduce in a standalone PowerShell instance.
• I have verified that I am using the latest version of Visual Studio Code and the PowerShell extension.
• If this is a security issue, I have read the security issue reporting guidance.

Summary

I'm new to deploying web projects and need clear, step-by-step help. I'm using Visual Studio Code on Windows 11 to build a React (Next.js with Tailwind) project. I see instructions mentioning 'npm run dev' and some terminal output asking about installing packages and proceeding, but I'm not sure what to do. I want to know exactly:

• How do I make my website go live/push it to production?
• What are the steps I need to follow in the VS Code terminal?
• What do the 'create-next-app' and install prompts mean?
• What are the next steps after running these commands?
• Where could things go wrong, and how do I fix them?
• Is there a simple checklist for someone new to web deployment?

I've attached a screenshot for reference. Please give beginner-friendly guidance!

PowerShell Version

Name                           Value                                                                                   
----                           -----                                                                                   
PSVersion                      5.1.26100.4768                                                                          
PSEdition                      Desktop                                                                                 
PSCompatibleVersions           {1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0...}                                                                 
BuildVersion                   10.0.26100.4768                                                                         
CLRVersion                     4.0.30319.42000                                                                         
WSManStackVersion              3.0                                                                                     
PSRemotingProtocolVersion      2.3                                                                                     
SerializationVersion           1.1.0.1

Visual Studio Code Version

1.103.1
x64

Extension Version

ms-vscode.powershell@2025.2.0

Steps to Reproduce

1. Open Visual Studio Code on Windows 11 and use the PowerShell terminal.
2. Run commands like npx create-next-app@latest or npm run dev as suggested by tutorials.
3. Observe that the terminal shows prompts about installing packages and proceeding, which is confusing for a beginner.
4. I want to deploy the site (Next.js + Tailwind) but I'm not sure which commands to run next or how to push it to production from VS Code.

Expected: Beginner-friendly steps on how to go from dev to production, what prompts mean, and a simple checklist.
Actual: Confusion about the meaning of prompts and which steps to run in the PowerShell terminal to make the site live.

Visuals

No response

Logs

No response

[JustinGrote]

Thanks for your submission! You did not include logs so we have no way to investigate this, but the first things to try:

• Install PowerShell 7 and update your PowerShell extension to use it, 5.1 is best effort support
• Remove any PowerShell Profiles you might be using this is usually the #1 source of problems
• Hit the "+" icon in the terminals view to open a non-PowerShell extension window, that might work and allow you to run the commands you want.

As there isn't anything we can fix here, going to mark as not planned but feel free to reply. For further React support you'll need to focus on https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/nodejs/reactjs-tutorial