VS Code Terminal — UnauthorizedAccess on Command Execution

This post explains how to fix the permission error you get when running commands in the Visual Studio Code Terminal (PowerShell).

[01] The Error

• “Cannot be loaded because running scripts is disabled on this system…”
• Security error, PSSecurityException
• FullyQualifiedErrorID, UnauthorizedAccess

PS D:\Code\Python> .\.venv-doit-django\Scripts\activate
.\.venv-doit-django\Scripts\activate : 이 시스템에서 스크립트를 실행할 수 없으므로 ...
    + CategoryInfo          : 보안 오류: (:) [], PSSecurityException
    + FullyQualifiedErrorId : UnauthorizedAccess

[02] Cause and Solution

• PowerShell is configured by default to disallow running script files.
• Possible values

Value	Description
Restricted	default, scripts cannot be run
AllSigned	only signed (trusted) scripts run
RemoteSigned	locally created scripts and signed scripts run
Unrestricted	all scripts can run
ByPass	all scripts run with no warning or block
Undefined	no policy set

2-1. On Windows 10

Search bar → PowerShell → Run as Administrator → Change script execution policy

# Check the current policy
get-ExecutionPolicy

# Set the policy (RemoteSigned)
Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned

[03] Verifying After the Change

• You can confirm that the script file (here, a Python virtual environment) now runs correctly.