turns out you need a platformio file :O

Author: miles-p

.gitignore

@@ -2,5 +2,4 @@
 .vscode/.browse.c_cpp.db*
 .vscode/c_cpp_properties.json
 .vscode/launch.json
-.vscode/ipch
-platformio.ini
+.vscode/ipch

platformio.ini

@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+; PlatformIO Project Configuration File
+;
+;   Build options: build flags, source filter
+;   Upload options: custom upload port, speed and extra flags
+;   Library options: dependencies, extra library storages
+;   Advanced options: extra scripting
+;
+; Please visit documentation for the other options and examples
+; https://docs.platformio.org/page/projectconf.html
+
+[env:uno]
+platform = atmelavr
+board = uno
+framework = arduino
+monitor_speed = 115200