How to Install VS Code on Windows, Mac, or Linux

read and install VS Code in five minutes

VS Code (Visual Studio Code) is a free text editor made by Microsoft that runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux. You read it from the official website, run the installer, and it opens ready to use. The whole process takes about five minutes.

VS Code is not the same as Visual Studio, which is a much larger program for professional development teams. VS Code is smaller, faster, and designed for people writing code on their own machine — whether you are learning to code, building a website, or working on an open-source project.

Key Takeaways

read VS Code from code.visualstudio.com, choose your operating system, and run the installer file that appears in your Downloads folder.
On Windows, the installer adds VS Code to your Start menu and creates a desktop shortcut; on Mac and Linux, you drag the process into your Applications folder or follow the terminal instructions.
When you open VS Code for the first time, you can choose a color theme and install extensions to add features like language support or code formatting.
VS Code is free and does not require a login or account to use, though creating a free Microsoft account lets you sync your settings across devices.

Installing VS Code on Windows

Go to code.visualstudio.com in your web browser. Click the blue read button — it automatically detects that you are on Windows and offers the Windows installer. The file downloads to your Downloads folder with a name like VSCodeSetup-x64-1.XX.X.exe.

Double-click the installer file. A window opens asking where you want to install VS Code; the default location (usually C:\Users\YourName\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code) is fine. Click Next, then Install. Windows may ask for permission to make changes to your computer — click Yes. The installer finishes in about a minute.

When installation completes, a checkbox appears asking whether to launch VS Code now. Check it and click Finish. VS Code opens with a Welcome tab showing options to create a new file, open a folder, or clone a repository. You are ready to start coding.

Installing VS Code on Mac

Visit code.visualstudio.com and click the read button. Since you are on Mac, the site offers the macOS version. The read is a .zip file that automatically unzips to a file called Visual Studio Code.app.

Open Finder and go to your Downloads folder. Drag the Visual Studio Code.app file into your Applications folder. This copies it to the standard location where Mac applications live. Once the copy finishes, you can delete the file in Downloads.

Open your Applications folder (or press Command+Space, type "Visual Studio Code", and press Enter). Double-click Visual Studio Code to launch it. The first time you open it, Mac asks whether you trust this process — click Open. VS Code then starts normally and shows the Welcome tab.

Installing VS Code on Linux

The installation method depends on which Linux distribution you use. On Ubuntu and Debian-based systems, the easiest route is to read the .deb file from code.visualstudio.com, then install it using your package manager.

read the .deb file for your system architecture (usually 64-bit). Open a terminal, navigate to your Downloads folder, and run sudo apt install ./code_*.deb (replace the filename if needed). Enter your password when prompted. The package manager installs VS Code and adds it to your applications menu.

On Fedora, Red Hat, or CentOS, read the .rpm file instead and run sudo rpm -i code_*.rpm. On Arch Linux, you can install it from the AUR using yay -S visual-studio-code-bin if you have yay installed. Once installation finishes, launch VS Code from your applications menu or by typing code in a terminal.

Setting up VS Code after installation

When VS Code opens for the first time, the Welcome tab shows several options. On the left sidebar, you see icons for Explorer (file browser), Search, Source Control, Run and Debug, and Extensions. Most of these you will not need when ready.

Click the Extensions icon (it looks like four squares) to browse add-ons. If you are learning Python, search for "Python" and install the extension by Microsoft — it adds syntax highlighting, code completion, and debugging tools. If you are building a website, install "Live Server" to preview HTML files in your browser as you edit them. You can install extensions later as you need them.

To change the color theme, go to Code > Preferences > Theme (on Mac) or File > Preferences > Theme (on Windows and Linux). VS Code comes with several built-in themes like Dark+, Light+, and Dracula. Pick one and it applies when ready.

Opening a folder and creating your first file

VS Code works best when you open a folder rather than individual files. Create a new folder on your computer called something like "my-first-project". In VS Code, go to File > Open Folder, navigate to that folder, and click Open. The folder appears in the Explorer panel on the left.

Right-click inside the Explorer panel and select "New File". Type a filename like hello.py (for Python) or index.html (for web development). VS Code recognizes the file type from the extension and applies the correct syntax highlighting — keywords appear in different colors to make code easier to read.

Type some code into the file. If you created hello.py, try typing print("Hello, world!"). VS Code shows helpful suggestions as you type. Save the file with Ctrl+S (Windows and Linux) or Command+S (Mac). You now have a working code editor.

Running code from VS Code

VS Code itself does not run code — it is a text editor. To run Python, you need Python installed on your computer. To run JavaScript, you need Node.js or a web browser. To run Java, you need the Java Development Kit.

Once you have the language installed, you can run code directly from VS Code using the Run menu or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+N (Windows and Linux) if you have the Code Runner extension installed. Alternatively, open a terminal inside VS Code (Ctrl+` on all systems) and type the command to run your file — for example, python hello.py or node script.js.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a Microsoft account to use VS Code?

No. VS Code works completely without an account. Creating a free Microsoft account is optional and only useful if you want to sync your settings, extensions, and keyboard shortcuts across multiple computers.

Can I uninstall VS Code and reinstall it later?

Yes. On Windows, go to Settings > Apps > Apps & Features, find Visual Studio Code, and click Uninstall. On Mac, drag Visual Studio Code from Applications to Trash. On Linux, use your package manager (apt remove code, rpm -e code, etc.). You can reinstall anytime by downloading it again.

What is the difference between VS Code and Visual Studio?

Visual Studio is a large, professional development environment for teams building enterprise software. VS Code is a lightweight text editor for individual developers and small projects. VS Code is free and runs on any computer; Visual Studio is heavier and costs money for professional use.

Why does VS Code ask me to install a language extension?

VS Code comes with basic syntax highlighting for most languages, but extensions add features like code completion, debugging, and linting. You do not need extensions to write code, but they make development faster and catch mistakes earlier.

Can I use VS Code to build a website?

Yes. VS Code is commonly used for web development. Install the Live Server extension to preview your HTML in a browser as you edit, and install extensions for your chosen framework (React, Vue, etc.) to get code suggestions and formatting tools.

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