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Guides›Installing VS Code

Installing VS Code

Step by step instructions for installing Visual Studio Code on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Introduction

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is a free code editor made by Microsoft that runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux. It is the editor we recommend while you are learning to code. If you are not sure what a code editor is or why you need one, start with our guide on using a code editor.

This guide walks you through installing VS Code on each operating system. Find your system below and follow the steps. You only need to do this once.

Windows

  1. Open code.visualstudio.com in your web browser.
  2. Click the Download for Windows button. This downloads the official installer (a .exe file).
  3. When the download finishes, open the file to run the installer.
  4. Accept the licence agreement, then keep clicking Next to accept the default options. We recommend leaving the box that adds VS Code to your right click menu ticked, as it is handy later.
  5. Click Install, then Finish. VS Code will open when it is ready.

macOS

  1. Open code.visualstudio.com in your web browser.
  2. Click the Download for macOS button. This downloads a .zip file containing the app.
  3. Open your Downloads folder and double click the downloaded file to unzip it. You will get an app called Visual Studio Code.
  4. Drag Visual Studio Code into your Applications folder.
  5. Open your Applications folder and double click Visual Studio Code to launch it. If macOS asks whether you are sure you want to open it, click Open.

Linux

The most reliable way to install VS Code on Linux is to download the official package for your distribution from Microsoft.

  1. Open code.visualstudio.com in your web browser.
  2. Click Download for Linux and choose the package that matches your distribution:
    • Choose the .deb package on Debian and Ubuntu based systems.
    • Choose the .rpm package on Fedora, Red Hat, and openSUSE based systems.
  3. Open the downloaded package with your system's software installer and click Install, or install it from the terminal:
    • On Debian or Ubuntu, run sudo apt install ./<file>.deb in the folder where you downloaded it.
    • On Fedora or Red Hat, run sudo dnf install ./<file>.rpm in the folder where you downloaded it.
  4. Once it is installed, open VS Code from your applications menu, or by running code in the terminal.

Opening VS Code

However you installed it, you can now open VS Code whenever you want to write code. On Windows and macOS it will appear alongside your other applications, and on Linux it will be in your applications menu.

That is it. You now have a proper code editor installed and are ready to start writing code.