Visual Studio Code on Windows
Alternatively, you can also download a Zip archive, extract it and run Code from there.
Tip: Setup will add Visual Studio Code to your %PATH% , so from the console you can type ‘code .’ to open VS Code on that folder. You will need to restart your console after the installation for the change to the %PATH% environmental variable to take effect.
User setup versus system setup
VS Code provides both Windows user and system level setups. Installing the user setup does not require Administrator privileges as the location will be under your user Local AppData (LOCALAPPDATA) folder. User setup also provides a smoother background update experience.
The system setup requires elevation to Administrator privileges and will place the installation under Program Files. This also means that VS Code will be available to all users in the system.
See the Download Visual Studio Code page for a complete list of available installation options.
32-bit versions
If you need to run a 32-bit version of VS Code, both a 32-bit Installer and Zip archive are available.
Updates
VS Code ships monthly releases and supports auto-update when a new release is available. If you’re prompted by VS Code, accept the newest update and it will be installed (you won’t need to do anything else to get the latest bits).
Note: You can disable auto-update if you prefer to update VS Code on your own schedule.
Windows Subsystem for Linux
Windows is a popular operating system and it can be a great cross-platform development environment. This section describes cross-platform features such as the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) and the new Windows Terminal.
Recent Windows build
Make sure you are on a recent Windows 10 build. Check Settings > Windows Update to see if you are up-to-date.
Windows as a developer machine
With WSL, you can install and run Linux distributions on Windows. This enables you to develop and test your source code on Linux while still working locally on your Windows machine.
When coupled with the WSL extension, you get full VS Code editing and debugging support while running in the context of WSL.
See the Developing in WSL documentation to learn more or try the Working in WSL introductory tutorial.
New Windows Terminal
Available from the Microsoft Store, the Windows Terminal (Preview) lets you easily open PowerShell, Command Prompt, and WSL terminals in a multiple tab shell.
Next steps
Once you have installed VS Code, these topics will help you learn more about VS Code:
-
— Learn how to install Git, Node.js, TypeScript, and tools like Yeoman. — A quick orientation to VS Code. — Learn how to configure VS Code to your preferences through settings. — Lets you jump right in and learn how to be productive with VS Code.
Common questions
What command-line arguments are supported by the Windows Setup?
VS Code uses Inno Setup to create its setup package for Windows. Thus, all the Inno Setup command-line switches are available for use.
Additionally, you can prevent the Setup from launching VS Code after completion with /mergetasks=!runcode .
Scrolling is laggy and not smooth
On certain devices, editor scrolling is not smooth but laggy for an unpleasant experience. If you notice this issue, make sure you install the Windows 10 October 2018 update where this issue is fixed.
I’m having trouble with the installer
Try using the zip file instead of the installer. To use this, unzip VS Code in your AppData\Local\Programs folder.
Note: When VS Code is installed via a Zip file, you will need to manually update it for each release.
Icons are missing
I installed Visual Studio Code on my Windows 8 machine. Why are some icons not appearing in the workbench and editor?
VS Code uses SVG icons and we have found instances where the .SVG file extension is associated with something other than image/svg+xml . We’re considering options to fix it, but for now here’s a workaround:
Using the Command Prompt:
- Open an Administrator Command Prompt.
- Type REG ADD HKCR\.svg /f /v "Content Type" /t REG_SZ /d image/svg+xml .
Using the Registry Editor (regedit):
- Start regedit .
- Open the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT key.
- Find the .svg key.
- Set its Content Type Data value to image/svg+xml .
- Exit regedit .
Unable to run as admin when AppLocker is enabled
With the introduction of process sandboxing (discussed in this blog post) running as administrator is currently unsupported when AppLocker is configured due to a limitation of the runtime sandbox. If your work requires that you run VS Code from an elevated terminal, you can launch code with —no-sandbox —disable-gpu-sandbox as a workaround.
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Visual Studio Code on Windows
- Download the Visual Studio Code installer for Windows.
- Once it is downloaded, run the installer (VSCodeUserSetup-
.exe). This will only take a minute. - By default, VS Code is installed under C:\Users\
\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code .
Alternatively, you can also download a Zip archive, extract it and run Code from there.
Tip: Setup will add Visual Studio Code to your %PATH% , so from the console you can type ‘code .’ to open VS Code on that folder. You will need to restart your console after the installation for the change to the %PATH% environmental variable to take effect.
User setup versus system setup
VS Code provides both Windows user and system level setups. Installing the user setup does not require Administrator privileges as the location will be under your user Local AppData (LOCALAPPDATA) folder. User setup also provides a smoother background update experience.
The system setup requires elevation to Administrator privileges and will place the installation under Program Files. This also means that VS Code will be available to all users in the system.
See the Download Visual Studio Code page for a complete list of available installation options.
If you need to run a 32-bit version of VS Code, both a 32-bit Installer and Zip archive are available.
VS Code ships monthly releases and supports auto-update when a new release is available. If you’re prompted by VS Code, accept the newest update and it will be installed (you won’t need to do anything else to get the latest bits).
Note: You can disable auto-update if you prefer to update VS Code on your own schedule.
Windows Subsystem for Linux
Windows is a popular operating system and it can be a great cross-platform development environment. This section describes cross-platform features such as the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL) and the new Windows Terminal.
Recent Windows build
Make sure you are on a recent Windows 10 build. Check Settings > Windows Update to see if you are up-to-date.
Windows as a developer machine
With WSL, you can install and run Linux distributions on Windows. This enables you to develop and test your source code on Linux while still working locally on your Windows machine.
When coupled with the WSL extension, you get full VS Code editing and debugging support while running in the context of WSL.
See the Developing in WSL documentation to learn more or try the Working in WSL introductory tutorial.
New Windows Terminal
Available from the Microsoft Store, the Windows Terminal (Preview) lets you easily open PowerShell, Command Prompt, and WSL terminals in a multiple tab shell.
Once you have installed VS Code, these topics will help you learn more about VS Code:
-
— Learn how to install Git, Node.js, TypeScript, and tools like Yeoman. — A quick orientation to VS Code. — Learn how to configure VS Code to your preferences through settings. — Lets you jump right in and learn how to be productive with VS Code.
What command-line arguments are supported by the Windows Setup?
VS Code uses Inno Setup to create its setup package for Windows. Thus, all the Inno Setup command-line switches are available for use.
Additionally, you can prevent the Setup from launching VS Code after completion with /mergetasks=!runcode .
Scrolling is laggy and not smooth
On certain devices, editor scrolling is not smooth but laggy for an unpleasant experience. If you notice this issue, make sure you install the Windows 10 October 2018 update where this issue is fixed.
I’m having trouble with the installer
Try using the zip file instead of the installer. To use this, unzip VS Code in your AppData\Local\Programs folder.
Note: When VS Code is installed via a Zip file, you will need to manually update it for each release.
Icons are missing
I installed Visual Studio Code on my Windows 8 machine. Why are some icons not appearing in the workbench and editor?
VS Code uses SVG icons and we have found instances where the .SVG file extension is associated with something other than image/svg+xml . We’re considering options to fix it, but for now here’s a workaround:
Using the Command Prompt:
- Open an Administrator Command Prompt.
- Type REG ADD HKCR\.svg /f /v «Content Type» /t REG_SZ /d image/svg+xml .
Using the Registry Editor (regedit):
- Start regedit .
- Open the HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT key.
- Find the .svg key.
- Set its Content Type Data value to image/svg+xml .
- Exit regedit .
Unable to run as admin when AppLocker is enabled
With the introduction of process sandboxing (discussed in this blog post) running as administrator is currently unsupported when AppLocker is configured due to a limitation of the runtime sandbox. If your work requires that you run VS Code from an elevated terminal, you can launch code with —no-sandbox —disable-gpu-sandbox as a workaround.
Visual Studio Code install location
I installed Visual Studio Code a few days ago, and now I can’t find the executable on my machine. Where is it?
I have checked Programs and Features. I have also checked my PATH. For some reason it isn’t in either.
10 Answers 10
Update 10.11.2018
If you do a complete re-install, including uninstalling prior versions of code installed on your machine the new version will be installed at
Update 06.07.2018
Since Version 1.25 VS Code supports portable mode. Instructions on how to use this are documented here.
You will need the ZIP file download version — not the installer. After unzipping the contents of the archive, create a data folder inside the folder, where code.exe is located. All settings will now be saved there and can be brought along with you.
On macOS, the folder must be named code-portable-data and has to be a sibling of the app itself. Not inside the app.
The reasoning behind this can be read here: What is VSCode User Setup for Windows?
Update
If you are using the x64 version, the path is:
Original answer
At this point and time ( Version 1.19.2 ) Vs code no longer resides in your AppData folder, but under
Setting up Visual Studio Code
Getting up and running with VS Code is quick and easy. Follow the platform specific guides below.
VS Code is lightweight and should run on most available hardware and platform versions. You can review the System Requirements to check if your computer configuration is supported.
Note: VS Code is an editor first and foremost and prides itself on a small footprint. Unlike traditional IDEs with everything but the kitchen sink, you can tune your installation to the development technologies you care about. Be sure to read the Additional Components section after the platform guides to learn about customizing your VS Code installation.
Mac OS X
-
for Mac OS X.
- Double-click on the downloaded archive to expand the contents.
- Drag Visual Studio Code.app to the Applications folder, making it available in the Launchpad .
- Add VS Code to your Dock by right-clicking on the icon and choosing Options , Keep in Dock .
Tip: If you want to run VS Code from the terminal by simply typing ‘code’, VS Code has a command, Shell Command: Install ‘code’ command in PATH, to add ‘code’ to your $PATH variable list.
After installation, launch VS Code. Now open the Command Palette ( kb(workbench.action.showCommands) ) and type shell command to find the Shell Command: Install ‘code’ command in PATH command.
After executing the command, restart the terminal for the new $PATH value to take effect. You’ll be able to simply type ‘code .’ in any folder to start editing files in that folder.
Linux
- Download Visual Studio Code for your distribution, .deb for Debian-based distributions such as Ubuntu or .rpm for Red Hat-based distributions such as Fedora or CentOS. Note that 32-bit binaries are also available on the download page.
- Install the package through a GUI package manager by double clicking on the package file, or through the command line:
«`bash # For .deb sudo dpkg -i .deb
# For .rpm (Fedora 21 and below) sudo yum install .rpm
# For .rpm (Fedora 22 and above) sudo dnf install .rpm «`
- VS Code should now be available to run through the launcher or the command line by running code .
Tip: Run code . in any folder to start editing files in that folder.
Windows
-
for Windows.
- Double-click on VSCodeSetup.exe to launch the setup process. This will only take a minute.
- By default, VS Code is installed under C:\Program Files (x86)\Microsoft VS Code for a 64-bit machine.
Note: .NET Framework 4.5 is required for VS Code. If you are using Windows 7, please make sure .NET Framework 4.5 is installed.
Note: You can download the zip archive here.
Tip: The Setup will optionally add Visual Studio Code to your %PATH% , so from the console you can simply type code . to open VS Code on that folder.
Tip: You might need to log off after the installation for the change to the %PATH% environmental variable to take effect.
Additional Components
VS Code is a small download by design and only includes the minimum number of components shared across most development workflows. Basic functionality like the editor, file management, window management, and preference settings are included. A JavaScript/TypeScript language service and Node.js debugger are also part of the base install.
If you are used to working with larger, monolithic development tools (IDEs), you may be surprised that your scenarios aren’t completely supported out of the box. For example, there isn’t a File > New Project dialog with pre-installed project templates. Most VS Code users will need to install additional components depending on their specific needs.
Here are a few commonly installed components:
-
— VS Code has built-in support for source code control using Git but requires Git to be installed separately. — A platform and runtime for easily building and running JavaScript applications — The TypeScript compiler, tsc , for transpiling structured and strongly typed TypeScript to JavaScript. — A TypeScript type definition manager so that VS Code can provide IntelliSense for popular JavaScript frameworks.
You’ll find the components above mentioned often in our documentation and walk-throughs.
VS Code Extensions
VS Code extensions let third parties add support for additional:
- Languages — C++, C#, Go, Python
- Tools — ESLint, JSHint , PowerShell, Visual Studio Team Services
- Debuggers — Chrome, PHP XDebug.
Extensions integrate into VS Code’s UI, commands, and task running systems so you’ll find it easy to work with different technologies through VS Code’s shared interface. Check out the VS Code extension Marketplace to see what’s available.
Additional Tools
Visual Studio Code integrates with existing tool chains. We think the following tools will enhance your development experiences.
-
— An application scaffolding tool, think of it as a command line version of File > New Project. — A Yeoman generator for scaffolding ASP.NET Core applications. — A Yeoman generator for quickly creating AngularJS applications. — An application framework for Node.js applications using the Jade template engine. — A streaming task runner system which integrates easily with VS Code tasks. — A JavaScript test framework that runs on Node.js. — A client side package manager.
Next Steps
Now you have installed and set up VS Code.
For more documentation, try:
-
— Basic orientation around VS Code — Lint, IntelliSense, Lightbulbs, Peek and Goto Definition and more — This is where VS Code really shines
If you’d like to getting something running quickly, try the Node.js runtime walkthrough which will have you debugging a Node.js web application with VS Code in minutes.
Common Questions
Q: What are the system requirements for VS Code?
A: We have a list of System Requirements.
Q: How do I create and run a new project?
A: VS Code doesn’t include a traditional File > New Project dialog or pre-installed project templates. You’ll need to add additional components and scaffolders depending on your development interests. With scaffolding tools like Yeoman and the multitude of modules available through the NPM package manager, you’re sure to find appropriate templates and tools to create your projects.