Install Visual Studio Code

This procedure walks you through downloading and installing Visual Studio Code on the machine.

🧰 Prerequisites

None.

📋 Steps

  1. Open the browser.

  2. Go to code.visualstudio.com (external link).

  3. Download the installer for Windows.

  4. Run the installer.

  5. Accept the agreement and press Next.

  6. Follow all the steps. The default options are fine.

  7. Finish the installation and Visual Studio Code will open automatically.

🎯 Expected Outcome

  • Visual Studio Code is installed and open on the machine.
  • The Welcome page appears.

⚠️ Mistakes

Downloading the wrong installer

The VS Code download page detects the operating system automatically, but it is worth checking before downloading, especially on an older machine or a less common OS configuration. Installing the wrong version may cause the editor to behave unexpectedly or not open at all.

Confusing VS Code with Visual Studio

Visual Studio Code and Visual Studio are two different products from Microsoft. Visual Studio is a large, Windows-only IDE built primarily for .NET and C++. VS Code is lightweight, cross-platform, and works with almost any language. Searching for “Visual Studio” and downloading the first result may lead to the wrong tool.

📚 Resources