How to Install Visual Studio Code

This page explains how to install Visual Studio Code. For an overview of what VS Code is and how it works, see the Visual Studio Code concept page.

This procedure walks you through downloading and installing Visual Studio Code on your machine. VS Code is free and runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Prerequisites#

None. No prior software installation is required.

Steps#

  1. Go to code.visualstudio.com (external link).
  2. Download the installer for your operating system — the site detects it automatically.
  3. Run the installer and follow the steps. The default options are fine — no need to change anything.
  4. Once installation is complete, open Visual Studio Code.
  5. You should see the Welcome screen. VS Code is ready to use.

Result#

Visual Studio Code is installed and open on your machine. You should see the Welcome screen with the editor, file explorer, and terminal available.

Common Mistakes#

Downloading the wrong installer The VS Code download page detects your operating system automatically, but double-check before downloading — especially if you’re 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. If you search for “Visual Studio” and download the first result, you may end up with the wrong tool.

Skipping the Welcome screen verification After installation, open VS Code and confirm the Welcome screen appears before moving on. If VS Code fails to open or shows an error immediately after install, the installation did not complete correctly — run the installer again.

Resources#