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Installing Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code (VSCode) is a free, lightweight code editor by Microsoft, perfect for coding and debugging. It works on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Follow these simple steps to install it on your system.

On Windows

  1. Download the Installer:

  2. Run the Installer:

    • Find the downloaded file in your Downloads folder.
    • Double-click the .exe file to start.
    • Follow the prompts:
      • Accept the license agreement.
      • Choose the install location (default is fine: C:\Users\{YourUsername}\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code).
      • Check the box to add VSCode to your PATH (this lets you run code from the command line).

  3. Verify Installation:

    • Open VSCode by searching "Visual Studio Code" in the Start menu or using the desktop shortcut.
    • Allow auto-updates if prompted to keep VSCode current.

On macOS

  1. Download the Installer:

  2. Install VSCode:

    • Find the .zip file in your Downloads (click the magnifying glass in Safari if needed).
    • Double-click to unzip it.
    • Drag the Visual Studio Code.app to your Applications folder.

  3. Launch VSCode:

    • Open the Applications folder and double-click Visual Studio Code.app.
    • To keep it handy, right-click the VSCode icon in the Dock, select "Options," then "Keep in Dock."

  4. Optional: Command-Line Access:

    • To use code in the terminal (e.g., code . to open a folder):
      • Open VSCode.
      • Press Cmd + Shift + P, type "shell command," and select "Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH."
      • Restart your terminal.

On Linux

The process depends on your Linux distribution. Here are steps for common ones.

Debian/Ubuntu

  1. Download the Package:

  2. Install the Package:

    • Open a terminal and navigate to the download folder (e.g., cd ~/Downloads).
    • Run this command (replace <file>.deb with the actual filename):
    sudo apt install ./<file>.deb
    • For older systems, use:
    sudo dpkg -i <file>.deb
sudo apt-get install -f

Other Distributions

  • Arch Linux: Use the Arch User Repository (AUR) to install the visual-studio-code-bin package.
  • NixOS: Add allowUnfree = true; to config.nix, then run nix-env -i vscode.
  • For other distributions, check the official VSCode Linux guide: code.visualstudio.com/docs/setup/linux.