Give feedback as an early user and get the docs plus a full website free. Code FRIEND: valid on one-time purchases only.
WebsiteroWebsitero

Installing VS Code

A step-by-step guide for absolute beginners

⏱ Takes about 5 minutes

What is VS Code, and why do I need it?

VS Code (short for Visual Studio Code) is a free program for writing code. Think of it like Microsoft Word, but instead of writing essays, you write code, and it helps you by highlighting your code in colors, catching typos, and suggesting what to type next.

It's made by Microsoft, works on Windows and Mac, and is the most popular code editor in the world. The best part? It's completely free.

What operating system are you using?

1

Go to the official VS Code website

Open your web browser (Chrome, or others, any will work) and visit code.visualstudio.com. This is Microsoft's official website. Always download from here to stay safe.
2

Click the big blue "Download for Windows" button

The website will automatically detect you're on Windows and show you the right button. Click it and the download will start. The file will be named something like VSCodeSetup-x64-1.x.x.exe.
3

Run the installer file

Open your Downloads folder and double-click the file you just downloaded. If Windows asks "Do you want to allow this app to make changes?", click Yes, this is normal for any installer.
4

Click through the setup wizard

  • • Accept the license agreement and click Next
  • • Leave the install location as-is and click Next
  • • On the "Select Additional Tasks" screen, check these two boxes:
    • ✅ Add "Open with Code" action to Windows Explorer file context menu
    • ✅ Add to PATH
  • • Click Next, then Install, then Finish

💡 Why check those two boxes?

"Open with Code" lets you right-click any folder or file and open it directly in VS Code, super handy! "Add to PATH" lets you type code . in the terminal to open VS Code from anywhere. Both will save you a lot of time.

✅ Check that it worked

The easiest check: just look for VS Code in your apps and open it! You should see a welcome screen with a dark or light background and a sidebar on the left.

You can also verify it from the terminal. Open your terminal and run:

How to open the terminal on Windows:

Search for "cmd" in the Start menu and press Enter.

code --version

You'll see something like 1.89.0 printed, that means VS Code is installed and ready to use!

❌ "code" not recognized in the terminal?

On Windows: restart your computer so the PATH change takes effect, then try again. On macOS: open VS Code, press ⌘ Cmd + Shift + P, type "Shell Command", and select "Install 'code' command in PATH".

Always download VS Code from the official site: code.visualstudio.com