How-To Guide

How to Install VS Code

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is the most popular free code editor. Here's how to install it in under 5 minutes on any operating system.

📋 What You'll Need

A computer running Windows, macOS, or Linux
An internet connection
About 100 MB of free disk space
5 minutes of your time

✅ VS Code is completely free. No credit card, no signup, no trial period.

Download VS Code

Go to the official website:

👉 code.visualstudio.com

The website automatically detects your operating system and shows a big blue Download button. Click it.

If it doesn't detect your OS correctly, use one of these direct links:

Windows: "Windows" → "User Installer" (recommended)
Mac: "macOS" → choose Intel or Apple Silicon chip
Linux: .deb (Ubuntu/Debian) or .rpm (Fedora/Red Hat)

Run the Installer

Windows:

Open the downloaded .exe file
Click "Yes" when asked for permission
Accept the license agreement
Keep the default install location
On "Select Additional Tasks", check "Add to PATH" and "Create a desktop icon"
Click "Install" → "Finish"

Mac:

Open the downloaded .zip file
Drag Visual Studio Code into your Applications folder
Open it from Applications (or Spotlight: ⌘+Space)

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian):

sudo dpkg -i code_*.deb
sudo apt-get install -f

Launch VS Code

Open VS Code from your Start menu (Windows), Applications folder (Mac), or terminal (Linux: run code).

You'll see the Welcome screen with options to:

Choose a theme (Dark+ is the default — keep it)
Create a new file
Open a folder

Install Recommended Extensions

Extensions supercharge VS Code. Open the Extensions panel (click the blocks icon on the left sidebar, or press Ctrl+Shift+X).

Search for and install these three:

Live Server — auto-reload HTML changes in the browser
Python (by Microsoft) — Python support, debugging, and IntelliSense
Prettier — automatically formats your code

💡 Tip: Don't install 50 extensions on day one. Start with these three — they cover 90% of beginner needs.

✅ Verify It Works

Test your installation:

Open VS Code
Press Ctrl+N (Windows/Linux) or ⌘+N (Mac) to create a new file
Type: <h1>Hello, World!</h1>
Save as test.html
Right-click → "Open with Live Server"
Your browser should open with a big "Hello, World!" headline 🎉

🔧 Troubleshooting

"code" command not found (Mac)

Open the Command Palette (⌘+Shift+P), type "install code command", and select it.

Installation blocked on Windows

Right-click the .exe → "Run as administrator". Some antivirus software may flag it — VS Code is safe.

VS Code is slow on older machines

Disable extensions you're not using, and turn off telemetry in Settings.

🎯 What's Next?

Now that you have VS Code, you're ready to start coding:

🐍 Install Python

Set up Python on your machine.

📄 Run Your First HTML File

See HTML in the browser in 2 minutes.

🌐 Start the HTML Course

Free 10-lesson beginner course.

🐍 Start the Python Course