How to Install Visual Studio Code

How to Install Visual Studio Code

In this article, we'll showcase how to install Visual Studio Code (VSC), an ultra-popular code editor that can be used for a wide variety of coding languages (including Python, web development languages, C#, C++, and more).

Installing VSC

1. Navigate to the VSC page at https://code.visualstudio.com/ and select the download button (your OS should be automatically selected).



2. Once the download completes, you can install Visual Studio Code. The steps for this differ slightly depending on if you're using Windows or MacOS.

Windows Installation

For Windows users, you'll need to open the installation wizard and run through the installation prompts. We recommend leaving everything with the default properties, but you can customize the installation where you feel comfortable doing so.

Mac Installation

For Mac users, you must double-click the downloaded file to uncompress it. This will automatically install the .app file, which you should drag into your Applications folder.

3. After installation, you can launch VSC to start using it.



About Extensions

In order to use VSC properly with any language, you will need to download that language's extension to access various support features. To access the extensions:

1. From the left-hand side menu, click the four stacked boxes to open the VSC Extensions page.


2. Use the search bar to locate a specific extension required for whatever language you want to develop with (Python, C++, HTML/CSS, etc.). Once you locate the extension, simply click on it to view more information about it.



3. On the Extension page, hit the Install button to install the extension.



Once the extension installs, you should be ready to start developing. Please note, though, that some extensions may require further configurations.