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Visual Studio Code setup

Install VS Code and a small set of genuinely essential extensions -- the widely-used, free code editor, configured for a real day-to-day development workflow rather than the bare default install.

Target: Windows / MacOS / LinuxDevelopmentOfficial homepage ↗Official docs ↗
This guide is synthesized from Visual Studio Code setup's own official documentation, linked above — always cross-check exact package/version names there before running these commands on a production server, since distro and project versions move over time.

  1. 1Install VS Code

    # Windows winget install --id Microsoft.VisualStudioCode -e
    # MacOS brew install --cask visual-studio-code
    # Ubuntu/Debian sudo snap install --classic code

  2. 2Install the `code` command-line launcher

    On Windows/MacOS this is offered as a checkbox during install ("Add to PATH"); on Linux the snap package already provides it. Lets you open a folder straight from a terminal.

    code .

  3. 3Install a few genuinely essential extensions

    EditorConfig respects per-project formatting rules, Prettier auto-formats on save, GitLens shows inline blame/history -- a lean, broadly useful starting set rather than dozens of extensions most projects never need.

    code --install-extension EditorConfig.EditorConfig
    code --install-extension esbenp.prettier-vscode
    code --install-extension eamodio.gitlens

  4. 4Sign in to sync settings across machines (optional)

    Settings Sync (built in, under the account icon in the bottom left) keeps your extensions, keybindings, and settings identical across every machine you use VS Code on.