How to download and install Visual Studio Code on Mac
Visual Studio Code is free and comes from Microsoft’s website as a zip archive with the app inside. Here is which build to pick, how to install it and how to open folders from Terminal with code.
Visual Studio Code
- macOS 12 or later
- Apple Silicon and Intel
- Free
Or the installer straight from the developer’s server:
The links go to the developer’s website (code.visualstudio.com, update.code.visualstudio.com). MacWashing is not affiliated with the developer and keeps no installers.
Open Terminal (Applications › Utilities) and run:
brew install --cask visual-studio-codeHomebrew downloads the app from the developer’s server, checks the file and puts the app in Applications.
No Homebrew yet? How to install Homebrew: one command from brew.sh.
Which build to download
Microsoft’s download page offers three macOS builds: Apple silicon, Intel chip and Universal (both in one, about twice the size). To know your chip:
- Choose Apple menu › About This Mac.
- If you see Chip with Apple M1, M2 or later, take Apple silicon. If you see Processor with Intel, take Intel chip.
Microsoft supports VS Code on the macOS versions Apple still updates, usually the latest three. The app itself starts on macOS 12 or later.
How to install VS Code
- Open the downloaded
.zipin your Downloads folder: Finder unpacks Visual Studio Code next to it. - Drag Visual Studio Code to the Applications folder.
- Open it from Applications and click Open when macOS asks about an app downloaded from the internet.
- To keep it handy, right-click its Dock icon and choose Options › Keep in Dock.
Run VS Code from Applications, not from Downloads: an app started from Downloads can’t update itself.
What to set up after the first launch
- The `code` command. Press Command-Shift-P, type shell command and choose Shell Command: Install ‘code’ command in PATH. Then
code .in Terminal opens the current folder. - Settings Sync. Click the account icon at the bottom of the left bar and turn on Settings Sync to bring settings and extensions from your other computers.
- Extensions. Install only the ones you need from the Extensions view: each one takes disk space and memory.
- The archive. Move the
.zipfrom Downloads to the Trash once VS Code runs.
If VS Code won’t install or open
- «Visual Studio Code is damaged and can’t be opened». The download was incomplete. Delete it and download it again from Microsoft’s website.
- VS Code can’t update. Make sure it is in Applications and not still in Downloads, then restart it.
- Broken after an extension or update. Remove VS Code with its settings and extensions and install it again: see how to uninstall Visual Studio Code on Mac.
Alternatives to Visual Studio Code
Keep your Mac tidy
Developer tools leave a lot behind: caches, logs, old builds. System Junk in MacWashing finds the caches apps and developer tools build up, and the Uninstaller removes VS Code with its files if you switch editors.
Free trial · macOS 14 or later
Questions and answers
Is Visual Studio Code free?
Yes. VS Code is free for any use, including work. Some extensions and services, such as GitHub Copilot, have paid plans.
Is VS Code the same as Visual Studio for Mac?
No. Visual Studio for Mac was a different product, and Microsoft retired it. VS Code is the editor that is still developed for Mac.
Apple silicon, Intel chip or Universal?
The build for your chip is the smallest download. Universal runs on both and suits a disk you move between Macs.