Setting Up C++ In Visual Studio Code

Setup C++ In Visual Studio Code Ubuntu
Mingw For Visual Studio Code
Visual Studio Code C++ Build
Vscode C++ Setup
Setting Up C++ In Visual Studio Code Examples
Vscode C++ Config

Getting up and running with Visual Studio Code is quick and easy. It is a small download so you can install in a matter of minutes and give VS Code a try.

Cross platform

VS Code is a free code editor, which runs on the macOS, Linux, and Windows operating systems.

For C and C, select the Desktop development with C workload and then choose Install. When the installation completes, choose the Launch button to start Visual Studio. The first time you run Visual Studio, you're asked to sign in with a Microsoft Account. If you don't have one, you can create one for free. When IntelliSense is enabled, the Visual Studio Code C/C extension supports semantic colorization. See Enhanced colorization for more details about setting colors for classes, functions, variables and so on. Extension logging.

Follow the platform-specific guides below:

VS Code is lightweight and should run on most available hardware and platform versions. You can review the System Requirements to check if your computer configuration is supported.

Update cadence

VS Code releases a new version each month with new features and important bug fixes. Most platforms support auto updating and you will be prompted to install the new release when it becomes available. You can also manually check for updates by running Help > Check for Updates on Linux and Windows or running Code > Check for Updates on macOS.

Note: You can disable auto-update if you prefer to update VS Code on your own schedule.

Insiders nightly build

If you'd like to try our nightly builds to see new features early or verify bug fixes, you can install our Insiders build. The Insiders build installs side-by-side with the monthly Stable build and you can freely work with either on the same machine. The Insiders build is the same one the VS Code development team uses on a daily basis and we really appreciate people trying out new features and providing feedback.

Portable mode

Visual Studio Code supports Portable mode installation. This mode enables all data created and maintained by VS Code to live near itself, so it can be moved around across environments, for example, on a USB drive. See the VS Code Portable Mode documentation for details.

Additional components

VS Code is an editor, first and foremost, and prides itself on a small footprint. Unlike traditional IDEs that tend to include everything but the kitchen sink, you can tune your installation to the development technologies you care about. Be sure to read the Additional Components topic after reading the platform guides to learn about customizing your VS Code installation.

Extensions

VS Code extensions let third parties add support for additional:

Languages - C++, C#, Go, Java, Python
Tools - ESLint, JSHint , PowerShell
Debuggers - Chrome, PHP XDebug.
Keymaps - Vim, Sublime Text, IntelliJ, Emacs, Atom, Brackets, Visual Studio, Eclipse

Extensions integrate into VS Code's UI, commands, and task running systems so you'll find it easy to work with different technologies through VS Code's shared interface. Check out the VS Code extension Marketplace to see what's available.

Next steps

Once you have installed and set up VS Code, these topics will help you learn more about VS Code:

Additional Components - Learn how to install Git, Node.js, TypeScript, and tools like Yeoman.
User Interface - A quick orientation to VS Code.
Basic Editing - Learn about the powerful VS Code editor.
Code Navigation - Move quickly through your source code.
Debugging - Debug your source code directly in the VS Code editor.
Proxy Server Support - Configure your proxy settings.

If you'd like to get something running quickly, try the Node.js tutorial walkthrough that will have you debugging a Node.js web application with VS Code in minutes.

Common questions

What are the system requirements for VS Code?

We have a list of System Requirements.

How big is VS Code?

VS Code is a small download (< 100 MB) and has a disk footprint of less than 200 MB, so you can quickly install VS Code and try it out.

How do I create and run a new project?

VS Code doesn't include a traditional File > New Project dialog or pre-installed project templates. You'll need to add additional components and scaffolders depending on your development interests. With scaffolding tools like Yeoman and the multitude of modules available through the npm package manager, you're sure to find appropriate templates and tools to create your projects.

How do I know which version I'm running?

On Linux and Windows, choose Help > About. On macOS, use Code > About Visual Studio Code.

Why is VS Code saying my installation is Unsupported?

VS Code has detected that some installation files have been modified, perhaps by an extension. Reinstalling VS Code will replace the affected files. See our FAQ topic for more details.

How can I do a 'clean' uninstall of VS Code?

If you want to remove all user data after uninstalling VS Code, you can delete the user data folders Code and .vscode. This will return you to the state before you installed VS Code. This can also be used to reset all settings if you don't want to uninstall VS Code.

The folder locations will vary depending on your platform:

Windows - Delete %APPDATA%Code and %USERPROFILE%.vscode.
macOS - Delete $HOME/Library/Application Support/Code and ~/.vscode.
Linux - Delete $HOME/.config/Code and ~/.vscode.

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If you haven't downloaded and installed Visual Studio and the Microsoft C/C++ tools yet, here's how to get started.

Visual Studio 2019 Installation

Welcome to Visual Studio 2019! In this version, it's easy to choose and install just the features you need. And because of its reduced minimum footprint, it installs quickly and with less system impact.

Note

This topic applies to installation of Visual Studio on Windows. Visual Studio Code is a lightweight, cross-platform development environment that runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux systems. The Microsoft C/C++ for Visual Studio Code extension supports IntelliSense, debugging, code formatting, auto-completion. Visual Studio for Mac doesn't support Microsoft C++, but does support .NET languages and cross-platform development. For installation instructions, see Install Visual Studio for Mac.

Want to know more about what else is new in this version? See the Visual Studio release notes.

Ready to install? We'll walk you through it, step-by-step.

Step 1 - Make sure your computer is ready for Visual Studio

Before you begin installing Visual Studio:

Check the system requirements. These requirements help you know whether your computer supports Visual Studio 2019.
Apply the latest Windows updates. These updates ensure that your computer has both the latest security updates and the required system components for Visual Studio.
Reboot. The reboot ensures that any pending installs or updates don't hinder the Visual Studio install.
Free up space. Remove unneeded files and applications from your %SystemDrive% by, for example, running the Disk Cleanup app.

For questions about running previous versions of Visual Studio side by side with Visual Studio 2019, see the Visual Studio 2019 Platform Targeting and Compatibility page.

Step 2 - Download Visual Studio

Next, download the Visual Studio bootstrapper file. To do so, choose the following button to go to the Visual Studio download page. Select the edition of Visual Studio that you want and choose the Free trial or Free download button.

Step 3 - Install the Visual Studio installer

Run the bootstrapper file you downloaded to install the Visual Studio Installer. This new lightweight installer includes everything you need to both install and customize Visual Studio.

From your Downloads folder, double-click the bootstrapper that matches or is similar to one of the following files:
- vs_community.exe for Visual Studio Community
- vs_professional.exe for Visual Studio Professional
- vs_enterprise.exe for Visual Studio Enterprise
If you receive a User Account Control notice, choose Yes to allow the bootstrapper to run.
We'll ask you to acknowledge the Microsoft License Terms and the Microsoft Privacy Statement. Choose Continue.

Step 4 - Choose workloads

After the installer is installed, you can use it to customize your installation by selecting the workloads, or feature sets, that you want. Here's how.

Find the workload you want in the Installing Visual Studio screen.
For core C and C++ support, choose the 'Desktop development with C++' workload. It comes with the default core editor, which includes basic code editing support for over 20 languages, the ability to open and edit code from any folder without requiring a project, and integrated source code control.
Additional workloads support other kinds of development. For example, choose the 'Universal Windows Platform development' workload to create apps that use the Windows Runtime for the Microsoft Store. Choose 'Game development with C++' to create games that use DirectX, Unreal, and Cocos2d. Choose 'Linux development with C++' to target Linux platforms, including IoT development.
The Installation details pane lists the included and optional components installed by each workload. You can select or deselect optional components in this list. For example, to support development by using the Visual Studio 2017 or 2015 compiler toolsets, choose the MSVC v141 or MSVC v140 optional components. You can add support for MFC, the experimental Modules language extension, IncrediBuild, and more.
After you choose the workload(s) and optional components you want, choose Install.
Next, status screens appear that show the progress of your Visual Studio installation.

Tip

Setup C++ In Visual Studio Code Ubuntu

At any time after installation, you can install workloads or components that you didn't install initially. If you have Visual Studio open, go to Tools > Get Tools and Features... which opens the Visual Studio Installer. Or, open Visual Studio Installer from the Start menu. From there, you can choose the workloads or components that you wish to install. Then, choose Modify.

Step 5 - Choose individual components (Optional)

If you don't want to use the Workloads feature to customize your Visual Studio installation, or you want to add more components than a workload installs, you can do so by installing or adding individual components from the Individual components tab. Choose what you want, and then follow the prompts.

Step 6 - Install language packs (Optional)

By default, the installer program tries to match the language of the operating system when it runs for the first time. To install Visual Studio in a language of your choosing, choose the Language packs tab from the Visual Studio Installer, and then follow the prompts.

Change the installer language from the command line

Another way that you can change the default language is by running the installer from the command line. For example, you can force the installer to run in English by using the following command: vs_installer.exe --locale en-US. The installer will remember this setting when it's run the next time. The installer supports the following language tokens: zh-cn, zh-tw, cs-cz, en-us, es-es, fr-fr, de-de, it-it, ja-jp, ko-kr, pl-pl, pt-br, ru-ru, and tr-tr.

Step 7 - Change the installation location (Optional)

You can reduce the installation footprint of Visual Studio on your system drive. You can choose to move the download cache, shared components, SDKs, and tools to different drives, and keep Visual Studio on the drive that runs it the fastest.

Important

You can select a different drive only when you first install Visual Studio. If you've already installed it and want to change drives, you must uninstall Visual Studio and then reinstall it.

Mingw For Visual Studio Code

Step 8 - Start developing

After Visual Studio installation is complete, choose the Launch button to get started developing with Visual Studio.
On the start window, choose Create a new project.
In the search box, enter the type of app you want to create to see a list of available templates. The list of templates depends on the workload(s) that you chose during installation. To see different templates, choose different workloads.
You can also filter your search for a specific programming language by using the Language drop-down list. You can filter by using the Platform list and the Project type list, too.
Visual Studio opens your new project, and you're ready to code!

Visual Studio 2017 Installation

In Visual Studio 2017, it's easy to choose and install just the features you need. And because of its reduced minimum footprint, it installs quickly and with less system impact.

Prerequisites

A broadband internet connection. The Visual Studio installer can download several gigabytes of data.
A computer that runs Microsoft Windows 7 or later versions. We recommend Windows 10 for the best development experience. Make sure that the latest updates are applied to your system before you install Visual Studio.
Enough free disk space. Visual Studio requires at least 7 GB of disk space, and can take 50 GB or more if many common options are installed. We recommend you install it on your C: drive.

For details on the disk space and operating system requirements, see Visual Studio Product Family System Requirements. The installer reports how much disk space is required for the options you select.

Download and install

Visual Studio Code C++ Build

To download the latest Visual Studio 2017 installer for Windows, go to the Microsoft Visual Studio Older downloads page. Expand the 2017 section, and choose the Download button.
Tip
The Community edition is for individual developers, classroom learning, academic research, and open source development. For other uses, install Visual Studio 2017 Professional or Visual Studio 2017 Enterprise.
Find the installer file you downloaded and run it. The downloaded file may be displayed in your browser, or you may find it in your Downloads folder. The installer needs Administrator privileges to run. You may see a User Account Control dialog asking you to give permission to let the installer make changes to your system; choose Yes. If you're having trouble, find the downloaded file in File Explorer, right-click on the installer icon, and choose Run as Administrator from the context menu.
The installer presents you with a list of workloads, which are groups of related options for specific development areas. Support for C++ is now part of optional workloads that aren't installed by default.
For C and C++, select the Desktop development with C++ workload and then choose Install.
When the installation completes, choose the Launch button to start Visual Studio.
The first time you run Visual Studio, you're asked to sign in with a Microsoft Account. If you don't have one, you can create one for free. You must also choose a theme. Don't worry, you can change it later if you want to.
It may take Visual Studio several minutes to get ready for use the first time you run it. Here's what it looks like in a quick time-lapse:
Visual Studio starts much faster when you run it again.
When Visual Studio opens, check to see if the flag icon in the title bar is highlighted:
If it's highlighted, select it to open the Notifications window. If there are any updates available for Visual Studio, we recommend you install them now. Once the installation is complete, restart Visual Studio.

Vscode C++ Setup

Visual Studio 2015 Installation

To install Visual Studio 2015, go to the Microsoft Visual Studio Older downloads page. Expand the 2015 section, and choose the Download button. Run the downloaded setup program and choose Custom installation and then choose the C++ component. To add C and C++ support to an existing Visual Studio 2015 installation, click on the Windows Start button and type Add Remove Programs. Open the program from the results list and then find your Visual Studio 2015 installation in the list of installed programs. Double-click it, then choose Modify and select the Visual C++ components to install.