How to Install VS Code on Windows 10 and 11

開発環境
Windows

2026.8.25

Note: The screenshots in this article were captured in a Japanese-language Windows environment. Menu and setting names may differ slightly in an English-language installation.

When installing VSCode on Windows, first choose whether to use "User Installer" or "System Installer". If you want to use it only with your own Windows account, the basic option is User Installer, which does not require administrator privileges and is easy to update. In this article, we will use the User Installer and follow the steps from downloading to setting the PATH and confirming startup.

What is VSCode?

Visual Studio Code (VSCode) is a code editor provided by Microsoft that is compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux. You can edit PHP, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, JSON, batch files, etc.

You can edit text using Windows' standard Notepad, but VSCode has features that make it easier to handle code and configuration files.

Syntax highlighting by language
Line number display and search/replace for multiple files
File management by folder
Cooperation with terminal and Git
Adding languages and tools using extensions

Please note that Visual Studio Code as a product is subject to the Microsoft Software License Terms, while the microsoft/vscode source code is released under the MIT license. Product and source code licenses are not the same.

Difference between User Installer and System Installer

According to the VSCode official setup guide for Windows, User Installer is recommended for most users.

type	Installation target	Administrator privileges	suitable case
User Installer	Current Windows user	Unnecessary	Personal use, normal development environment
System Installer	All users who use a PC	necessary	Shared PC, collective management within the organization
ZIP	Unzipped folder	Unnecessary	Portable Mode if you cannot use the installer

User Installer is usually installed to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Microsoft VS Code. System Installer can be deployed for all users, but requires administrator privileges for installation and in-product updates.

VSCode download instructions

Get the Windows version installer for VSCode from the official download page.

1. Access https://code.visualstudio.com/download in a web browser.

2. Download the installer that matches your PC's CPU architecture from the Windows section. Select x64 for general Intel/AMD-equipped PCs, and Arm64 for Windows on Arm devices.

3. Below the Windows column, the following options are displayed depending on the purpose.

Screenshot from the Japanese-language environment

type	Purpose
User Installer（x64／Arm64）	No administrator privileges required. Standard choices to install for current users
System Installer (x64 / Arm64)	Requires administrator privileges. Used when installing shared among all users on the PC.
.zip (x64 / Arm64)	Used when you want to use it only by extracting files without using an installer.
CLI (x64 / Arm64)	Use when you only need command line tools

If you only use your account on a regular Intel/AMD PC, select the x64 version of User Installer. If you don't know your CPU type, you can check it by going to Windows Settings -> System -> About -> System Type.

Installer setup instructions

Run the downloaded .exe file and set the license agreement, installation location, start menu, and additional tasks. The setting you especially want to check is the PATH setting under additional tasks.

screen	Importance of judgment	Selection guideline
License agreement	Required	Read and agree to the content
Installation destination	Usually no change required	Use User Installer defaults
start menu folder	Any	If you don't need a shortcut, don't create one.
additional tasks	important	`code` If you use the command, add it to PATH
Ready to install	confirmation	Confirm and execute selections

1. Agree to the license agreement

1. Launch the downloaded "Microsoft Visual Studio Code (User) Setup".

2. The "Agree to the License Agreement" screen will be displayed, so confirm the contents of the Microsoft Software License Terms.

3. Select "Agree (A)" and click "Next (N)".

2. Specify the installation destination

1. On the "Specify installation destination" screen, confirm the installation destination folder.

2. By default %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Microsoft VS Code is specified (standard path for User Installer). If no changes are necessary, just click "Next".

3. Check the required disk space displayed at the bottom of the screen. The required amount varies depending on the installer version, so the numbers in the image are examples for verification.

3. Specify start menu folder

1. On the Specify Start Menu Folder screen, confirm where you want to create the shortcut.

2. The default value is the "Visual Studio Code" folder. If no changes are necessary, just click "Next".

3. If you do not want to create a shortcut in the start menu, check "Do not create start menu folder".

4. Select additional tasks

On the "Select Additional Tasks" screen, select the installation behavior from the following five items.

Item	Default state	Content
Create an icon on the desktop	✅	Create a VSCode shortcut on your desktop
Add "Open with Code" action to Explorer's file context menu	□	Right-click the file and open it with VSCode
Add "Open with Code" action to Explorer's directory context menu	□	Right-click the folder and open it with VSCode
Register Code as an editor for supported file types	✅	Register VSCode as the default editor for files with supported extensions
Add to PATH (available after reboot)	✅	Enables running the `code` command from a command prompt or batch file (takes effect after restarting the PC)

Check the required items and click "Next". If you plan to use code or code . from the terminal, leave "Add to PATH" checked. It is not required if you only want to start from the start menu.

5. Run the installation

1. On the "Ready to install" screen, make a final check of the installation destination, start menu folder, and additional task settings.

2. If there are no problems with the contents, click "Install".

3. The "Installation Status" screen will be displayed, and the file extraction will proceed (a progress bar and file path will be displayed).

6. Complete setup

1. The installation is complete when the "Completing the Visual Studio Code Setup Wizard" screen appears.

2. If you click "Finish" with "Run Visual Studio Code" checked, VSCode will start as soon as the installation is complete.

How to check after installation

If the VSCode screen opens and you can run the code command, the installation is complete.

1. Launch VSCode from the start menu or desktop icon and make sure the editor screen is displayed.

2. If you checked "Add to PATH", close the terminal that was open before installation and open a new command prompt or PowerShell. Usually, restarting the entire Windows PC is not required.

3. Run code --version and verify that the version, commit ID, and architecture are displayed.

4. Run code . in any folder and verify that the folder can be opened in VSCode.

code --version
code .

If code is not recognized, reopen the terminal. If the problem still persists, check whether the User Installer's default path, %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Microsoft VS Code\bin, is included in PATH.

Reference materials

Summary

procedure	Implementation details
download	Obtain the User Installer that matches your PC's CPU from the official website
License agreement	I accept the license terms
Specify installation destination	Usually use the default `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Microsoft VS Code`
Specify start menu	Create shortcuts as needed
Additional task selection	Select association and PATH addition according to usage method
Run installation	Click "Install" and wait for completion
Completion confirmation	Start VSCode and check that the `code --version` command works