2 Best Methods to Install VS Code on Ubuntu

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If you are getting started with software development and want to install VS Code on Ubuntu to write, test, and debug code, you can follow either of the two methods explained in this tutorial.

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is a popular code editor that offers excellent support for programming languages, extensions, debugging tools, and version control. Using VS Code on Linux provides convenient access to native development tools, command-line utilities, and package managers.

Another advantage is container integration. Linux runs Linux containers directly on its kernel, while Windows and macOS commonly use a virtual machine for Linux containers. This can simplify development workflows and reduce virtualization overhead in some scenarios, although actual performance depends on your configuration and workload.

There are several ways to install VS Code on Ubuntu, but the two methods covered in this tutorial are easy to install and manage. Coders can also try GoLang by installing GoLang on Ubuntu and start working on it.

Let’s get started!

Note: Follow only one of the installation methods below to avoid installing separate APT and Snap versions of VS Code on the same machine.

Table of Contents

Prerequisites
Method 1 – How to Install VS Code on Ubuntu with APT
Method 2 – How to Install VS Code using Snap
Conclusion

Prerequisites

A PC or laptop with Ubuntu installed
A user with root or sudo provileges
An active internet connection.

Method 1 – How to Install VS Code on Ubuntu with APT

The first method to install VS Code is by using official APT repository. This is best for the users who prefer to use official and standard APT repositories and updates.

Step 1 – Updating the System

The first step is to update the system

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2 – Install Required Packages

Next, let’s install the tools required to download and process Microsoft’s signing key.

sudo apt install wget gpg

Step 3 – Create APT keyring Directory

Now, lets create a keyring directory which will keep all the gpg keys

sudo mkdir -p /etc/apt/keyrings

Step 4 – Download and add Microsoft’s signing key

Now we will download and add Microsoft’s gpg keys to the directory we have created in the last step. This key will verify the package signature with Microsoft signing keys used by VS Code.

wget -qO- https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | \
  gpg --dearmor | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/keyrings/packages.microsoft.gpg > /dev/null

Step 5 – Add VS Code Repository

Now add the official VS Code repository to the system

echo "deb [arch=amd64,arm64,armhf signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/packages.microsoft.gpg] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/code stable main" | \
  sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vscode.list > /dev/null

Step 6 – Update the Packages

Refresh the package index so APT can retrieve package information from the newly added repository.

sudo apt update

Step 7 – Install VS Code

Now lets install VS Code

sudo apt install code

Step 8 – Launch VS Code

As the installation completes, lets launch it

code

You can even check the current directory as a project

code .

Step 9 – Verify the Installation

Lets check the version of the installation to verify

code --version

Step 10 – Update VS Code

In future, you may need to update the VS Code package. You can easily do that with

sudo apt update
sudo apt install --only-upgrade code

Here, “sudo apt update” refreshes package information, while “sudo apt install –only-upgrade code” upgrades VS Code if an update is available.

With this the installation method 1 is completed

Method 2 – How to Install VS Code using Snap

In the second method, we will use snap instead of APT to install VS Code. This method is quick and does not need to add Microsoft’s gpg keys manually.

Step 1 – Update the System

The first step is to update the system

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade -y

Step 2 – Install Snap

Now lets install Snap which will futher install VS Code. In recent versions of Ubuntu, you will get snap pre-installed. If its installed already, while executing the below command APT will report that Snap is already installed or already at its newest version, depending on the system.

sudo apt install snapd

Step 3 – Install VS Code

Now lets install VS Code using Snap with classic confinement. The --classic option installs VS Code with classic confinement, allowing the application broader access to the host system than a conventionally confined Snap package.

sudo snap install --classic code

Unlike the APT method, this installation does not require you to configure Microsoft’s signing key manually. Snap handles package distribution and verification through its own infrastructure.

Step 4 – Launch VS Code

Now lets launch VS Code

code

Lets check the current project directory

code .

Step 5 – Verify the Installation

We can verify the installation by checking the version of code

code --version

Since, Snap manages the updates automatically, you dont need to worry about that in the future.

Conclusion

With the above mentioned 2 methods, you will be able to install VS Code on Ubuntu. Although, both the methods are good and easy but if you are an absolute beginner, i recommend Method 2 as its easy, you dont have to manually update VS Code and nor add Microsoft’s gpg keys manually.

Frequently asked questions

How do I uninstall VS Code from Ubuntu?

The uninstall command depends on how you installed VS Code. If you used APT, run:
sudo apt remove code
If you installed it using Snap, run:
sudo snap remove code
These commands remove VS Code but generally leave your user settings and extensions intact.

Can I use the same VS Code installation method to update Visual Studio Code on Ubuntu?

The update process depends on how you installed VS Code. If you installed it using APT, run sudo apt update followed by sudo apt install --only-upgrade code to install the latest available version. If you installed it using Snap, updates are generally handled automatically by Snap.