Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code (VSCode) has become one of the most popular code editors for developers, praised for its lightweight design, robust features, and extensive customization options. With support for a wide range of programming languages and tools, VSCode is a favorite for everything from web development to software engineering.

ChromeOS, with its support for Linux (Crostini), makes it easy to install and use VSCode, turning your Chromebook into a capable development environment. This tutorial is here to guide you through the process of setting up VSCode on your ChromeOS device and configuring it for optimal productivity.

Whether you're an experienced developer or a beginner looking for a powerful yet accessible code editor, this guide will help you transform your Chromebook into a fully functional coding powerhouse with VSCode.

Installing Visual Studio Code

sudo apt-get install wget gpg
wget -qO- https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | gpg --dearmor > packages.microsoft.gpg
sudo install -D -o root -g root -m 644 packages.microsoft.gpg /etc/apt/keyrings/packages.microsoft.gpg
sudo sh -c 'echo "deb [arch=amd64,arm64,armhf signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/packages.microsoft.gpg] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/code stable main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vscode.list'
rm -f packages.microsoft.gpg
sudo apt update
sudo apt install code

sudo apt-get install wget gpg
wget -qO- https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | gpg --dearmor > packages.microsoft.gpg
sudo install -D -o root -g root -m 644 packages.microsoft.gpg /etc/apt/keyrings/packages.microsoft.gpg
sudo sh -c 'echo "deb [arch=amd64,arm64,armhf signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/packages.microsoft.gpg] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/code stable main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vscode.list'
rm -f packages.microsoft.gpg
sudo apt update
sudo apt install code

Launching VSCode

There are two ways to launch VSCode on ChromeOS once installed.

ChromeOS Application Launcher

Once the installation of Visual Studio Code is complete, you will be able to launch Visual Studio Code from the ChromeOS Application Launcher.

Within An Existing Project Workspace

If your project already has a project workspace setup, you can launch Visual Studio Code directly from the ChromeOS Terminal by running the following command from within the project directory

code .

The period after the command will direct Visual Studio Code to launch with the current working directory in focus so you can begin to work on your project.