How to Install VSCODE (Mac • Windows • Linux)

macOS

Homebrew (recommended)

brew install --cask visual-studio-code
code --version

If code isn’t on PATH: open VS Code → Command Palette → “Shell Command: Install ‘code’ command in PATH”.

Windows

Winget (recommended)

winget install -e --id Microsoft.VisualStudioCode
code --version

Chocolatey

choco install vscode -y
code --version

Linux

Debian/Ubuntu (Microsoft repo)

sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y wget gpg
wget -qO- https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | gpg --dearmor | sudo tee /usr/share/keyrings/ms_vscode.gpg > /dev/null
echo "deb [arch=$(dpkg --print-architecture) signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/ms_vscode.gpg] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/code stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vscode.list
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y code
code --version

Fedora

sudo rpm --import https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc
sudo sh -c 'echo -e "[code]\nname=Visual Studio Code\nbaseurl=https://packages.microsoft.com/yumrepos/vscode\nenabled=chapter-1\ngpgcheck=chapter-1\ngpgkey=https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc" > /etc/yum.repos.d/vscode.repo'
sudo dnf check-update
sudo dnf install -y code
code --version

Arch (AUR)

# Use your AUR helper
paru -S visual-studio-code-bin
code --version

Install from a terminal:

code --install-extension golang.Go
code --install-extension ms-azuretools.vscode-docker
code --install-extension redhat.vscode-yaml
code --install-extension ms-kubernetes-tools.vscode-kubernetes-tools
code --install-extension ms-vscode.makefile-tools
code --install-extension eamodio.gitlens
code --install-extension yzhang.markdown-all-in-one

Why these

  • golang.Go: language server (gopls), debugging, tests, linters
  • Docker/YAML/Kubernetes: editing manifests & seeing cluster state
  • Makefile Tools: task runner UI for your Make targets
  • GitLens: easy code ownership & history
  • Markdown All in One: better docs authoring

Go extension first-run

  • On first open of a Go file, VS Code prompts to install tools. Accept it.
  • Or install manually in a Go-enabled shell:
go install golang.org/x/tools/gopls@latest
go install github.com/go-delve/delve/cmd/dlv@latest

Optional nice-to-haves

code --install-extension streetsidesoftware.code-spell-checker
code --install-extension esbenp.prettier-vscode

Quick VS Code sanity check

  1. Open the starter repo folder in VS Code.
  2. Open app/main.go → you should see “Go” in the status bar (gopls active).
  3. Press Run > Start Debugging (or use the Run icon) to debug the app locally.
  4. Try Terminal > Run Task… and pick a Make target (e.g., ci).