How to Install Visual Studio Code on Ubuntu, Linux Mint, Debian and Fedora

Updated: 8 October 2026 · Applies to: Visual Studio Code 1.141.0 on Linux Mint 22.3, Ubuntu 24.04 and 26.04, Debian 13 and Fedora 44 (x86_64)

On Ubuntu, Linux Mint and Debian, download the .deb file from code.visualstudio.com and run sudo apt install ./code_*.deb. The package adds Microsoft's apt repository, so VS Code then updates with the rest of the system. On Fedora, add Microsoft's repository and run sudo dnf install code. On Ubuntu you can also use sudo snap install code --classic.

Can Visual Studio run on Linux?

Not the full Visual Studio IDE. According to Microsoft, Visual Studio 2026 runs only on 64-bit Windows 11 and Windows Server 2019, 2022 and 2025. Visual Studio Code is a different, free editor that runs natively on Linux. For C# and .NET work in VS Code, Microsoft provides the C# Dev Kit extension.

Install VS Code on Ubuntu, Linux Mint or Debian (.deb)

Linux Mint 22.x is built on Ubuntu 24.04, so the steps are the same. Typing sudo apt install code before Microsoft's repository is set up fails:

E: Unable to locate package code

1. Download the .deb package (x64 for most PCs) from the download page at code.visualstudio.com. From a terminal you can use Microsoft's download link:

   cd ~/Downloads
   wget --content-disposition "https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=760868"

2. Install it with apt, which also installs any missing dependencies:

   sudo apt install ./code_*.deb

3. When asked Add Microsoft apt repository for Visual Studio Code?, answer Yes (the default). This creates /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vscode.sources, so sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade keeps VS Code current. For an unattended install, run this first: echo "code code/add-microsoft-repo boolean true" | sudo debconf-set-selections
4. Check the installed version:

   $ code --version
   1.141.0
   2a59476c9bfcb90b3ddc372c36762471b7dfad1c
   x64

Then open it from the applications menu, or run code . inside a project folder.

Or add the Microsoft repository by hand

Use this if you prefer not to download a file first (tested on Ubuntu 26.04 and Debian 13):

sudo apt install wget gpg
wget -qO- https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/microsoft.gpg

Create /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vscode.sources (for example with sudo nano) containing:

Types: deb
URIs: https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/code
Suites: stable
Components: main
Architectures: amd64,arm64,armhf
Signed-By: /usr/share/keyrings/microsoft.gpg

Then install the package, which is called code:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install code

Install VS Code with Snap (Ubuntu)

sudo snap install code --classic

According to Microsoft, the Snap version updates itself in the background. On Snapcraft it is published by the verified Visual Studio Code (vscode) account. On Linux Mint, use the .deb method above.

Install VS Code on Fedora (dnf)

1. Import Microsoft's key and add the repository:

   sudo rpm --import https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc
   echo -e "[code]\nname=Visual Studio Code\nbaseurl=https://packages.microsoft.com/yumrepos/vscode\nenabled=1\nautorefresh=1\ntype=rpm-md\ngpgcheck=1\ngpgkey=https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc" | sudo tee /etc/yum.repos.d/vscode.repo > /dev/null

2. Refresh and install:

   dnf check-update
   sudo dnf install code

The package name is code here too; sudo dnf install vscode fails with No match for argument: vscode. Microsoft documents the same repository for other RHEL-based distributions.

Updates and removal

• Updates: sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade on Ubuntu, Mint and Debian; sudo dnf upgrade on Fedora; automatic for the Snap. According to Microsoft, VS Code ships weekly releases and its repositories can lag behind a new release by up to three hours.
• Removal: sudo apt remove code, sudo dnf remove code or sudo snap remove code.

First steps

• Open a project with File > Open Folder, or run code . in a terminal.
• Open the Extensions view from the Extensions icon in the Activity Bar and add support for your languages, for example Python or PHP. For ideas, see VS Code extensions for web development.

Edit files on a server with Remote - SSH

A server has no desktop, so run VS Code on your computer and install Microsoft's Remote - SSH extension. Press F1, choose Remote-SSH: Connect to Host... and enter user@server-ip; you then edit the server's files as if they were local. This works with any Linux server you can reach over SSH, such as a Ucartz KVM VPS. If SSH runs on another port, see how to connect to SSH on a different port. On Windows you can also develop against Linux locally with WSL.

Official documentation: Visual Studio Code on Linux and Remote development using SSH.