What Is VS Code?

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is a free code editor made by Microsoft. It's lightweight, fast, and powerful — the most popular code editor in the world.

VS Code is essential for vibe coding because AI coding tools are available as VS Code extensions.

Installing VS Code on Windows

Open PowerShell and run:

winget install --id Microsoft.VisualStudioCode -e --source winget

Installing VS Code on macOS

Open Terminal and install with Homebrew:

brew install --cask visual-studio-code

If you don't have Homebrew yet:

/bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"

Recommended Extensions for Vibe Coding

After installing VS Code, add these extensions:

Claude Dev / Cline — Chat with Claude AI while coding
GitHub Copilot — AI code autocomplete
ESLint — Code quality checker
Prettier — Automatic code formatting

Opening VS Code from Terminal

After installation, type code . in your terminal to open the current folder in VS Code. This is super handy for project work.

Set Up Everything at Once

Want to install Git, Node.js, and VS Code all at once? Try VibeStart. We provide step-by-step commands tailored to your operating system.