Visual Studio Code: A Guide to Microsoft’s Free Code Editor

Visual Studio Code is a free code editor offered by Microsoft that you can use to write and manage code. Visual Studio (VS) Code offers many features to make it easier and faster to work with code and is a lightweight, standalone code editor. Visual Studio Code makes it easier to write code with tools like the Intellisense code completion tool, which can help you learn more about your code and provide suggestions about how to finish the code you’ve typed. 

Learn more about working with Visual Studio Code, including some of the code editor’s key features and how to begin using the tool for your project. 

What is Visual Studio Code?

Visual Studio Code is a code editor you can use to organize, manage, and write code. You can integrate other apps to add functionality, and Visual Studio Code supports Windows, MacOS, and Linux and offers a wide range of customization built in. As the app is written on open source code, you can really customize the program in any way you can imagine to fit your needs. 

Is VS Code an IDE? Visual Studio vs. Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code is a lightweight code editor you can run on your Windows, MacOS, or Linux desktop. Visual Studio is an IDE with comprehensive features for writing, compiling, testing, and debugging code. Visual Studio Code is faster but offers fewer features than Visual Studio IDE. 

If you don’t need the full IDE, Visual Studio Code allows you to access a simpler set of powerful and customizable tools so you can get the tools you need faster. It also offers flexibility because you can integrate the third-party features you need. Visual Studio IDE, on the other hand, enables you to access a comprehensive suite of features without any integrations.

What can you do with VS Code? 

Visual Studio Code offers a range of features to make it easier to work with code. You can generate, fix, or refactor code, copy and paste, navigate through your code, and find code references with highlighted text. You can also customize Visual Studio Code in a number of ways to make the program work better or more intuitively for your project. 

Learn more about some of the key features of Visual Studio Code: 

• Free and written on open source code: Visual Studio Code might be a more attractive choice because it is free to use. In contrast, Visual Studio (the IDE) is a paid subscription, ranging from $45 a month per user for a basic professional plan to $499.92 a month per user for a full-scale enterprise subscription [1]. 

• Extensions and plugins: You can add features to Visual Studio Code using extensions and plugins. You can add AI functionality with Github Copilot, which helps you access an AI-powered chatbot that can become an expert on your code and project. You can choose from over 60,000 extensions, including MongoDB, Stripe, Python, Jupyter, C/C++, and GitLens [2]. 

• Customizable user interface: You can change the look and layout of the user interface with built-in customization tools. You can use Settings Sync to use your settings across all instances of your code base so your whole team is working with the same process. You can also set customized profiles to switch quickly back and forth between customized interfaces. 

• Integrated terminal: Visual Studio Code includes an integrated terminal you can use to conveniently access the command line without leaving your code editor. You can use terminal shells to access programs like Git Bash or Ubuntu. 

• Debugging tools: Visual Studio Code has built-in debugging features so you can run and debug your code within the editor and see your work in real time without switching to a different window or program. You can also find integrations to add other debugging tools to Visual Studio Code. 

• Supported programming languages: Visual Studio Code offers out-of-the-box support for some popular programming languages like CSS, HTML, and JavaScript, but using language extensions, you can find support for nearly any programming language. Visual Studio Marketplace offers extensions for hundreds of languages, including Python, C/C++, C#, Go, Dart, and Ruby. 

Who uses Visual Studio Code?

Visual Studio Code is a tool that many professionals developing software, websites, applications, and other coding projects can use to efficiently work with and write code. If you want to explore a career where you can use Visual Studio Code, your options include roles like web developer, software engineer, data scientist, or software architect. 

Web developers

Average annual salary in the US (Glassdoor): $82,395 [3]

Job outlook (projected growth from 2023 to 2033): 8 percent [4]

As a web developer, you work to design, build, and maintain websites. You may develop websites for one company, or you may help multiple clients create and maintain their digital assets. In this role, you may work with other professionals like designers and graphic artists to provide design assets while you provide programming, or you may be directly involved in creating mock-ups, prototypes, and assets such as images. 

Software engineers

Average annual salary in the US (Glassdoor): $118,121 [5]

Job outlook (projected growth from 2023 to 2033): 17 percent [6]

As a software engineer, you design, develop, test, and maintain software, and you may work on more complex software than professionals working as software developers, such as operating systems or software systems that control a network. In this role, you will collaborate with other professionals and offer strategic recommendations on software upgrades. 

Data scientists

Average annual salary in the US (Glassdoor): $117,899 [7]

Job outlook (projected growth from 2023 to 2033): 36 percent [8]

As a data scientist, you help companies and organizations understand their data and identify actionable insights. In this role, you’ll determine what data you need to understand your project, then collect, process, store, and analyze the data. You create visualizations to communicate your findings to leadership or your clients and make recommendations based on your analysis.

Software architect

Average annual salary in the US (Glassdoor): $164,962 [9]

Job outlook (projected growth from 2023 to 2033): 17 percent [6]

As a software architect, you work to develop software from a position of leadership, leading technical teams, making strategic choices for the direction of the project, and working directly with the client and other stakeholders to determine what the software requirements are and project constraints like budget and timeline. Then you’ll work closely with your team to design, write, and test code, taking a leadership role in delegating tasks and holding your team to quality standards. 

Learn more about software development on Coursera

Working with a code editor like Visual Studio Code can help you write code more efficiently and save time with useful features. 

If you want to learn more about writing code with code editors and developing software, websites, or applications, check out Coursera to explore the skills you need to begin an entry-level career. For example, you can explore Professional Certificates to help you gain job-ready skills, such as the Microsoft Full Stack Developer Professional Certificate or the IBM DevOps and Software Engineering Professional Certificate.