How to Install Visual Studio Code on Ubuntu 26.04

Installing Visual Studio Code (VS Code) on Ubuntu 26.04 Resolute Raccoon gives you access to one of the most popular and versatile code editors available today. Whether you are writing Python scripts, building web applications, or managing configuration files, VS Code provides a lightweight yet powerful environment with thousands of extensions. In this tutorial, you will learn how to install VS Code on Ubuntu 26.04 using the official Microsoft APT repository, configure essential settings, and manage extensions from the command line.

Software Requirements

Installing VS Code via the Microsoft APT Repository on Ubuntu 26.04

The recommended method to install VS Code on Ubuntu 26.04 is through the official Microsoft APT repository. This approach ensures you receive the latest stable releases and security patches directly from Microsoft. Additionally, because the repository integrates with APT, future updates are handled automatically alongside your regular system updates.

Before adding the repository, install the required dependencies for secure package retrieval:

$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt install curl gpg apt-transport-https

Next, download and install the Microsoft GPG signing key. This key allows APT to verify that the VS Code packages are authentic and have not been tampered with:

$ curl -fsSL  | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/microsoft.gpg

Now add the official VS Code repository to your system’s APT sources:

$ echo "deb [arch=amd64 signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/microsoft.gpg]  stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vscode.list

Finally, update the package index and install VS Code:

$ sudo apt update
$ sudo apt install code

Verify the installation by checking the installed version:

$ code --version

Launching VS Code on Ubuntu 26.04

After installation, you can launch VS Code either from the command line or through the GNOME application menu. To open it from the terminal, simply run:

$ code

To open a specific directory as a workspace, pass the path as an argument. For example, to open a project directory:

$ code ~/linuxconfig_project

Ubuntu 26.04 uses the Wayland display server by default. VS Code supports Wayland natively through its Electron backend, so in most cases it runs without any additional configuration. If you experience rendering issues such as blurry text or display scaling problems, you can force VS Code to use the Wayland backend explicitly by launching it with:

$ code --ozone-platform=wayland

To make this permanent, edit the VS Code desktop entry or create a command alias in your shell configuration file:

$ echo "alias code="code --ozone-platform=wayland"" >> ~/.bashrc
$ source ~/.bashrc

On first launch, VS Code presents a Welcome tab with options to customize your theme, install popular extensions, and configure Settings Sync. Take a moment to explore these options before proceeding.

Configuring Essential VS Code Settings

VS Code stores its user settings in a JSON file located at ~/.config/Code/User/settings.json. You can edit this file directly or use the graphical settings editor accessible through File > Preferences > Settings (or press Ctrl+,).

Here are some recommended settings adjustments for a productive development environment on Ubuntu 26.04:

{
    "editor.fontSize": 14,
    "editor.tabSize": 4,
    "editor.wordWrap": "on",
    "editor.formatOnSave": true,
    "files.autoSave": "afterDelay",
    "terminal.integrated.defaultProfile.linux": "bash",
    "telemetry.telemetryLevel": "off"
}

The telemetry.telemetryLevel setting controls whether VS Code sends usage data to Microsoft. Setting it to "off" disables all telemetry collection. Moreover, the formatOnSave option automatically formats your code each time you save a file, which helps maintain consistent code style across your projects.

Enabling Settings Sync

Settings Sync allows you to synchronize your VS Code configuration, extensions, keybindings, and snippets across multiple machines. To enable it, click the account icon in the bottom-left corner of the VS Code window and select Turn on Settings Sync. You can sign in with either a Microsoft or GitHub account.

Consequently, any changes you make to your settings, installed extensions, or keybindings on one machine will automatically propagate to all other machines where you have enabled Settings Sync with the same account.

Installing and Managing Extensions

Extensions are what make VS Code exceptionally versatile. You can browse and install extensions either through the graphical Extensions sidebar (Ctrl+Shift+X) or directly from the command line using the code command.

To install an extension from the terminal, use the --install-extension flag followed by the extension identifier. For example, to install the Python extension:

$ code --install-extension ms-python.python

Here are some commonly used extensions for Ubuntu 26.04 development:

$ code --install-extension ms-python.python
$ code --install-extension ms-vscode.cpptools
$ code --install-extension dbaeumer.vscode-eslint
$ code --install-extension esbenp.prettier-vscode
$ code --install-extension ms-azuretools.vscode-docker

To list all currently installed extensions:

$ code --list-extensions

To remove an extension you no longer need:

$ code --uninstall-extension ms-azuretools.vscode-docker

Furthermore, you can export your entire extension list to a file for backup or replication on another system:

$ code --list-extensions > ~/linuxconfig_vscode_extensions.txt

To reinstall all extensions from that list on a new machine:

$ cat ~/linuxconfig_vscode_extensions.txt | xargs -L 1 code --install-extension

Updating and Removing VS Code

Because you installed VS Code through the Microsoft APT repository, updates are delivered alongside your regular system updates. Therefore, running a standard system update will also update VS Code to the latest available version:

$ sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

To check which version is currently installed:

$ code --version

If you need to completely remove VS Code from your Ubuntu 26.04 system, first uninstall the package:

$ sudo apt remove --purge code

Then remove the Microsoft repository and GPG key:

$ sudo rm /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vscode.list
$ sudo rm /usr/share/keyrings/microsoft.gpg

Optionally, remove your user configuration and extensions to perform a clean uninstall:

$ rm -rf ~/.config/Code ~/.vscode

Conclusion

You have successfully installed Visual Studio Code on Ubuntu 26.04 Resolute Raccoon using the official Microsoft APT repository. This method ensures you always have access to the latest features and security updates. Additionally, you learned how to configure essential settings, enable Settings Sync for cross-machine consistency, and manage extensions from the command line. VS Code is now ready to serve as your primary development environment on Ubuntu 26.04.

For more detailed information about VS Code features and configuration options, refer to the official VS Code Linux setup documentation.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the difference between VS Code and VS Code OSS on Ubuntu 26.04? VS Code (the code package from Microsoft) includes proprietary features such as Settings Sync, certain extensions from the marketplace, and telemetry. Code – OSS is the open-source base that VS Code is built upon. For most users, the Microsoft build provides the most complete experience with full extension compatibility.
2. Can I install VS Code on Ubuntu 26.04 without adding the Microsoft repository? Yes, you can download the .deb package directly from the VS Code website and install it with sudo apt install ./code_*.deb. However, this method does not configure automatic updates, so you would need to download and install new versions manually.
3. How do I fix blurry text in VS Code on Ubuntu 26.04 with Wayland? If you experience blurry or incorrectly scaled text, launch VS Code with the --ozone-platform=wayland flag to force native Wayland rendering. You can make this permanent by adding an alias to your ~/.bashrc file as shown in the launching section above.
4. How do I reset VS Code to its default settings on Ubuntu 26.04? To reset all settings, delete or rename the user settings file at ~/.config/Code/User/settings.json. VS Code will recreate it with default values on the next launch. To perform a complete reset including extensions, also remove the ~/.vscode directory.