CLI Installation - Visual Studio Code

The Visual Studio Code CLI is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. This guide will help you install and configure the CLI on your system.

Installation Methods

With VS Code
Standalone CLI

The CLI is included with VS Code installations. After installing VS Code, the code command should be available in your terminal.

Verifying Installation

code --version

If the command is not found, you may need to add it to your PATH:

Windows
macOS
Linux

The installer should add VS Code to your PATH automatically. If not:

Open VS Code
Press Ctrl+Shift+P to open the Command Palette
Type “shell command” and select Shell Command: Install ‘code’ command in PATH

Open VS Code
Press Cmd+Shift+P to open the Command Palette
Type “shell command” and select Shell Command: Install ‘code’ command in PATH

Or manually add to your shell profile:

export PATH="$PATH:/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/Contents/Resources/app/bin"

The .deb and .rpm packages should add code to your PATH automatically.For other installations, add VS Code to your PATH:

export PATH="$PATH:/path/to/vscode/bin"

You can also download the standalone CLI binary:

Download the CLI

Download the appropriate binary for your platform from the VS Code downloads page.

Extract the binary

Extract the downloaded archive to a location of your choice.

Add to PATH

Add the CLI binary location to your system PATH.

Linux/macOS
Windows

# Add to ~/.bashrc, ~/.zshrc, or equivalent
export PATH="$PATH:/path/to/cli"

Verify installation

code --version

Building from Source

For developers who want to build the CLI from source:

Building from source requires Rust toolchain and additional dependencies.

Prerequisites

Install Rust

Install Rust using rustup:

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/microsoft/vscode.git
cd vscode
git submodule update --init --recursive

Navigate to CLI directory

cd cli

Install platform-specific dependencies

Windows
Linux
macOS

Install OpenSSL:

# Install vcpkg
git clone https://github.com/Microsoft/vcpkg.git
cd vcpkg
.\bootstrap-vcpkg.bat

# Install OpenSSL
.\vcpkg install openssl:x64-windows-static-md

Install development packages:

# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt-get install libssl-dev pkg-config

# Fedora/RHEL
sudo dnf install openssl-devel

OpenSSL should be available via Homebrew:

brew install openssl

Build the CLI

cargo build --release

The compiled binary will be in target/release/code.

Windows OpenSSL Details

On Windows, OpenSSL is required for key exchange in tunnel forwarding. The CLI uses OpenSSL for cryptographic operations until all Chromium-based clients support ED25519 key exchange natively.Steps to install:

Follow vcpkg setup instructions
Add vcpkg directory to your PATH
Run vcpkg install openssl:x64-windows-static-md
Restart your terminal
Run cargo build

Post-Installation Setup

Setting Default Data Directory

The CLI stores its data in a default directory. You can customize this:

# Set via environment variable
export VSCODE_CLI_DATA_DIR="$HOME/.vscode-cli"

# Or use the flag with each command
code --cli-data-dir "$HOME/.vscode-cli" tunnel

Configuring Logging

Set up logging for debugging:

# Enable verbose logging
code --verbose tunnel

# Set specific log level
code --log debug tunnel

# Log to a file
code --log-to-file /path/to/logfile.log tunnel

Verifying Installation

Run these commands to verify your installation:

code --version

code --help

code tunnel --help
code ext --help
code version --help

Expected output:

Visual Studio Code CLI - 1.x.x (commit xxxxxxxx)

Usage: code [options][paths...]

To read output from another program, append '-' (e.g. 'echo Hello World | code -')
...

Updating the CLI

Integrated CLI

When installed with VS Code, the CLI updates automatically when you update VS Code.

Standalone CLI

For standalone installations, use the update command:

# Check for updates
code update --check

# Update to the latest version
code update

The update command is only available in standalone CLI installations.

Troubleshooting

Command not found: code

Solution:

Verify VS Code is installed: Check if VS Code exists in your Applications/Program Files
Add to PATH manually (see installation methods above)
Restart your terminal after adding to PATH
On macOS/Linux, make sure your shell profile is sourced: source ~/.bashrc or source ~/.zshrc

Build fails on Windows with OpenSSL error

Solution:

Ensure vcpkg is properly installed
Verify OpenSSL package: vcpkg list | grep openssl
Install the correct variant: vcpkg install openssl:x64-windows-static-md
Restart your terminal and try building again

Permission denied errors on Linux/macOS

Solution:

Make the binary executable: chmod +x /path/to/code
Check directory permissions
Don’t run with sudo unless necessary

CLI version mismatch with VS Code

Solution:

Ensure you’re using the correct binary (check with which code)
Update VS Code to the latest version
Reinstall the shell command from VS Code’s Command Palette

Uninstallation

With VS Code
Standalone

The CLI is removed when you uninstall VS Code. You may also need to:

Remove the PATH entry from your shell profile
Delete CLI data directory: ~/.vscode-oss/cli or ~/.vscode/cli

Remove the CLI binary
Remove the PATH entry from your shell profile
Delete CLI data directory: ~/.vscode-oss/cli or ~/.vscode/cli
Remove any systemd/launchd services if tunnel service was installed

Next Steps

Commands Reference

Explore all available CLI commands

Remote Tunnels

Set up remote access with tunnels

Configuration

Configure the CLI for your needs

CLI Overview

Learn more about CLI features

​Installation Methods

​Verifying Installation

​Building from Source

​Prerequisites

​Post-Installation Setup

​Setting Default Data Directory

​Configuring Logging

​Verifying Installation

​Updating the CLI

​Integrated CLI

​Standalone CLI

​Troubleshooting

​Uninstallation

​Next Steps

Commands Reference

Remote Tunnels

Configuration

CLI Overview

Installation Methods

Verifying Installation

Building from Source

Prerequisites

Post-Installation Setup

Setting Default Data Directory

Configuring Logging

Verifying Installation

Updating the CLI

Integrated CLI

Standalone CLI

Troubleshooting

Uninstallation

Next Steps