VS Code Beginner Guide Core Features Overview

Visual Studio Code — What It Is

Official URL: https://code.visualstudio.com/
Download: https://code.visualstudio.com/download
GitHub Repo: https://github.com/microsoft/vscode
GitHub Stars: ~181,000 (as of December 2025 release tag)
GitHub Forks: ~37,700
Contributors: 19,800+ (most contributors of any open-source project on GitHub)
License: Source code is MIT (Code-OSS); the distributed VS Code product ships under a Microsoft proprietary license with telemetry. These are legally distinct.
Current Stable Version: 1.111 (March 2026, now on weekly stable releases)
Release Cadence: Monthly stable releases historically; switched to weekly stable releases starting with 1.111
Author/Maintainer: Microsoft Corporation
First Released: April 29, 2015
Cost: Free for private and commercial use
Disk Footprint: < 500 MB install, < 200 MB download

In the 2025 Stack Overflow Developer Survey, out of over 49,000 responses, 75.9% of respondents reported using Visual Studio Code, more than twice the percentage of respondents who reported using its nearest alternative, Visual Studio. Usage grew from 50% in 2019 to 74.5% in 2021, maintained above 73% through 2023 and 2024, before reaching its current 75.9% level.

Visual Studio Code is proprietary software released under the "Microsoft Software License", but based on the MIT licensed program named "Visual Studio Code – Open Source" (also known as "Code – OSS"), also created by Microsoft and available through GitHub. This is a critical nuance the tutorial skips entirely.

How It Works — Technical Architecture

VS Code is built on Electron (Chromium + Node.js), which means it is essentially a web application running in a desktop shell. This gives it cross-platform compatibility but also means it is heavier than native editors like Zed.

Visual Studio Code is a free, open-source, lightweight, and cross-platform code editor created by Microsoft. It supports Windows, macOS, and Linux, and offers first-class support for JavaScript, TypeScript, and dozens of other languages.

With built-in debugging, Git integration, terminal support, extensions, and modern IntelliSense features, it competes directly with full IDEs like Visual Studio, PyCharm, WebStorm, and IntelliJ.

Extension Ecosystem: The editor's extension marketplace contains over 70,000 extensions as of 2025. The extension ecosystem includes 36,000 extensions for specific programming languages, 19,000 snippet collections, 13,000 formatters, 13,000 linters, 9,400 debuggers, and 8,700 themes.

Telemetry: Visual Studio Code collects usage data and sends it to Microsoft to help improve the product. This telemetry feature can be disabled.

Remote Development: VS Code supports remote development through extensions such as Remote–SSH, Remote–Containers, and Remote–WSL. These tools enable users to connect to and develop within remote environments, including servers and containers.

Web Version: Visual Studio Code for the Web (accessible at vscode.dev) allows users to edit files directly in a web browser without the need to install the desktop application. This version supports basic editing tasks and integration with remote repositories.

AI Integration (2025+): In the January 2026 release, Microsoft is further evolving VS Code to make it the home for multi-agent development, with faster streaming, improved reasoning results, and a revamped editor inline chat. GitHub Copilot is now deeply integrated and partially open-sourced. Microsoft has open-sourced the GitHub Copilot Chat extension under the MIT license and is bringing relevant components into VS Code core.

Release Velocity: Visual Studio Code is updated monthly with new features and bug fixes. As of early 2026, it has moved to weekly stable releases.

Try It Yourself — Complete Setup & Core Workflows

Step 1: Install VS Code

Windows:

# Option A: Download installer from https://code.visualstudio.com/download
# Run VSCodeUserSetup-{version}.exe, accept license, keep defaults
# Check "Add to PATH" during install — lets you run `code .` from terminal

# Option B: winget (Windows Package Manager)
winget install -e --id Microsoft.VisualStudioCode

macOS:

# Download Universal or Apple Silicon .zip from https://code.visualstudio.com/download
# Unzip and drag Visual Studio Code.app to /Applications

# Add `code` CLI command to PATH:
# Press Cmd+Shift+P → type "Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH" → Enter

# Or via Homebrew:
brew install --cask visual-studio-code

Linux (Ubuntu/Debian):

# Download .deb from https://code.visualstudio.com/download
sudo apt install ./code_*.deb

# Or add Microsoft repo for auto-updates:
wget -qO- https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | gpg --dearmor > packages.microsoft.gpg
sudo install -D -o root -g root -m 644 packages.microsoft.gpg /etc/apt/keyrings/packages.microsoft.gpg
echo "deb [arch=amd64,arm64,armhf signed-by=/etc/apt/keyrings/packages.microsoft.gpg] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/code stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vscode.list
sudo apt update && sudo apt install code

Verify install:

code --version
# Expected output: 1.109.x (or current version)
# e.g.: 1.109.0
#       abc123def
#       x64

Step 2: Open a Project

# From terminal, open any folder directly:
code /path/to/your/project

# Or open current directory:
code .

Alternatively: File → Open Folder → select or create a folder.

Step 3: Essential Keyboard Shortcuts (Windows/Linux | macOS)

Step 4: Install the Python Extension

1. Press Ctrl+Shift+X
2. Search: "Python"
3. Install "Python" by Microsoft (publisher: ms-python)
4. Reload VS Code if prompted
5. Press Ctrl+Shift+P → "Python: Select Interpreter" → choose your Python version

Test it:

# Create hello.py with this content:
print("Hello, VS Code!")

Press the ▶ Run button (top right) or F5. Expected output in terminal:

Hello, VS Code!

Step 5: Install Prettier + Format on Save

Install through VS Code extensions — search for "Prettier - Code formatter" in the Visual Studio Code Marketplace.

1. Ctrl+Shift+X → search "Prettier - Code formatter" → Install
2. Ctrl+Shift+P → "Open User Settings (JSON)"

Add to your settings.json:

{
  "editor.defaultFormatter": "esbenp.prettier-vscode",
  "editor.formatOnSave": true,
  "prettier.singleQuote": true,
  "prettier.tabWidth": 2,
  "prettier.semi": true
}

Test: Open any .js or .ts file, write messy code, save with Ctrl+S. It auto-formats.

To ensure that this extension is used over other extensions you may have installed, be sure to set it as the default formatter in your VS Code settings. This setting can be set for all languages or by a specific language.

Step 6: Initialize Git and Make a Commit

1. Open Source Control pane: Ctrl+Shift+G
2. Click "Initialize Repository"
3. Make changes to any file
4. Click "+" next to changed files to stage them
5. Type a commit message in the text box
6. Press Ctrl+Enter (or click the ✓ checkmark) to commit
7. Click "..." menu → Push to push to remote

Step 7: Set a Breakpoint and Debug Python

1. Open a .py file
2. Click in the gutter (left of line numbers) to set a red dot breakpoint
3. Press F5 → select "Python File"
4. Execution pauses at breakpoint
5. Use debug toolbar: Continue (F5), Step Over (F10), Step Into (F11), Step Out (Shift+F11)
6. Inspect variables in the left panel under "Variables"

What The Creator Didn't Mention

1. The License Is NOT Fully Open Source

The source code is available to everyone under a standard MIT license. Visual Studio Code is a distribution of the Code-OSS repository with Microsoft-specific customizations (including source code), released under a traditional Microsoft product license. If you want a truly MIT-licensed build without telemetry, use VSCodium (https://vscodium.com), which strips Microsoft branding and tracking. According to the Visual Studio Marketplace Terms of Use, you may only install and use Marketplace Offerings with Visual Studio Products and Services. For this reason, VSCodium uses open-vsx.org, an open source registry for Visual Studio Code extensions.

2. VS Code Is Electron-Based — Performance Implications

VS Code runs on Electron (Chromium + Node.js). Unlike VS Code and Cursor, which use the Electron framework and can lag with large projects, Zed opens files instantly and scrolls smoothly. For very large monorepos (100k+ lines), startup and file-switching can be noticeably slower than native editors.

3. AI Competitors Are Gaining Ground

"Visual Studio Code and Visual Studio still rank as the top IDEs used by developers; however, usage is growing for new AI-enabled IDEs added this year including Cursor (18%), Claude Code (10%), and Windsurf (5%)," said Stack Overflow. These are VS Code forks or alternatives with deeper AI integration. Cursor ($20/month Pro) is a VS Code fork with codebase-aware AI. Zed is a Rust-based editor with native real-time collaboration.

4. Zen Mode Shortcut Is Wrong in the Video

The creator says F11 exits Zen Mode. The correct shortcut is Ctrl+K Z to enter Zen Mode, and Esc Esc (press Escape twice) to exit it. Enter distraction-free Zen mode with keyboard shortcut Ctrl+K Z (Windows/Linux). Press Esc twice to exit Zen Mode. F11 only toggles full-screen.

5. Settings Sync — Not Mentioned

VS Code has built-in Settings Sync (since v1.48) that syncs your settings, extensions, keybindings, and snippets across machines via a GitHub or Microsoft account. Access via: Ctrl+Shift+P → "Settings Sync: Turn On". This is essential for multi-machine workflows.

6. The Python Extension Has 31M Downloads — But That Number Is Outdated

The creator claims 31 million downloads for the Python extension. As of 2025, the Python extension by Microsoft has well over 100 million installs on the Marketplace. The 31M figure was accurate circa 2021 when the video was filmed.

7. Multi-Cursor Editing — Not Covered

One of VS Code's most powerful features: hold Alt (Windows/Linux) or Option (macOS) and click to place multiple cursors simultaneously. Ctrl+D selects the next occurrence of the current word and adds a cursor. This enables editing multiple locations at once.

8. Emmet — Built-In, Not Mentioned

VS Code ships with Emmet abbreviation support for HTML/CSS built-in. Type div.container>ul>li*5 and press Tab to expand it into full HTML. No extension needed.

9. Real Alternatives Worth Knowing

• Cursor — VS Code fork with deep AI integration; $20/month Pro, $40/month Business
• Zed — Rust-based, GPU-accelerated, built-in real-time collaboration; free personal tier, $10/month Pro. As of July 2025, Zed has around 600 extensions — a far cry from VS Code's 70,000+. No Windows support yet.
• JetBrains IDEs — Language-specific IDEs (PyCharm, WebStorm, IntelliJ) with deeper static analysis; paid subscription
• VSCodium — MIT-licensed VS Code without telemetry; uses open-vsx.org marketplace
• Neovim — Terminal-based, highly configurable, steep learning curve; Neovim recorded 83% admiration in Stack Overflow's 2024 survey, the highest rating among all development environments.

10. Workspace vs. User Settings

The creator briefly mentions workspaces but doesn't explain the settings hierarchy: User settings (global) → Workspace settings (.vscode/settings.json in project root) → Folder settings (multi-root workspaces). Workspace settings override user settings and can be committed to version control to share with your team.