VS (Visual Studio) Code is an all-in-one tool for the text and the code editor. It has support for the most famous programming languages. Thus, a developer can use it for its development and as a normal editor. Moreover, Visual Studio Code is available across Windows, macOS, and Linux.
Recently, Ubuntu has released its latest LTS 24.04. Our Today’s guide provides the possible installation methods of VS Code on Ubuntu 24.04.
Outline:
- Install VS Code on Ubuntu 24.04
- Update VS Code on Ubuntu 24.04
- Remove VS Code From Ubuntu 24.04
- Bottom Line
Install VS Code on Ubuntu 24.04
Visual Studio Code can be installed on Ubuntu 24.04 from the Snap Store, the Debian Package File, VS Code’s repository, and the Debian Package. Let’s learn how all these work:
Snap CLI
Snaps (the packages of the Snap Store) are installable for most of the Linux distributions. Visual Studio Code is also available as a Snap and can be installed as follows:
Step 1: Install and Enable Snap
First, install and enable the snap support on your Ubuntu 24.04:
- Snapd: the daemon that manages the snaps.
- Core: A snap utility that offers the dependencies for the available snaps.
sudo apt install snapd;sudo snap install core
Step 2: Install Visual Studio Code
VS Code is available on the snap store as “code” and can be installed as:
sudo snap install code --classic
Launch it using the “code” command or from the applications menu:
Let’s check the version installed:
See, the “1.89.1” is installed via the Snap method. Let’s go through the VS Code repository method:
VS Code Repository
Visual Studio Code’s repository also contains the latest VS Code. First, the GPG key is added to the trusted keys list for the repository’s authentication and then the repository is added. Here’s how I carried out its installation:
Step 1: Add the GPG Key
It’s time to add the GPG key for vs code’s repository:
wget -qO- https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/microsoft.gpg
Step 2: Add the Repository
Add the Microsoft repository support for the VS Code stable:
sudo add-apt-repository "deb [arch=amd64] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/vscode stable main"
Step 3: Install VS Code
Now, update the package list to load the packages from the newly added repository using the “apt update” command and then use the following command to install it:
sudo apt install code
From the output, you can see that version “1.89.1” is being installed.
Debian Package File
The .deb installable file of VS Code is available for Ubuntu (and other .deb-supported distros). Here’s how I installed the VS Code using its Debian Package File:
Step 1: Download the .deb File
Use the wget command with the downloadable link to download the debian package file, i.e., we are saving the file with the “code.deb” name:
Link of Download Page: VS Code Download Page
wget -O code.deb "https://code.visualstudio.com/sha/download?build=stable&os=linux-deb-x64"
Step 2: Install VS Code
Locate the downloaded file and use the “apt install or the dpkg -il” to install. You can use the absolute or the relative path to install (irrespective of the terminal’s location):
sudo apt install <path/to/deb/file>
If you observe, the version installed via this method (1.89.1) is the same as of the VS Code’s repository method.
Flatpak/Flathub
Flatpak package manager’s support is available on Ubuntu 24.04. The flatpak applications are stored on the flathub repository. Thus, your system must have flatpak installed and flathub support enabled to get any application.
Visual Studio code is available on the flatpak/flathub which can be installed, as follows:
Step 1: Install Flatpak/Add Flathub
First, install flatpak support on your Ubuntu:
sudo apt install flatpak
Next, add the flathub repository to install flatpak applications:
sudo flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flathub https://flathub.org/repo/flathub.flatpakrepo
Step 2: Install VS Code
Install VS Code from the flathub/flatpak support using the command:
flatpak install flathub com.visualstudio.code
Let’s see which version is installed via the flatpak:
And it is “1.89.1” which is the same as done by all the above methods.
Snap GUI
Snap support is available through GUI as well, i.e., the App Centre of Ubuntu 24.04. Installing a package from the Snap GUI or the CLI, both have the same impact. Here’s how I searched and installed VS Code:
Open the Ubuntu App Centre and search for the “Code”:
Click on it and then on the install button, i.e., password authentication is required to proceed further:
Soon, the VS Code will be installed, as can be seen below:
Update VS Code on Ubuntu 24.04
If you want to update the VS Code, you need to first identify from which source you carried out the installation. We have provided the commands for each method to update VS Code.
If Installed Using Snap
sudo snap refresh code
If Installed Using the Repository
First, update the packages index, if there is any updated VS Code available in the repository, it will be loaded
sudo apt update
And then you can use the install/upgrade command to get the updated VS Code:
sudo apt install code
sudo apt upgrade-only code
If Installed Using the Flatpak
flatpak update com.visualstudio.code
Remove VS Code From Ubuntu 24.04
Want to remove VS Code? Do you know which method you followed for installation? Do not be worried, I have explained all the removal methods.
Snap
Whether you have installed the VS Code from the Snap CLI or the Snap GUI, both will be removed using the command:
sudo snap remove code
VS Code Repository | Debian Package
sudo apt autoremove code --purge
Flatpak/Flathub
flatpak uninstall com.visualstudio.code
That’s how you can deal with the VS Code on Ubuntu 24.04.
Bottom Line
To install Visual Studio code on Ubuntu 24.04, you can use the snap command “sudo snap install code –classic” or the flatpak method. Moreover, you can also add the VS Code’s repository and download the Debian package’s file to get the VS Code on Ubuntu 24.04.
However, all the methods provide the same version. You can follow any method to get the latest VS Code.
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