Installing Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code — usually shortened to VS Code — is a free, open-source code editor from Microsoft that runs on macOS, Windows, and Linux. It is not the same product as "Visual Studio", and you do not need a Microsoft account to use it. If you already have it installed, skip to Installing the Dialog IDE Extension.

Download and install

  1. Open https://code.visualstudio.com in a browser. The site detects your operating system and offers the matching download.

    code.visualstudio.com with the platform download buttons visible

  2. Install it the usual way for your platform:

    macOS — the download is a .zip. Open it, then drag Visual Studio Code into your Applications folder and launch it from there.

    Windows — run the .exe installer and accept the defaults. Leave Add to PATH checked; that is what lets you type code in a terminal later.

    Linux — use the .deb or .rpm package, or the Snap, as described on the download page for your distribution.

The code command (optional)

A few steps later in this manual use a code command in a terminal — for example code --install-extension. It is optional, but convenient to set up now.

  • Windows: already done by the installer.

  • macOS: launch VS Code, open the Command Palette, and run Shell Command: Install 'code' command in PATH.

  • Linux: the package installs it automatically.

VS Code works on a folder

VS Code always works against a folder, which it calls a workspace. There is no habit here of creating a loose file and saving it anywhere on disk; instead you open the folder your project lives in, and everything — the file list, search, the Dialog IDE commands — is relative to that folder.

To open one, use File  Open Folder…​ (on macOS, File  Open…​). The Explorer on the left — the top icon in the Activity Bar, or Cmd+Shift+E / Ctrl+Shift+E — shows the folder’s contents. You will open a Dialog project this way in Starting a New Project.

a fresh VS Code window, Welcome tab, Activity Bar on the left labeled

The Command Palette

The Command Palette is a searchable list of every command VS Code and its extensions provide. Open it with Cmd+Shift+P on macOS, or Ctrl+Shift+P on Windows and Linux.

This manual runs almost everything from the Command Palette. Every action the extension adds is a command whose name begins with Dialog IDE: — for example Dialog IDE: Initialize Dialog Project. Start typing any part of a command’s name to filter the list, press Enter to run the highlighted one, or Esc to dismiss the palette without running anything.

palette open, 'Dialog IDE' typed, the extension’s commands listed

The Extensions view

The Extensions view is where you find, install, and manage extensions. Open it from the Activity Bar icon that looks like stacked squares, or with Cmd+Shift+X / Ctrl+Shift+X. From here you can search the marketplace, install or uninstall an extension, and disable one without removing it. The next chapter uses this view to install Dialog IDE.

Extensions sidebar open with the search box focused

What’s next

Installing the Dialog IDE Extension — install the Dialog IDE extension.