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​​​​​​​Chromebooks run on Chrome OS a Linux-based operating system that allows user to run Linux applications. You can use Linux to install Visual Studio Code on your Chromebook. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to do it:

1. Enable Linux: 

  • Click on the system tray in the bottom-right corner of your screen.
  • Click on the gear icon to open the Settings menu.
  • Scroll all the way down and click Advanced (it will show additional options underneath).
  • Now scroll down to the Developers option and click the "Turn On" button to enable Linux.
  • After clicking the "Turn On" button, follow the on-screen prompts to set up Linux on your Chromebook.​ ​

  • Now click on the option under Linux (see the screenshot)

  • After downloading right VS Code package, go to the downloads folder and double-click on the package to launch the installer.
  • Follow the on-screen instructions to install Visual Studio Code.

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4. Launch Visual Studio Code:

  • Click on the Launcher icon (little circle) in the bottom-left corner of your screen.
  • Launch Visual Studio Code inside a folder called Linux apps or open it by typing Visual Studio Code into the search bar.​​

  • A new terminal window will open.

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​3. Install Visual Studio Code:

  • Go to the Visual Studio Code Download page and download the right package for your Chromebook.
    • For Chromebooks running an Intel or AMD chip, download the 64 bit version of .deb package.
    • And for ARM64 chip Chromebooks, download ARM64 version of .deb package.


  • If you are unsure about the CPU your Chromebook is using, run the following command in the terminal window to verify. It will print either arm64(download ARM64 ) or amd64 (download 64 bit).
  1. sudo dpkg   --print-architecture​​​

​​​​​​​​​​​Note: 

  • If the "Turn On" is disabled on your Chromebook, talk to your system admin (or school Chromebook admin) and request that they give you the proper privileges to enable Linux on your Chromebook.
  • If your administrator refuses to enable Linux privileges, you are a bit out of luck installing VS Code on your Chromebook. The next best option is to use the online version of Visual Studio Code, open a browser window, and go to https://vscode.dev to use VS Code.




2. Install Visual Studio Code dependencies first:

  • Click on the Launcher icon (little circle) in the bottom-left corner of your screen.
  • Click on the terminal window or open the terminal window by typing terminal into the search bar.​

Knowledge Base Article

How to Install Visual Studio Code (VS Code) on a Chromebook 

  • VS Code will launch, and you're ready to go!


Congratulations!! You have successfully installed Visual Studio Code (VS Code) on your Chromebook. You can now start coding in VS Code on your Chromebook.​​

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  • In the terminal window, run the following commands to update your package list, and dependencies:
  1. sudo apt update
  2. sudo apt-get install -y gnome-keyring​​