- Node.js version
- Ubuntu, Debian
- Fedora, CentOS, RHEL
- Alpine
- macOS
- FreeBSD
- Windows
- Installing
- Troubleshooting
If you're installing code-server via npm
, you'll need to install additional
dependencies required to build the native modules used by VS Code. This article
includes installing instructions based on your operating system.
WARNING: Do not use
yarn
to install code-server. Unlikenpm
, it does not respect lockfiles for distributed applications. It will instead use the latest version available at installation time - which might not be the one used for a given code-server release, and might lead to unexpected behavior.
We use the same major version of Node.js shipped with VSCode's Electron,
which is currently 14.x
. VS Code also lists Node.js
requirements.
Using other versions of Node.js may lead to unexpected behavior.
sudo apt-get install -y \
build-essential \
pkg-config \
python3
npm config set python python3
Proceed to installing
sudo yum groupinstall -y 'Development Tools'
sudo yum config-manager --set-enabled PowerTools # unnecessary on CentOS 7
sudo yum install -y python2
npm config set python python2
Proceed to installing
apk add alpine-sdk bash libstdc++ libc6-compat
npm config set python python3
Proceed to installing
xcode-select --install
Proceed to installing
pkg install -y git python npm-node14 pkgconf
pkg install -y libinotify
Proceed to installing
Installing code-server requires all of the prerequisites for VS Code development. When installing the C++ compiler tool chain, we recommend using "Option 2: Visual Studio 2019" for best results.
Next, install code-server with:
npm install -g code-server
code-server
# Now visit http://127.0.0.1:8080. Your password is in ~/.config/code-server/config.yaml
A postinstall.sh
script will attempt to run. Select your terminal (e.g., Git bash) as the default application for .sh
files. If an additional dialog does not appear, run the install command again.
If the code-server
command is not found, you'll need to add a directory to your PATH. To find the directory, use the following command:
npm config get prefix
For help and additional troubleshooting, see #1397.
After adding the dependencies for your OS, install the code-server package globally:
npm install -g code-server
code-server
# Now visit http://127.0.0.1:8080. Your password is in ~/.config/code-server/config.yaml
If you need further assistance, post on our GitHub Discussions page.
Occasionally, you may run into issues with Node.js.
If you install code-server using npm
, and you upgrade your Node.js
version, you may need to reinstall code-server to recompile native modules.
Sometimes, you can get around this by navigating into code-server's lib/vscode
directory and running npm rebuild
to recompile the modules.
A step-by-step example of how you might do this is:
- Install code-server:
brew install code-server
- Navigate into the directory:
cd /usr/local/Cellar/code-server/<version>/libexec/lib/vscode/
- Recompile the native modules:
npm rebuild
- Restart code-server
To debug installation issues:
# Uninstall
npm uninstall -g --unsafe-perm code-server > /dev/null 2>&1
# Install with logging
npm install --loglevel verbose -g --unsafe-perm code-server