C/C++ support for Visual Studio Code is provided by a Microsoft C/C++ extension to enable cross-platform C and C++ development on Windows, Linux, and macOS. The extension is still in preview and our focus is code editing, navigation, and debugging support for C and C++ code everywhere that VS Code runs. The extension also supports Remote Development in the Visual Studio Code Insiders build.

If you just want a lightweight tool to edit your C++ files, Visual Studio Code is a great choice. But if you want the best possible experience for editing, testing and debugging your existing Visual C++ projects or debugging on Windows, we recommend Visual Studio. Visual Studio Community is a free edition. It includes:

• support for CMake or any other build system
• support for Clang and GCC as well as the Microsoft C++ compiler
• support for CTest, Google Test and Boost.Test as well as the Microsoft Native Test Framework
• C++ code analysis tools including C++ Core Guidelines checkers
• the state-of-the-art Visual Studio debugger
• and much more.

If you run into any issues or have suggestions for the Microsoft C/C++ extension, please file issues and suggestions on GitHub. If you haven't already provided feedback, please take this quick survey to help shape this extension for your needs.

Visual Studio for Mac enables developers to create applications using.NET and C# only. Visual Studio for Mac should also provide support for C++ development, using compilers available on the system (gcc, Clang, etc.). C/C++ support for Visual Studio Code is provided by a Microsoft C/C++ extension to enable cross-platform C and C++ development using VS Code on Windows, Linux, and macOS. The extension is still in preview and our focus is code editing, navigation, and debugging support for C and C++ code everywhere that VS Code runs.

Getting Started

To install the Microsoft C/C++ extension:

1. Open VS Code.
2. Click the Extensions View icon on the Sidebar.
3. Search for c++.
4. Click Install, then click Reload.

To install support for Remote Development:

1. Install the Visual Studio Code Insiders build. You can install this side by side with the stable build.
2. Install the Visual Studio Code Remote Development Extension Pack.
3. If the remote source files are hosted in WSL, download the Remote - WSL extension.
4. If you are connecting to a remote machine with SSH, download the Remote - SSH extension.
5. If the remote source files are hosted in a container (i.e. Docker), download the Remote - Containers extension.

Note: The C/C++ extension does not include a C++ compiler or debugger. You will need to install these tools or use those already installed on your computer. Popular C++ compilers are GCC on Linux or in a Mingw-w64 environment on Windows, Clang for XCode on macOS, and the Microsoft C++ compiler on Windows. Make sure your compiler executable is in your platform path so the extension can find it. The extension also supports the Windows Subsystem for Linux.

For instructions on configuring VS Code for specific environments, see:

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