Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is a free integrated development environment (IDE) developed by Microsoft for Windows, Linux, macOS, and web browsers. VS Code is known for combining the simplicity of a code editor with the tools developers need for the edit-build-debug cycle. It offers features such as debugging support, syntax highlighting, intelligent code completion, snippets, code refactoring, and integrated version control with Git. Users can customize VS Code with themes, keyboard shortcuts, and preferences, and extend its functionality with extensions available in the VS Code Marketplace.
VS Code supports numerous programming languages, including C, C#, C++, Java, JavaScript, Python, and more. The IDE has built-in tools like IntelliSense for intelligent code completion, a built-in terminal that supports multiple shells, and debugging capabilities. Recent updates have focused on multi-agent development, with features like Agent HQ, background agents, and custom agents. The January 2026 release further evolves VS Code into a multi-agent development platform, emphasizing structured planning agents and unified orchestration across local and cloud environments. VS Code also offers a "Profiles" feature, allowing users to save and switch between different sets of preferences and configurations for various development environments.
