This guide shows how to update Visual Studio Code to the latest release. We’ll intentionally use an older version of VS Code (1.63.2) for this tutorial.
How to check for a new update
By default, Visual Studio Code automatically checks for new updates. If you would like to perform a manual check for a new update, follow these steps:
- Launch VS Code. From the “Help” menu, select Check for Updates…
Select Check For Updates from the “Help” section. - If you have the latest version, it will notify you that no updates are available.
You will be prompted with this message if you’re running the latest version.
How to manually force an update
If your update does not automatically complete, you can force an update. Forcing an update requires installing the software again without uninstalling the existing software. Follow these steps:
- First, download the latest version of VS Code for your operating system from code.visualstudio.com.
Download the latest version of VS code from code.visualstudio.com. - Finally, run the installer with default configurations.
- After the installation, you will see the Release Notes in Visual Studio Code. Notice we have successfully installed the latest version.
Visual Studio Code is updated to the latest release.
Using these methods, you can easily keep up with the latest releases of VS Code. You may also want to change your update settings according to your specific needs.
Change your VS Code update settings
There are four different update modes available in Visual Studio Code. Follow these steps to find and change your update configuration:
- From the “Manage” section in the sidebar, select Settings.
From the “Manage” section, click on Settings. - Search “Update Mode.” You will find the four update modes as follows:
Default – enables automatic and periodic update checks.
Manual – disables automatic background update checks and requires you to check manually.
Start – checks for updates only on startup and disables automatic background checks.
None – disables updates. - By default, Visual Studio Code is set to auto-update. If you want to opt-out of automatic updates, you can change the update mode to none.
- Changing the update mode will prompt you to restart Visual Studio Code. Select Restart.
Click on Restart to enable the change in update settings.
Check the VS Code version you’re running
Follow these steps to check the version of Visual Studio Code installed in the system:
- From the “Help” section, select About.
Select Help from the top menu, then choose About. - A message box with the version number will pop up on the screen.
A message box will appear with the version number.
Find the latest VS Code version available
Go to code.visualstudio.com/updates. You will find the latest release with the version number and some key highlights of the update.
