Visual Studio Code, or VS Code, is the editor we will use throughout the Alphesta learning path. In this step, you are not installing Python, extensions, Git, or AI tools. Your only goal is simple: install VS Code and open it successfully.
What You Will Finish
When you finish this article, the VS Code welcome screen will be open on your Windows computer.
That is enough for this step. We will add Python in the next article.
Step 1 — Open the Official VS Code Website
Open your web browser and go to the official Visual Studio Code website .
Choose the Windows download option. Microsoft provides a User Installer and a System Installer. For most beginners, use the User Installer. It normally does not require administrator permission and is the setup Microsoft recommends for most individual users.
Most Windows PCs use x64. If you know that your Windows computer uses an Arm processor, choose Arm64 instead.
Step 2 — Run the Installer
After the download finishes, open the downloaded file. Its name will look similar to this:
VSCodeUserSetup-x64-1.xx.x.exeThe version number will change over time. That is normal.
Read and accept the license agreement, then continue through the setup screens.
For a beginner setup, the default options are usually fine. If the installer shows an option to add VS Code to PATH, keep it enabled. Options such as creating a desktop icon or adding Open with Code to Windows Explorer are useful, but they are not required for this lesson.
Select Install and wait for the installation to finish.
Step 3 — Launch Visual Studio Code
At the final setup screen, leave Launch Visual Studio Code selected if that option appears, then finish the installer.
If VS Code does not open automatically:
- Open the Windows Start menu.
- Type Visual Studio Code.
- Select the Visual Studio Code app.
You should now see the VS Code window. Depending on the current version, the exact welcome page may look a little different, but you should see the editor area and the Activity Bar on the left side.
Check Your Result
Visual Studio Code opens without an installation error.
If you can see the VS Code window, you are finished with this lesson.
Do not install the Python extension yet. We will do that after Python itself is installed and we are ready to connect the two tools.
One Common Problem
I installed VS Code, but I cannot find it.
Do not reinstall it immediately. Open the Windows Start menu and search for Visual Studio Code. The User Installer normally installs VS Code only for your Windows account, so finding it through Start is the easiest check.
If it opens, the installation is complete.
What You Just Built
Your Windows computer
└── Visual Studio Code ✓Nothing is being automated yet. We are building the environment one block at a time, and we will verify each block before adding the next one.
Next Step
Next, install Python and confirm that Windows can recognize it:
How to Install Python on Windows →
Official references: Installing Visual Studio Code on Windows and Get started with Visual Studio Code , Microsoft.