VS Code Installation Guide for IQ (2nd generation) on a macOS Device – VEX Library

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is a free code editor that runs on the Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems. This article is an overview of installing Visual Studio Code and the VEX Visual Studio Code Extension for macOS.

Installing VS Code

Visual Studio Code website homepage with a large heading that says Your code editor. Redefined with AI. A blue button labeled Download for macOS is highlighted below the heading.

Open an internet browser and navigate to https://code.visualstudio.com/, the homepage of the VS Code Website. Select the 'Download for macOS' button to start to download the VS Code application for macOS. Wait for the download to finish.

macOS Desktop with the Finder icon highlighted below on the Dock.

Once the download is complete, open the Finder by selecting the Finder icon in the Dock.

Finder is opened to the Downloads folder and the VS Code darwin universal zip file is shown.

Find the VSCode-darwin-universal.zip file in the Downloads folder by selecting Downloads in the Favorites sidebar.

Finder is opened to the Downloads folder and the VS Code darwin universal zip file has been double clicked to extract it. The VS Code application file has appeared next to the zip file.

Double-click on the VSCode-darwin-universal.zip file to extract the archived contents if it hasn't been automatically unzipped. The VS Code application will appear in the Downloads folder.

Finder is opened to the Downloads folder and the VS Code application has been extracted. The application and the Applications folder are both highlighted, indicating that the file should be dragged into the Applications folder.

Select and drag the VS Code application to the Applications folder.

macOS Desktop with the Launchpad icon highlighted below on the Dock.

Select the Launchpad icon in the Dock.

VS Code application is shown on the macOS Desktop and is highlighted.

Click on the VS Code icon to launch Visual Studio Code.

VS Code application is opened with no project selected.

VS Code is installed and launched on the computer.

Installing the VEX Extension, C/C++ Extension, and Python Extension

To create projects using the VEX platform in VS Code, we need to install the VEX Extension, which supports C/C++ and Python programming languages.

To enable Intellisense/Linting for both C/C++ and Python, the C/C++ Extension and the Python Extension will need to be installed. The VEX VS Code Extension will set up VEX projects to work with these extensions automatically.

The Extension icon on the side menu of VS Code is highlighted.

Select the Extension icon in the VS Code Activity Bar.

VS Code Extensions side menu is opened and VEX Robotics has been typed into the menu's search bar. The search results are shown below, and the VEX Robotics Extension is the first option listed.

Type “VEX Robotics” in the search bar. The VEX Robotics Extension will appear in the Sidebar below. Select Install.

VS Code Extensions side menu is opened and the VEX Robotics and VEX Robotics Feedback extensions have been installed. Both of the extensions now have Manage gear icons, and the side bar shows the VEX Robotics Extension icon.

Once the installation is complete, Install will be replaced with a Manage Gear button, both the VEX Robotics Extension and the VEX Robotics Feedback Extension will be installed, and the VEX icon will appear in the VS Code Activity Bar.

VS Code Extensions side menu is opened and C/C++ has been typed into the menu's search bar. The search results are shown below, and the Microsoft C/C++ Extension is the first option listed.

Type “C/C++” in the search bar. The Microsoft C/C++ Extension will appear in the sidebar below. Select Install.

VS Code Extensions side menu is opened and the Microsoft C/C++ Extension has been installed. The Manage gear icon on the extension is highlighted.

Once the installation is complete, Install will be replaced with a Manage Gear button.

VS Code Extensions side menu is opened and Python has been typed into the menu's search bar. The search results are shown below, and the Microsoft Python Extension is the first option listed.

Type “Python” in the search bar. Select Install. Wait for the installation to finish.

VS Code Extensions side menu is opened and the Microsoft Python Extension has been installed. The Manage gear icon on the extension is highlighted.

Once the installation is complete, Install will be replaced with a Manage Gear button

The VEX Extension, the VEX Robotics Feedback Extension, the C/C++ Extension, and the Python Extension are installed and can be found under the 'INSTALLED' category in the Sidebar.