VSCode step-by-step setup for C++ in Windows

To set up Visual Studio Code (VSCode) for C++ development on Windows, follow these step-by-step instructions:

Install Visual Studio Code:

1. Download the Visual Studio Code installer for Windows from the official website: Download Visual Studio Code.
   
2. Run the downloaded installer (typically named VSCodeSetup-x64.exe) and follow the installation instructions. You can choose the default settings during installation.

Install a C++ Compiler:

You’ll need a C++ compiler to compile and run your C++ programs. One of the most commonly used C++ compilers on Windows is MinGW (Minimalist GNU for Windows). Here’s how to install MinGW:

1. Download the MinGW installer from the official website: MinGW Installation Manager.
2. Run the MinGW installer (mingw-get-setup.exe) and follow these steps:
   • Select “Basic Setup” from the left-hand menu.
   • In the “All Packages” section, select “mingw32-base” and “mingw32-gcc-g++” for installation or you can select all.
   • Go to the “Installation” menu and click on “Apply Changes.”
   • Confirm the installation of selected packages.
   • Wait for the installation to complete.

Add MinGW to System Path:

To use MinGW from the command line, you need to add its bin directory to your system’s PATH environment variable:

• Open the Windows “Start” menu, search for “Environment Variables,” and select “Edit the system environment variables.”
• In the “System Properties” window, click the “Environment Variables” button.
• In the “Environment Variables” window, under the “System variables” section, scroll down to find the “Path” variable and select it.
• Click the “Edit” button.
• In the “Edit Environment Variable” window, click “New” and add the path to the MinGW bin directory. The path is usually something like C:\MinGW\bin. Ensure each path entry is separated by a semicolon (;).
• Click “OK” to save the changes and close all the windows.

Install Visual Studio Code Extensions:

1. Open Visual Studio Code.
2. Go to the Extensions view by clicking the Extensions icon in the sidebar or pressing Ctrl+Shift+X.
3. Search for and install the following extensions:
   • C/C++ by Microsoft: Provides C/C++ language support and debugging capabilities.

Create a C++ Project:

• Create a new folder on your computer where you want to store your C++ projects.
• Open VSCode and click on “File” in the top-left corner, then select “Open Folder” and choose the folder you just created.
• Inside the folder, create a new C++ source file with a .cpp extension. You can do this by right-clicking on the folder in the VSCode sidebar, selecting “New File,” and giving it a name like main.cpp.
• Write your C++ code in the main.cpp file.

Compile and Run the C++ Program:

• Open the main.cpp file in VSCode.
• To compile and run your C++ program, you can use the VSCode terminal or an integrated terminal:
  • Open the integrated terminal by clicking “Terminal” in the VSCode menu and selecting “New Terminal.”
• In the terminal, navigate to the directory where your C++ file is located.
• Compile the C++ program using the g++ compiler. For example:

g++ -o myprogram main.cpp

This command compiles main.cpp and creates an executable file named myprogram in the same directory.

• Run the executable by entering its name in the terminal:

./myprogram

• You should see the output of your C++ program displayed in the terminal.

That’s it! You’ve successfully set up Visual Studio Code for C++ development on Windows. You can continue to write, compile, and run C++ programs within the VSCode environment.