Setting Up VS Code Insiders On Linux

3 min readFeb 20, 2024

This guide will work for any Linux Distro.

I am currently running Aegix Linux, a distro with an Artix base known for its elite, turn-key Linux experience. It comes pre-configured with useful aliases in the aliasrc to streamline your workflow. However, the vscode alias-that launches Visual Studio Code from the command line requires a bit of initial setup. In this article, we will guide you through:

Installing VS Code Insiders on Linux
Setting up the vscode alias

Prelim Check For Aegix Users

Aegix Linux includes an alias for `vscode`, but the application itself isn’t installed out-of-the-box. Here’s what happens when you try to use the alias right after a fresh Aegix installation:

✨ ~ which vscode
vscode: aliased to ~/Applications/vs-code-insider/VSCode-linux-x64/code-insiders
✨ ~ vscode
zsh: no such file or directory: /home/borchard/Applications/vs-code-insider/VSCode-linux-x64/code-insiders

The system tells us the alias is set, but the VS Code Insiders application isn't found because it hasn't been installed yet.

Installation Steps

1. Create the Application Directory

First, create the directory where VS Code Insiders will reside:

mkdir -p ~/Applications/vs-code-insider

2. Download VS Code Insiders

Download the .tar.gz file for the x64 architecture directly to the ~/Applications/vs-code-insider directory. You may select either regular vscode or vscode-insiders. (In this article, we will be doing vscode-insiders)

Regular: https://code.visualstudio.com/
Insiders: https://code.visualstudio.com/insiders/

3. Extract the Tarball

Navigate to the target directory and extract the downloaded tarball:

cd ~/Applications/vs-code-insider
tar -xvf code-insider-x64-XXXXXX.tar.gz

Replace code-insider-x64-XXXXXX.tar.gz with the actual filename you downloaded. This will either create the VSCode-linux-x64 directory or update its contents if it already exists.

4. Set Up the Alias

Though Aegix Linux includes the vscode alias by default, your distro might not. Let's ensure the vscode alias is pointing to the newly installed executable:

grep -q "alias vscode=" ~/.config/shell/aliasrc || echo "alias vscode='~/Applications/vs-code-insider/VSCode-linux-x64/code-insiders'" >> ~/.config/shell/aliasrc

This command checks for the alias's existence in ~/.config/shell/aliasrc and adds it if not found (super neat ♡)

5. Activate the Alias

For the alias to take effect, either source the alias configuration file:

source ~/.config/shell/aliasrc

Or, simply open a new terminal window.

6. Launch VS Code Insiders

Now, you can launch VS Code Insiders by typing vscode in your terminal:

vscode

And that’s it! You’re ready to enjoy ♡ VS Code Insiders ♡ on Aegix Linux (or otherwise) with the convenience of launching it directly from the command line.