How to set up a C++ environment in Visual Studio Code?

9 months ago

Sophia Anderson

2 minutes

When setting up a C++ environment in VSCode, you generally need to install the following tools and plugins:

To install the VSCode editor, you first need to download and install it from the official website.
Install a C++ compiler: MinGW-w64 is recommended, as it is an open-source C/C++ compiler for Windows that supports both 32-bit and 64-bit systems.
Install C/C++ plugin: Search for the C/C++ plugin in the VSCode extension marketplace and install it. This plugin provides features such as syntax highlighting, intelligent code completion, and debugging.
Setting up compiler paths: Open VSCode, press Ctrl + Shift + P to open the command palette, type “Edit Configurations” to find “Edit configurations.json”, in the configuration file add the following configuration:

{
    "configurations": [
        {
            "name": "MinGW",
            "intelliSenseMode": "gcc-x64",
            "includePath": [
                "${workspaceFolder}/**"
            ],
            "defines": [],
            "compilerPath": "C:\\path\\to\\your\\MinGW\\bin\\g++.exe",
            "cStandard": "c11",
            "cppStandard": "c++17",
            "intelliSenseMode": "gcc-x64"
        }
    ],
    "version": 4
}

The compilerPath should point to the g++.exe path in your installed MinGW-w64.

Create a C++ project: In VSCode, create a new folder, then create a main.cpp file within that folder, and write your C++ code in it.
Compile and run: Press Ctrl + to open the terminal, type g++ main.cpp -o main to compile, then type ./main to run the program.

With that, the steps to set up a C++ environment in VSCode have been completed, and you can now start writing and running C++ code.