How to Install Visual Studio Code Silently for All Users with PowerShell

$installer = Join-Path $env:TEMP 'VSCodeSetup-x64.exe'
Invoke-WebRequest -OutFile $installer `
    -Uri 'https://code.visualstudio.com/sha/download?build=stable&os=win32-x64'
Start-Process -FilePath $installer -Wait `
    -ArgumentList '/VERYSILENT', '/NORESTART', '/MERGETASKS=!runcode,addtopath'
Remove-Item $installer

On a machine that has winget, winget install Microsoft.VisualStudioCode --scope machine --silent does this job with less to know. Windows Server 2022 doesn’t ship winget. VS Code’s Windows installer is an Inno Setup package, and Inno Setup has had stable command-line switches for decades. The whole job is fetching the right build, running it with those switches, and knowing which of its optional tasks to turn on or off.

Download the system installer

$installer = Join-Path $env:TEMP 'VSCodeSetup-x64.exe'
Invoke-WebRequest -OutFile $installer `
    -Uri 'https://code.visualstudio.com/sha/download?build=stable&os=win32-x64'

That URL is Microsoft’s documented direct-download link for the current stable system installer, which puts VS Code under Program Files for every account on the machine. Change os=win32-x64 to os=win32-x64-user for the per-user installer, which needs no elevation and installs under one account’s %LocalAppData%. For a server or a shared workstation the system build is the one you want.

On Windows PowerShell 5.1 the download is faster with the progress bar off:

$ProgressPreference = 'SilentlyContinue'

Run it without a window

Start-Process -FilePath $installer -Wait `
    -ArgumentList '/VERYSILENT', '/NORESTART', '/MERGETASKS=!runcode,addtopath'

Inno Setup reads its switches before it draws anything, so /VERYSILENT with /NORESTART is a complete unattended install with no answer file. -Wait matters. Without it the script moves on while the installer is still running, and anything after — a settings file, an extension install — races it.

The switches:

The installer offers six tasks. After install, runcode launches the editor, addtopath edits PATH, and associatewithfiles registers Code as an editor for supported file types. The other three, desktopicon, addcontextmenufiles and addcontextmenufolders, add the shortcut and the “Open with Code” entries in Explorer. On a headless install runcode leaves an editor window nobody will ever see, and it is on by default, so turn it off. Turning runcode off leaves every other task as it was, because /MERGETASKS applies your changes on top of the installer’s defaults. The /TASKS switch would replace them wholesale.

Verify

Remove-Item $installer
Test-Path "$env:ProgramFiles\Microsoft VS Code\Code.exe"
& "$env:ProgramFiles\Microsoft VS Code\bin\code.cmd" --version

The version check calls the launcher by path because the PATH change from addtopath is not visible in the session that ran the installer.

Expected result

Code.exe exists under Program Files\Microsoft VS Code, the uninstall entry reports the version you expected, and code --version works in a new shell. A new one, because addtopath edits the machine PATH and the session that ran the installer still has the old one.

Common failures

Script hangs at Start-Process

The installer is showing a dialog you can’t see. Usually VS Code is already running under this account and Inno Setup is asking whether to close it. Stop Code.exe first, or add /CLOSEAPPLICATIONS.

Access denied under Program Files

The session isn’t elevated. The system installer needs it; the user installer doesn’t.

code isn’t recognized after the install

Either addtopath wasn’t in /MERGETASKS, or you’re in the same shell that ran the installer. Open a new one. On Windows Server the change reaches services and scheduled tasks only after they restart.

Download is a few kilobytes of HTML

The download URL redirected to an error page, from a proxy or an outbound rule blocking the CDN. Check the signature before running it:

Get-AuthenticodeSignature $installer | Select-Object Status, SignerCertificate

The real installer reports Valid, signed by Microsoft Corporation. Anything else means the file isn’t the installer; don’t run it.