Uninstall the VSCode application via system settings or package managers like choco, scoop, apt, or brew. 2. Delete user data and configuration files in specific directories: on Windows, remove %APPDATA%\Code\ and %USERPROFILE%.vscode\; on macOS, delete ~/Library/Application Support/Code/, ~/.vscode/, and related cache and preference files; on Linux, remove ~/.config/Code/, ~/.vscode/, and ~/.cache/Code/. 3. Remove extensions by deleting the extensions subfolders within the previously mentioned config directories, as they are typically included when clearing the main folders. 4. On Windows, optionally clean the registry by removing entries under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Code and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Code using regedit, but only after backing up the registry and exercising caution to avoid system damage. After completing these steps, Visual Studio Code is completely removed from the system, ensuring a fresh installation upon reinstallation.

Uninstalling Visual Studio Code (VSCode) completely means removing not just the app itself, but also all its settings, extensions, and cached data. Here's how to do it thoroughly on different operating systems.

1. Uninstall VSCode App

Windows

• Go to Settings > Apps > Installed apps (or Control Panel > Programs > Programs and Features).
• Find Microsoft Visual Studio Code in the list.
• Click Uninstall and follow the prompts.

Alternatively, if you used chocolatey or scoop:

# If installed via Chocolatey
choco uninstall vscode

# If installed via Scoop
scoop uninstall vscode

macOS

• Open Finder, go to the Applications folder.
• Drag Visual Studio Code to the Trash.
• Empty the Trash.

Note: If you installed it via Homebrew:

brew uninstall --cask visual-studio-code

Linux (Debian/Ubuntu)

sudo apt remove --purge code

For other package managers (e.g., snap, flatpak), use:

snap remove code
# or
flatpak uninstall com.visualstudio.code

2. Delete User Data and Configuration Files

Even after uninstalling, VSCode leaves behind settings, extensions, and cache. You need to manually delete these folders.

Windows

Delete the following folders:

• %APPDATA%\Code\ → C:\Users\<YourUser>\AppData\Roaming\Code
• %USERPROFILE%\.vscode\ → C:\Users\<YourUser>\.vscode
• %APPDATA%\Code - Insiders\ (if using Insiders version)
• %USERPROFILE%\.vscode-insiders\

? Press Win R, type %APPDATA%, and press Enter to quickly access AppData.

macOS

Remove these directories:

• ~/Library/Application Support/Code/
• ~/.vscode/
• ~/Library/Caches/com.microsoft.VSCode/*
• ~/Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.VSCode.plist
• ~/Library/Saved Application State/com.microsoft.VSCode.savedState

You can run these commands in Terminal:

rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Code
rm -rf ~/.vscode
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/com.microsoft.VSCode
rm -rf ~/Library/Preferences/com.microsoft.VSCode.plist
rm -rf ~/Library/Saved\ Application\ State/com.microsoft.VSCode.savedState

Linux

Delete:

• ~/.config/Code/
• ~/.vscode/
• ~/.cache/Code/ (or ~/.var/app/com.visualstudio.code/cache/ if using Flatpak)

Terminal commands:

rm -rf ~/.config/Code
rm -rf ~/.vscode
rm -rf ~/.cache/Code

3. Remove Extensions (Optional but Recommended)

Extensions are usually inside the folders above (like ~/.vscode/extensions or AppData/Roaming/Code/User/extensions). Deleting the main config folders takes care of this, but double-check:

• ~/.vscode/extensions (user-level)
• System-wide extensions might be in install directories, but these are removed with the app.

4. Clean Registry (Windows Only)

If you want a truly clean slate, you can remove VSCode entries from the registry:

• Open Registry Editor (regedit).
• Back up the registry first!
• Search for keys related to VisualStudioCode, Code, or Microsoft.VSCode.
• Common paths:
  • HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Code
  • HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Code

?? Be careful — deleting wrong registry entries can break your system.

That’s it. After completing these steps, VSCode is completely gone from your system. When you reinstall it later, it will be like a fresh installation.

Basically just uninstall delete config folders — simple, but easy to miss the hidden data.

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