How to uninstall VS Code on Windows

Removing VS Code and resetting its data are separate decisions. Settings, keybindings and snippets live in one folder, extensions in another, and neither goes away when you uninstall the app. Back them up first if you might reinstall. This guide covers VS Code installed per-user from the Microsoft.VisualStudioCode winget package, and keeps your project folders and their own .vscode configuration untouched.

Quit VS Code first

Save your files, finish any task running in the integrated terminal, and close every VS Code window. VS Code runs as several processes, one per window plus helpers for extensions and the GPU, so check Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc) for any Code.exe still listed before you uninstall.

Remove the app with its own uninstaller

Go to Settings › Apps › Installed apps, find Visual Studio Code, and choose Uninstall, or run:

winget uninstall --id Microsoft.VisualStudioCode

Back up before you remove data

User settings live in %APPDATA%\Code\User\settings.json. Copy the whole %APPDATA%\Code\User folder to keep keybindings, snippets and profiles too. Extensions live in %USERPROFILE%\.vscode\extensions. Keep project folders and their own .vscode configuration; this guide never touches those.

Where the data lives

Check the result

Run these read-only commands after the uninstall finishes:

Get-Process Code -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue
winget list --id Microsoft.VisualStudioCode
Test-Path "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Programs\Microsoft VS Code"
Test-Path "$env:APPDATA\Code"
Test-Path "$env:USERPROFILE\.vscode"

• No output from Get-Process only means this query observed no matching process; a suppressed error leaves the running state unknown. A listed process means a window or helper is still open.
• A completed winget list query with no match means the package record is gone; a matching row means the uninstall did not finish.
• The first Test-Path returning False means the program folder is gone; True means files remain there.
• Test-Path "$env:APPDATA\Code" returning True means your settings and caches are still there, which is expected unless you removed them yourself.
• Test-Path "$env:USERPROFILE\.vscode" returning True means your extensions folder is still there; remove it yourself once you have backed it up, if you want a clean start.

If you installed it with winget

winget uninstall runs the same uninstaller Settings › Apps uses and removes the same program files; it does not touch %APPDATA%\Code, .vscode or .vscode-shared on its own.

Account and sync

Uninstalling does not sign you out of Settings Sync or any GitHub or Microsoft account you connected. If you use Settings Sync, your settings stay in the cloud and reapply the next time you sign in on any machine, whether or not you remove the local folders above.

What Mole lists

For VS Code installed per-user from winget:

• The program folder and the Start Menu shortcut are selected by default.
• %APPDATA%\Code\Cache and CachedData are selected by default.
• %USERPROFILE%\.vscode and %USERPROFILE%\.vscode-shared are listed but not selected.
• %APPDATA%\Code\User, where your settings live, is not listed.
• If a vscode:// link registration still points at the removed program, Mole lists it too, after backing it up to a .reg file; in this test the uninstaller had already removed it.

Projects on disk are not part of this list.

What this test covered

Tested on 2026-09-25 with VS Code 1.139.0 installed through winget, per-user scope. The test installed it from an elevated session, so its uninstaller asked for administrator access; a normal per-user install does not. Not verified: Settings Sync, or removing an install that is signed in.