In this tutorial, we will show you how to install VSCodium on Debian 12. VSCodium is a free, open-source version of Microsoft’s popular Visual Studio Code (VS Code) editor. It offers the same features and functionality as VS Code but without the telemetry data tracking.

This article assumes you have at least basic knowledge of Linux, know how to use the shell, and most importantly, you host your site on your own VPS. The installation is quite simple and assumes you are running in the root account, if not you may need to add ‘sudo‘ to the commands to get root privileges. I will show you the step-by-step installation of the VSCodium on a Debian 12 (Bookworm).

Prerequisites

• A server running one of the following operating systems: Debian 12 (Bookworm).
• It’s recommended that you use a fresh OS install to prevent any potential issues.
• SSH access to the server (or just open Terminal if you’re on a desktop).
• Make sure your Debian 12 system is connected to the internet. An active connection is essential for downloading the required packages and updates during the installation.
• A non-root sudo user or access to the root user. We recommend acting as a non-root sudo user, however, as you can harm your system if you’re not careful when acting as the root.

Install VSCodium on Debian 12 Bookworm

Step 1.  Before installing VSCodium, you must ensure your system is up-to-date with all existing packages. Update your system with the following command:

sudo apt update
sudo apt upgrade

Step 2. Installing VSCodium on Debian 12.

To install VSCodium, you first need to import the VSCodium GPG key. This key ensures the authenticity of the software you’re installing. In the terminal, enter:

wget -qO - https://gitlab.com/paulcarroty/vscodium-deb-rpm-repo/raw/master/pub.gpg | sudo apt-key add -

Next, add the VSCodium repository to your system with the following command:

echo 'deb https://gitlab.com/paulcarroty/vscodium-deb-rpm-repo/raw/repos/debs/ vscodium main' | sudo tee --append /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vscodium.list

Update your system to recognize the new repository:

sudo apt update

Finally, install VSCodium using the apt package manager:

sudo apt install codium

This will install the latest version of VSCodium from the repository. The installation process will take a minute or two to complete.

Step 3. Launching VSCodium on Debian 12.

After installation, you can launch VSCodium from the applications menu. Simply search for “VSCodium” and click on the icon to open the editor. Alternatively, you can launch VSCodium from the terminal using:

codium

The first launch will take a bit longer as VSCodium sets up extensions and optimizations. After that, VSCodium will open instantly on subsequent launches.

To keep your VSCodium installation current, you should regularly check for updates. Use the following command to perform a comprehensive check for updates across all APT packages, including VSCodium:

sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

Since VSCodium updates its binaries frequently, running this command often is a good idea if you prefer manual update checks.

Congratulations! You have successfully installed VSCodium. Thanks for using this tutorial to install the latest version of the VSCodium on Debian 12 Bookworm. For additional help or useful information, we recommend you check the official VSCodium website.