VSCode on EndeavorOS

General system Newbie
1

Hey everyone,

I am currently trying to install VSCode, and cant seem to figure out why it wont work. I am running a default version of EndeavorOS, using i3wm as the Desktop Environment. I did some research and was using snaps to install it. The commands i used and what i did:

git clone https://aur.archlinux.org/snapd.git

cd snapd

makepkg -si

sudo systemctl enable --now snapd.socket

sudo ln -s /var/lib/snapd/snap /snap

sudo snap install code --classic

After i ran these commands, i got the error:
“error: cannot install “code”: classic confinement requires snaps under /snap or symlink from /snap
to /var/lib/snapd/snap”

I tried to remove the --classic, but then it tells me that i do need it, so this really has me stumped. I did the command “sudo snap wait system seed.loaded” And i get no feed back, so i am assuming this worked.

Any help would be very appreciated!

EDIT: I truly thank you all for the help, i learned a lot from this and am thankful you guys are so nice and willing to help a beginner!!

2

Why are you messing around with snap to install vscode?

sudo pacman -S code

This doesn’t work?

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3

Do not use snap. For many reasons.

On Arch, you can use code as @otherbarry suggested. It’s an open source build and does not have access to MS extension marketplace by default. It uses OpenVSX. But you can configure it to use MS extension marketplace.

If you want Vscodium, that is in the AUR.

Finally, If you want the proprietary build by MS, use visual-studio-code-bin from AUR.

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4

Yeah, this is not 'buntu.

Do what @otherbarry suggested, that will work.

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5

Alright this worked, i guess i was just overthinking it! Also, how could i launch the application? Or open some sort of menu where i can see applications/settings?

Thanks for the reply!

6

Determining how to answer that question (launch related) requires knowledge of what DE or WM (or both) that you are operating with! If, for instance, it is on XFCE, then an entry in the whisker menu will exist from the installation process. It will in most setups be automatically added to whatever menu system comes with the DE. I’m afraid I can’t get specific further without more info!

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7

For my DE i am using i3wm, i dont believe i am using a WM.

8

i3 is not something I use myself, so I am afraid you need someone familiar with its setup. Did you install it that way from the ISO? Certain assumptions on panels and menu systems can then be made… :grin:

Hang in there - quite a few people use that setup - but I’m too old to remember all the new key combos (or to learn them in the first place!)

BTW - Code is very versatile and configuarable - I even have good syntax hightlighting enabled for conky scripts and lua, as well as the usual suspects for coding…

9

Gotcha haha, and yeah i did install it that way from the ISO. I tried using the command “start code.exe”, but that didnt seem to work. Any other ideas on how to start it?

10

If you want to start from terminal just type

code

In terminal and it will start. .exe are windows executable, doesn’t exists here.
Also keep in mind that that will lock your terminal on the code execution. Use

code &

Instead to continue to use the terminal after starting code.
Also i3wm should being shipped with dmenu already installed. The key combo is mod+d (as indicated below from @flyingcakes. edited to not give imprecise indication). That should open dmenu in the top of you desktop and there you can simply type the name of the software you want to start (in this case code as in the terminal emulator) and then press Enter.

And btw I use Ar…ops sorry I wanted to say Welcome to the forum :wink:

11

Welcome to the forum @kevinryder !

For what is worth, i3wm is a WM :blush:

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12

Mod + d

Then type code
Press enter.

(Mod is the super key, or you might be calling it the windows key)

i3 is a WM btw :wink:

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13

First of all welcome to the purple :enos: side.

As many pointed out don’t use snaps on an Arch-based system. Snaps is for Ubuntu, not Arch. Anyway you can use the AUR to install almost anything you can’t find in the Arch or enos repositories.

enos does ship with yay which is AUR helper which you can use to install user-hosted packages. Which is far better than snaps.

Jus use yay -S <package name> you don’t need sudo process will ask for it if needed. From the AUR you can get ,

  • code-gitAUR (in-development open-source version)
  • visual-studio-code-binAUR (Microsoft-branded release)
  • visual-studio-code-insiders-binAUR (Microsoft-branded release, updated daily)
  • vscodium-binAUR (community-driven fully open-source version of VSCode, with all Microsoft telemetry stripped out - latest release, binary package)
  • vscodiumAUR (community-driven fully open-source version of VSCode, with all Microsoft telemetry stripped out - latest release, git build)
  • vscodium-gitAUR (community-driven fully open-source version of VSCode, with all Microsoft telemetry stripped out - latest commit on branch master, git build)

From Arch official repository.

  • code (open-source release)

If you’re doing any MonoDevelopment it is best to go with VSCode from Microsoft if not all is good.

SOURCE: https://wiki.archlinux.org/title/Visual_Studio_Code#Installation

The difference between a desktop environment (DE) and a windows manager (WM).

What is a Window Manager?

A Window Manager is a piece of software that manages windows, allowing the windows to be opened, closed, re-sized, and moved. It is also capable of presenting menus and options to the user. It controls the look and feel of the user’s GUI. With Linux or BSD, you have choices. You are free to select any number of window managers, ranging from lean-and-mean simple ones (low memory and CPU consumption), to feature-packed large ones. There are approximately 17 “mainstream” window managers, and at least 70 others.

Here is a short list of some of the more popular ones:

  • fvwm2
  • twm
  • mwm
  • wm2
  • AfterStep
  • Enlightenment
  • WindowMaker
  • IceWM
  • Sawfish
  • Blackbox
  • Fluxbox
  • and MetaCity

For a really nice website that lists them all, try www.plig.org/xwinman/.

What is a Desktop Environment?

A desktop environment (DE) usually rides on top of a Window Manager and adds many features, including panels, status bars, drag-and-drop capabilities, and a suite of integrated applications and tools. In fact, user opinions on operating systems are typically based on one thing: the Desktop Environment. Of course, the DE is only a small part of an OS, and in Linux and Unix systems, the Window Manager and/or DE can be replaced or highly customized without violating any end-user licensing agreements.

The most popular Desktop Environments for Unix/Linux are:

  • GNOME
  • KDE
  • CDE
  • XFce

Of course, there are others.

SOURCE: https://askubuntu.com/questions/18078/what-is-the-difference-between-a-desktop-environment-and-a-window-manager

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14 
code        # starts code
code-oss    # starts another code (oss version)
code -h     # shows code options
15

@kevinryder
It looks to me like you’ve chosen i3wm by mistake. If you are a beginner, XFCE, KDE, Gnome, Mate or Cinnamon might provide more suitable user interfaces for EndeavourOS. If i got this wrong, and you are an experienced i3 user, please accept my apologies. If not, and you have chosen i3 because maybe you’ve read that it is “lightweight”, you must know that i3wm uses a completely different paradigm than traditional desktops, caters to more advanced users in general and relies on keyboard interactions and shortcuts rather than mouse actions. Without knowing those keyboard shortcuts, and understanding more about how it works, using it is difficult.

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16

It depends on how stubborn you are. If you want to use i3, stick to it, you’ll figure it out in a couple of days at most. Sure, those couple of days are going to be full of headache, but once you get through that, you’ll be comfortable with i3.

If you think that is not worth it, switch to KDE, you can’t go wrong with KDE Plasma :wink:

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17

First of all, I agree with the other responses and recommend installing VSCode from the AUR instead.

That said, I think your original problem is that you needed to restart snapd (snapd.socket?) after creating the symlink for it to be recognized.

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18

Why from the AUR? Why not from the repos?

I always recommend vscodium instead of vscode (simply because it makes my tinfoil hat less itchy)… But apparently code from repos is de-microsoftised as well.

But I don’t use vscode at all, so what do I know? :slight_smile:

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You’re right, either is fine. I was thinking AUR to get the actual Microsoft build.

Sorry for the confusion.

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20

code is pretty swell. It is fast, remembers my old scriblings without the need to save, (like notepad++) has good dark theming (which is hit and miss with other editors), has syntax coloring, good search replace feature and heaps of plugins to make it do what you want. It can be used as a snappy stand alone editor or a full fledged IDE for multiple languages.

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