: Offers a very similar aesthetic to VS Code (minimap, command palette) and has an older 32-bit version that is extremely fast on XP.
The Electron framework (which VS Code is built on) dropped XP support years ago. Attempting to run any VS Code installer will result in an error: "This program requires Windows 10 or later" .
: There is no version of VS Code designed to run on Windows XP. Attempting to install even early versions often fails. 32-bit Discontinuation
How to proceed safely (recommended steps)
Microsoft officially dropped Windows XP support for VS Code many years ago. The last version of VS Code that officially functioned on Windows XP (via specific workarounds or legacy builds) was (released in 2016) or early sub-versions of the 1.x line. visual studio code for windows xp 32-bit download
Even if you get VS Code 1.70.3 to launch, its functionality will be severely limited.
Because VS Code is built on the Electron framework (which dropped XP support years ago), even legacy versions may be unstable or lack essential modern features. Instead, consider these "XP-friendly" code editors: Visual Studio Code
If you must attempt to run VS Code on a Windows XP machine, you will need to look into the series from around 2017.
This version is the last one to work on Windows XP. While no longer maintained, it’s a stable, fast editor that supports a huge library of community plugins and is a favorite among developers for its customizability. : Offers a very similar aesthetic to VS
Highly recommended Notepad++ Downloads for quick code edits, supporting many languages, and very low system overhead.
A modern, open-source text editor written in Lazarus that retains compatibility with older Windows systems while remaining actively updated.
If you attempt to find these versions on third-party archiving websites, you must exercise extreme caution:
: A native, cross-platform editor written in Free Pascal. It is designed to be a "fast alternative to VS Code" and has a dedicated 32-bit version that works well on older hardware. : There is no version of VS Code
The quest for a direct, official, and safe download of ends in an unfortunate reality: it does not exist. Microsoft ended official support years ago, and no reliably working legacy version is publicly available.
: Users attempting to install version 1.14.2 (a commonly cited legacy version) on XP SP3 often encounter errors stating the program "does not support the version of Windows" or hardware limitations such as missing SSE2 instructions. Visual Studio Code Potential Legacy Downloads If you wish to experiment with the last versions that theoretically supported older systems, you can check the Visual Studio Code Updates archive for legacy 32-bit (ia32) installers: Version 1.14.2
This is mandatory. VS Code will not run on SP1 or SP2.
Are you targeting or just using it as a text editor?