How to Delete All VS Code Files: A Complete Guide to Cleaning Up Your Installation

Visual Studio Code is one of the most popular code editors available, but over time it accumulates a surprising amount of data — settings files, extensions, cached data, workspace history, and more. Whether you're troubleshooting a broken installation, freeing up disk space, or preparing a machine for a fresh start, knowing which files VS Code creates and where they live is essential before you delete anything.

What Files Does VS Code Actually Create?

VS Code splits its footprint across two distinct locations:

1. The application itself — the core program files installed in your system's applications folder
2. User data and configuration — stored separately in your home directory or AppData folder

This separation matters because uninstalling VS Code through standard methods (dragging to Trash on macOS, using Add/Remove Programs on Windows) typically removes only the application binary. It leaves behind extensions, settings, keybindings, themes, snippets, and cached workspace data.

The Key Directories to Know

The .vscode folder in your home directory stores installed extensions. The Code folder in your app support or AppData path stores everything else: user settings (settings.json), keybindings, snippets, themes, language packs, and cached data.

How to Delete VS Code Files on Windows ���️

Step 1: Uninstall the application Go to Settings → Apps → Installed Apps, find Visual Studio Code, and uninstall it.

Step 2: Delete the user data folder Open File Explorer, type %APPDATA%Code in the address bar, and delete the entire Code folder.

Step 3: Delete the extensions folder Navigate to %USERPROFILE%.vscode and delete that folder as well.

Step 4: Clear any leftover temp files VS Code may write temporary files to %TEMP%. Search for any vscode-* named folders there and remove them.

How to Delete VS Code Files on macOS

Step 1: Drag VS Code to Trash Move the application from your /Applications folder to Trash.

Step 2: Remove user data Open Finder, press Cmd + Shift + G, and navigate to ~/Library/Application Support/Code. Delete the entire folder.

Step 3: Remove extensions Navigate to ~/.vscode (you may need to show hidden files with Cmd + Shift + .) and delete that folder.

Step 4: Check for additional caches Some VS Code processes write to ~/Library/Caches/com.microsoft.VSCode. Delete that folder if it exists.

How to Delete VS Code Files on Linux

On Linux, the paths follow the same pattern but vary slightly depending on whether you installed the official .deb/.rpm package or used Snap/Flatpak.

• Standard install: Remove the app via your package manager (sudo apt remove code or equivalent), then delete ~/.config/Code and ~/.vscode
• Snap install: Run sudo snap remove code — Snap handles more of the cleanup automatically, but verify ~/.config/Code is gone afterward
• Flatpak install: Run flatpak uninstall com.visualstudio.code, then check ~/.var/app/com.visualstudio.code for leftover data

Partial Cleanup: When You Don't Want to Delete Everything

A full wipe isn't always the right move. There are targeted options depending on what you're actually trying to fix:

• Corrupt settings only: Delete or reset just settings.json inside the Code/User/ folder
• Extension problems: Delete only ~/.vscode/extensions to remove all extensions while keeping your settings intact
• Cache bloat: VS Code stores cached language server data and workspace metadata — deleting just the Cache, CachedData, and workspaceStorage subfolders inside the Code directory reclaims space without losing preferences
• Workspace history: The storage.json file inside Code/User/globalStorage tracks recently opened folders — removing it clears that history

Variables That Affect Your Approach 🔧

The right cleanup strategy depends on several factors specific to your situation:

Operating system and install method determine which paths apply and whether your package manager handles partial cleanup automatically.

Whether VS Code is actively used elsewhere on the same machine matters — some developers run multiple profiles or use VS Code for Remote SSH and Server connections, which create additional data directories.

Extensions with their own data (like databases, language servers, or Docker integrations) may write data outside the standard .vscode path. Checking extension documentation for any named tools you use is worth doing before a full wipe.

Synced settings via the built-in Settings Sync feature are stored in your Microsoft or GitHub account — deleting local files won't affect cloud-synced preferences unless you also disable sync before uninstalling.

WSL users on Windows may find a second copy of VS Code server files inside their Linux distribution at ~/.vscode-server. That directory is separate from the Windows installation and needs to be deleted independently if a full cleanup is the goal.

The difference between a simple uninstall and a truly clean removal can be hundreds of megabytes of leftover data — or, in cases where extensions have accumulated over years, several gigabytes. How thorough you need to be depends entirely on your reason for cleaning up and what you plan to do with the machine afterward.