Learn C++ in the browser here, then move to a local toolchain for full projects. This guide covers running, debugging and building C++ in VS Code.

Install a compiler

  • •Windows: install MSYS2 (msys2.org) then pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-gcc, or install Visual Studio with the "Desktop development with C++" workload.
  • •macOS: xcode-select --install gives you Clang.
  • •Linux: sudo apt install g++ gdb (or dnf install gcc-c++ gdb).

Verify: g++ --version

VS Code

Install the C/C++ extension by Microsoft for IntelliSense and debugging. For larger projects also add the CMake Tools extension.

Write, compile and run

Create hello.cpp:

#include <iostream>

int main() {
    std::cout << "Hello, C++!" << std::endl;
}

Compile and run:

g++ -Wall -std=c++17 hello.cpp -o hello
./hello

Debug it

Press F5; VS Code creates a launch.json for gdb/lldb. Set breakpoints, inspect memory and step through pointer logic. Always compile with -g so debug symbols are available.

Build a project with CMake

For more than one file, use CMake:

cmake -S . -B build
cmake --build build

A CMakeLists.txt describes your targets and dependencies once, and CMake generates the right build files for any platform — the standard way real C++ projects are built.