Is there a node executable shipped with vscode?

Question

When I use the Remote Extension in vscode, I get a .vscode-server directory. Inside, I can find a node executable, e.g. in ~/.vscode-server/some-random-string/node.

I figured this out by testing the following minimal vscode extension:

import * as vscode from 'vscode';
export function activate(context: vscode.ExtensionContext) {
 let disposable = vscode.commands.registerCommand('test.helloworld', () => {
 vscode.window.showInformationMessage(process.argv[0]); 
 });
 context.subscriptions.push(disposable);
}
export function deactivate() {}

Running the same extension without the Remote extension, e.g. within Windows, the same extension would show me that I am running vscode from:

C:\Users\username\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code\Code.exe

My question is: is there a node executable available somewhere within vscode (not using Remote Extension) and how to find its path reliably from a vscode extension?

This is what I see in the Microsoft VS Code directory:

Directories:

• bin
• locales
• policies
• resources
• tools

as well as the Code.exe, and other irrelevant files. I looked everywhere but couldn't find any node executable.

There is also a ~/.vscode directory in my home folder, where you can find extensions, and an empty cli folder.

• Mike Lischke: I have no authoritative answer for your question, but I think there's no Node.js. Instead VS Code is based on Electron, which is itself a native binary and provides the necessary APIs for accessing the OS resources like disks, IO and so on.

Answer 1

It seems the answer is no:

Visual Studio Code has support for the JavaScript and TypeScript languages out-of-the-box as well as Node.js debugging. However, to run a Node.js application, you will need to install the Node.js runtime on your machine.

Note that the node executable in the Remote environment appears to be installed by the vscode server service.

• Ciro Santilli OurBigBook.com: I wonder why they don't want/aren't able to expose Node by default, given that vscode is based on Electron, and electron apps bundle a node.js executable: electronjs.org/docs/latest/tutorial/tutorial-prerequisites "Electron is a framework for building desktop applications using JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. By embedding Chromium and Node.js into a single binary file, Electron allows you to create cross-platform apps that work on Windows, macOS, and Linux with a single JavaScript codebase."