Visual Studio Code is a code editor that supports editing, navigating, understanding, debugging, and extending software projects. Developers use it for the edit-build-debug cycle, and the catalogue add-ons provide skills, instructions, and agents for working within the editor.
Borrowing it
Nothing to install: this file belongs to microsoft/vscode. Take a copy, put it at the same path in your own repository, and replace the rules that are about this project with yours.
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/microsoft/vscode/main/.github/skills/setup-environment/SKILL.mdgit clone --depth 1 https://github.com/microsoft/vscodeWrote this? Show the measurements
A badge with what this costs and how it scanned, read live from this page, so it follows the numbers instead of freezing them. Markdown for a README, HTML for a documentation site or a project page.
[](https://agentmods.dev/skills/microsoft/vscode/setup-environment)<a href="https://agentmods.dev/skills/microsoft/vscode/setup-environment"><img src="https://agentmods.dev/badge/skills/microsoft/vscode/setup-environment/github.svg" alt="Measured on agentmods" height="20"></a>Or the 80×15 button, for a site that already has a row of RSS and ATOM ones. Only the verdict fits; the numbers stay here.
<a href="https://agentmods.dev/skills/microsoft/vscode/setup-environment"><img src="https://agentmods.dev/badge/skills/microsoft/vscode/setup-environment.svg" alt="Reviewed on agentmods" width="80" height="20"></a>What it costs to keep this loaded
Counted locally with the o200k_base tokenizer, which is exact for GPT models; Claude uses its own tokenizer and its counts differ. Treat this as one consistent yardstick across the catalogue rather than a bill. Prices are per million input tokens.
| Model | Per session | Once invoked |
|---|---|---|
| Fable 5.1 | $0.00007 | $0.00982 |
| Opus 5.5 | $0.00003 | $0.00393 |
| Sonnet 5.5 | $0.00001 | $0.00196 |
| Haiku 4.5 | $0.00001 | $0.00098 |
Grade B, and why
setup-environment scanned grade B with 1 finding against 26 rules in 11 categories — prompt injection, anti-refusal, data exfiltration, privilege escalation, supply chain, agent snooping, system-prompt leakage, SSRF and excessive agency — measured 3d ago.
A static scan of the body, not an audit. Every finding is printed with the line that produced it so you can judge whether it matters here. A mod is markdown that instructs an agent; that is exactly why what it instructs is worth reading.
Asks for rootmediumPrivilege escalation
A mod that escalates privileges can change anything on the machine, not only the project.
- For Debian/Ubuntu: `sudo apt-get install git` How it starts
The opening of the file, as written. The whole thing — 79 lines — stays where its author put it; the contents beside it link to each section on GitHub.
Role
You are my setup automation assistant. Your task is to follow the steps below to help me get set up with the necessary tools and environment for development. Your task is completed when I've successfully built and run the repository. Use a TODO to track progress.
Steps
-
Find setup instructions in README.md and CONTRIBUTING.md at the root of the repository. Fetch any other documentation they recommend.
-
Show me a list of all required tools and dependencies in the markdown format. If a dependency has linked documentation, fetch those docs to find the exact version number required. Remember that link and that version for step 4. Do not display system requirements.
🛠️ Required Tools
- Node.js (version 14 or higher)
- Git (latest version)
- Extra component if necessary.
-
Verify all required tools and dependencies are installed by following these rules:
-
For all tools that should exist on the PATH, check their versions.
toolA --version; toolB --version; [...] toolZ --version -
For tools not traditionally on the PATH: 1. Attempt to find the installation by searching the expected install location 2. If the tool is not found, adjust your search parameters or locations and try once more. Consider if the tool is installed with a package manager. 3. If the second location fails, mark it as missing.
-
Display a summary of what I have and what I need to install. In the markdown format. If a section is empty, omit it.
✅ Already Installed
- Node.js (version 16.13.0) ⚠️ Note: You have X version but this project specifies Y.
❌ Not Installed
- ❌ Git (need version 2.30 or higher)
- [Link to downloads page]
❓ Unable to Verify
- ToolName - [Reason why it couldn't be verified]
- [Manual verification instructions steps]
- For each missing tool:
- Use the appropriate installation method for my operating system:
- Windows: Try installing it directly using
winget.- Example:
winget install --id Git.Git -e --source winget
- Example:
- macOS: Try installing it using
brewif Homebrew is installed.- Example:
brew install git
- Example:
- Linux: Try installing it using the system's package manager:
- For Debian/Ubuntu:
sudo apt-get install git - For Fedora:
sudo dnf install git - For CentOS/RHEL:
sudo yum install git - For Arch:
sudo pacman -S git - If the distribution is unknown, suggest manual installation.
- For Debian/Ubuntu:
- Windows: Try installing it directly using
- You MUST install the required versions found in step 2.
- For tools that may be managed by version managers (like
Node.js), try installing them using the version manager if installed. - If any installation fails, provide an install link and suggest manual installation.
- When updating PATH, follow these guidelines:
- First, do it only for the current session.
- Once installation is verified, add it permanently to the PATH.
- Warn the user that this step may need to be performed manually, and should be verified manually. Provide simple steps to do so.
- If a restart may be required, remind the user.
- Use the appropriate installation method for my operating system:
What this file has done since we first saw it
Hashed on every crawl. A supply-chain change to an agent config is a question of when, not whether, so the history is kept rather than the latest state alone.
- 3d ago Changed · -3 lines 45ce9dc1546f
- 27d ago First seen · 82 lines · 7 tokens per session scan B 510a87284b7a
setup-environment is a skill published in the GitHub repository microsoft/vscode (193,657 stars, last pushed today), licensed MIT. It adds 7 tokens to every session and 982 once invoked, about $0.0000 per session on Opus 5.5. A static security scan graded it B with 1 finding (asks for root). No closer match exists in the catalogue, so it is treated as the original; first seen 2026-09-19.
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