The latest update (December 2025 (version 1.108) of VS code removed the code.exe file from the computer.

Don't worry, your code, settings, and extensions are completely safe! It is highly likely that your code.exe file was not actually deleted, but rather temporarily trapped due to a known bug with the VS Code background updater.

Here is exactly what is happening behind the scenes:

When VS Code starts an auto-update, it temporarily moves the old executable and files into a backup folder named _ (an underscore).

It then attempts to download and replace the files with the new version.

However, if this process is interrupted (such as shutting down Windows while VS Code is still running or updating in the background), the update fails.

This failure leaves your working code.exe stranded inside that _ folder, making it look like the application was uninstalled.

How to easily restore your VS Code installation:

Navigate to the installation directory: Open File Explorer and go to C:\Users{YourUsername}\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code.

Locate the backup folder: Look for a folder in this directory simply named _.

Restore the files: Open the _ folder and move all of its contents back up into the parent Microsoft VS Code directory.

Launch the application: Run the restored Code.exe. It will launch with all your previous extensions and settings completely intact.

Let it patch: Once opened, VS Code should automatically trigger the update again and successfully patch itself.

To prevent this from happening during future releases, you can disable background auto-updates in your VS Code settings and opt to perform manual updates instead.

Hope this helps