Download VS Code Extensions as VSIX

Download any VS Code extension as a VSIX file straight from the official Visual Studio Marketplace. Pick any version. Pick the right build for your operating system. Everything runs in your browser with no install and no tracking.

Microsoft removed the plain download button from the marketplace, so getting a VSIX file by hand is awkward. This project gives you that file back.

It is handy when you need to:

• Install an extension on a machine that has no internet access.
• Pin an older version because a new one broke something.
• Grab the build that matches a specific operating system and processor.
• Keep an offline archive of the extensions your team depends on.

There is nothing to install. The web tool is a single page. The bookmarklet and the console script are small snippets you paste once.

1. Open the web tool. Locally you can open index.html in any browser. Hosted, open the GitHub Pages link for this repository.
2. Type an app name such as python. A live suggestion list appears as you type. Use the arrow keys and Enter, or click, to add the one you want. You can also paste a marketplace URL or a publisher.extension id such as esbenp.prettier-vscode and press Enter.
3. Each pick becomes a chip with its own card. Choose the version, and the platform if the extension shows one, then press Download VSIX.
4. Add as many extensions as you like. Remove one by pressing the small x on its chip.

1. Open downloadVSIX.bookmark and copy the whole line.
2. Make a new browser bookmark and paste that line as the address.
3. Open any extension page on the marketplace.
4. Click the bookmark. The latest VSIX downloads. For an extension with per platform builds, the direct links for each platform are shown.

1. Open any extension page on the marketplace.
2. Open the developer console with F12.
3. Paste the contents of downloadVSIX.js and press Enter.

The console script and the bookmarklet read the extension identifier from the page address, ask the marketplace for the latest version, and start the download. They do not depend on the page markup, so they keep working when Microsoft restyles the site.

Most extensions ship one universal VSIX. Some, such as the C and C++ tools, ship a separate VSIX per platform. For those, the web tool shows a platform menu so you can pick the correct file. The covered platforms are:

• win32-x64 and win32-arm64 for Windows
• darwin-x64 and darwin-arm64 for macOS
• linux-x64, linux-arm64, and linux-armhf for Linux
• alpine-x64 and alpine-arm64 for Alpine

The tool asks the official marketplace gallery service for the list of versions of the extension you name. That service returns every version, and for OS specific extensions it also returns the platform of each build. The tool then builds the official Microsoft download link for the exact file you pick and hands the download to your browser.

The download link points at the marketplace vspackage endpoint, which serves the file with a correct name such as esbenp.prettier-vscode-12.4.0.vsix.

• It runs entirely in your browser. There is no backend, no account, no cookies, and no analytics.
• It contacts one host only, marketplace.visualstudio.com. No third party service is involved.
• It has zero dependencies and no build step. You can read every line of the three small files yourself.
• Files download straight from Microsoft servers over HTTPS.

The tool is built to stay light on the marketplace and to avoid being throttled or blocked.

• The search waits until you pause typing before it asks the marketplace, and it never sends a query shorter than two letters.
• An older search is cancelled the moment you type more, so fast typing never stacks up calls.
• Every search result and every version lookup is cached in memory for the session, so retyping or removing and re adding never repeats a call.
• A version lookup that hits a busy response is retried with a short backoff, and a busy state shows a plain message rather than an error.
• It uses the same public gallery endpoints that VS Code itself uses, which are stable across marketplace redesigns. Because the tool reads version data from the API rather than scraping the page, a site restyle does not break it.

This is an independent open source project. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Microsoft or by any extension publisher. Visual Studio, VS Code, and the Visual Studio Marketplace are trademarks of Microsoft.

The tool does not host, modify, cache, or redistribute any extension. It builds the official Microsoft download links, and every file is served directly by Microsoft. Your use of the marketplace and of each extension is governed by the Visual Studio Marketplace Terms of Use and by each extension license. You are responsible for following them.

Open an extension page on the marketplace, open the console with F12, and paste downloadVSIX.js. Or skip the console entirely and use the web tool, which is the simplest path. This is the topic of issue 6, and the project now keeps one clear console script instead of two near identical ones.

Yes. The web tool shows a platform menu for any extension that ships per platform builds. This is the topic of issue 7.

Yes. Paste several links or identifiers in the web tool, one per line, and each resolves with its own controls. This is the topic of issue 1.

There is no separate browser extension, and there does not need to be. The web tool works in Firefox, Chrome, Edge, and Safari. The bookmarklet works in every one of those too. A dedicated extension would add a store review and update burden with no extra capability. This is the topic of issue 2.

That was the behaviour of the old script. The tool now uses the vspackage endpoint, which names the file correctly.

Serve the folder with any static server and open the page.

python3 -m http.server 8137
# then open http://localhost:8137/index.html

The tool was validated end to end in a real browser against the live marketplace. The checks cover an exact identifier, an OS specific extension, a search by name, invalid input, a batch of several entries, the dark mode toggle, and a full download that is unzipped and confirmed to contain a real extension.vsixmanifest. The bookmarklet logic was validated from the live marketplace page as well.

Issues and pull requests are welcome. Keep the project dependency free and client side. No build step, no tracking, no third party calls beyond the official marketplace.

Released under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file.

Mirza Iqbal.