Skip to main content

​
Install from VS Code Marketplace

Vibrancy Continued is available on the Visual Studio Code Marketplace.
1

Open VS Code Extensions

Press Ctrl+Shift+X (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+X (macOS) to open the Extensions view.
2

Search and Install

Search for “Vibrancy Continued” and click Install on the extension by illixion.
3

Enable Vibrancy

Press F1 and run the command “Enable Vibrancy” (or “Reload Vibrancy”).
4

Restart VS Code

Restart VS Code when prompted to apply the effect.
Each time VS Code updates, you’ll need to re-enable Vibrancy using the same steps (press F1 and run “Reload Vibrancy”).

​
Understanding the “Corrupt Installation” Warning

After enabling Vibrancy, you’ll see a warning that your VS Code installation appears to be corrupt:
This warning is expected and safe to dismiss. Vibrancy works by modifying VS Code’s HTML/JS files, which triggers a checksum verification warning.

​
How to Dismiss the Warning

  1. Click the cogwheel icon on the warning notification
  2. Select “Don’t Show Again”
Corrupt warning example How to dismiss warning All changes made by Vibrancy can be completely reverted by disabling the extension.

​
Alternative: Fix VSCode Checksums

If you don’t have the option to dismiss the warning, or see [Unsupported] in VS Code’s title bar, install this companion extension: Fix VSCode Checksums Next

​
Platform-Specific Setup

​
Windows 10/11 Users (IMPORTANT)

Windows users must follow these additional steps or you won’t be able to resize, snap, or maximize the VS Code window.
This issue affects VS Code 1.86+ on Windows due to GPU compositing conflicts with Electron 27.

​
Required Windows Setup Steps

1

Update VS Code Shortcut

Right-click your VS Code shortcut and select Properties. In the Target field, add --disable-gpu-compositing at the end:
"C:\Users\YourName\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code\Code.exe" --disable-gpu-compositing
2

Update Shell Configuration (Optional)

If you launch VS Code from the terminal using the code command, add the same argument to your shell configuration:PowerShell ($PROFILE):
function code { & "$env:LOCALAPPDATA\Programs\Microsoft VS Code\Code.exe" --disable-gpu-compositing $args }
Command Prompt (create a batch file or use doskey):
doskey code="C:\Users\YourName\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code\Code.exe" --disable-gpu-compositing $*
3

Install Vibrancy Continued

Install the extension from the Marketplace.
4

Enable Disable Frameless Window

Open VS Code settings (Ctrl+,) and enable:Disable Frameless Window (vscode_vibrancy.disableFramelessWindow)
5

Reload Vibrancy

Press F1 and run “Reload Vibrancy”, then restart VS Code.
For detailed troubleshooting, see issue #140 and issue #122.

​
macOS Users

Vibrancy Continued supports both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs with native vibrancy effects.

​
Permission Issues

If you encounter EACCES: permission denied errors: 
sudo chown -R $(whoami):staff "/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/"
sudo chmod -R 755 "/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app/"
Alternatively, reinstall VS Code to fix ownership issues.

​
App Translocation Issues

If you see EROFS: read-only file system errors, VS Code is affected by App Translocation. Fix: Move VS Code to /Applications using Finder, or run: 
sudo xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/Visual Studio Code.app"

​
Supported Platforms

macOS

Intel and Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3)

Windows

Windows 10/11 (x64 & ARM64)

​
Supported Editors

  • Visual Studio Code - Fully supported
  • VSCodium - Fully supported
  • Cursor - Supported (use Fix VSCode Checksums Next to remove persistent warnings)
Linux is not supported due to technical limitations with transparency effects in Electron on Linux.

​
Permission Requirements

​
Windows

If you see “Run Visual Studio Code with administrator privileges”:
  1. Close VS Code completely
  2. Right-click VS Code and select Run as administrator
  3. Run the “Enable Vibrancy” or “Reload Vibrancy” command again
This typically occurs with VS Code System Installer. Consider using the User Installer to avoid permission issues.

​
macOS

Vibrancy requires write access to VS Code’s application files. If you installed VS Code with restricted permissions, see the permission fixes above.

​
Updating Vibrancy

When VS Code updates, Vibrancy must be reapplied:
  1. Press F1
  2. Run “Reload Vibrancy”
  3. Restart VS Code
Vibrancy will prompt you automatically when an update is needed.

​
Uninstalling Vibrancy

To completely remove Vibrancy:
1

Disable Vibrancy

Press F1 and run “Disable Vibrancy”
2

Restart VS Code

Restart VS Code to revert all changes
3

Uninstall Extension

Uninstall the extension from the Extensions view
You can also just uninstall the extension directly - it will automatically clean up when uninstalled.
All modifications to VS Code files are completely reversed, and your settings are restored to their original values.

​
Next Steps

Quickstart Guide

Get vibrancy working in 5 minutes

Configuration

Customize themes, opacity, and effects

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Get started for freeTalk to us