Visual Studio Code design system

What font does Visual Studio Code use?

Visual Studio Code’s website uses Menlo for headings and body text. Menlo is a system font, already on Windows and macOS.

Visual Studio Code colour palette

Visual Studio Code’s home page is light (#FFFFFF background, #000000 text) and uses #0078D4 for its main actions. Its palette: #FFFFFF, #FAFAFD, #475569, #202020, #1E1E1E, #242424.

• #FFFFFF
  84.5% · backgrounds
• #FAFAFD
  6.1% · backgrounds
• #475569
  2.9% · text
• #202020
  1.2% · text
• #1E1E1E
  0.8% · backgrounds, text
• #242424
  0.7% · text
• #EEF4FB
  0.7% · backgrounds
• #000000
  0.7% · text, lines
• #001080
  0.4% · text
• #333333
  0.3% · text

Type scale

Each size the page sets text in, with its weight and line height. Visual Studio Code’s largest type is 62px at weight 700.

Spacing and shape

Spacing steps the page leans on: 4px, 6px, 8px, 12px, 16px, 20px, 24px, 32px, 36px, 40px, 48px, 60px.

Corner radii: 1px, 2px, 3px, 4px, 5px, 6px, 8px. 2 shadow levels measured.

What makes Visual Studio Code look like Visual Studio Code

Almost entirely neutral: 98% of the page is painted in #FFFFFF and #FAFAFD.

#001080 is an accent: 0.4% of the page, used for text only. Don't fill large areas with it.

#A31515 is an accent: 0.3% of the page, used for text only. Don't fill large areas with it.

The largest type (62px system-ui) is bold (700), tracked to -0.013em.

Visual Studio Code DESIGN.md for Claude Code, Cursor and Lovable

A DESIGN.md is the brief an AI coding tool reads before it writes UI. This one carries everything on this page as rules a model follows: the allowed colours and what each is for, the fonts with free stand-ins, the type scale, spacing, corners, and the things Visual Studio Code’s design never does.

Put it in your project root and ask your tool to follow it: “Read DESIGN.md and build [your product] in this design language.” It describes a style, not Visual Studio Code’s product, so use your own name, words and images.

Download Visual Studio Code DESIGN.md · View it as text

As CSS variables

The measured values as CSS custom properties, with free fonts standing in for licensed ones. Use them to learn from or to start a project in a similar style; Visual Studio Code’s name, logo, words and images are theirs.

@import url("https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Source+Code+Pro:wght@400&display=swap");

:root {
  --color-background: #FFFFFF; /* Background */
  --color-surface: #F0F1F2; /* Surface */
  --color-text: #000000; /* Text */
  --color-text-muted: #242424; /* Text muted */
  --color-action: #0078D4; /* Action */
  --color-on-action: #FFFFFF; /* On action */
  --color-link: #005FB8; /* Link */
  --color-positive: #388A34; /* Positive */
  --color-negative: #A31515; /* Negative */
  --color-warning: #795E26; /* Warning */
  --color-fafafd: #FAFAFD; /* 6.1% of the page, as fills */
  --color-1e1e1e: #1E1E1E; /* 0.8% of the page, as fills */
  --color-eef4fb: #EEF4FB; /* 0.7% of the page, as fills */
  --font-body: "Menlo", monospace; /* Menlo */
  --font-code: "Source Code Pro", monospace; /* Source Code Pro */
  --type-display: 62px; /* Display, weight 700 */
  --type-display-leading: 74.4px;
  --type-display-tracking: -0.013em;
  --type-headline: 30px; /* Headline, weight 600 */
  --type-headline-leading: 45px;
  --type-headline-tracking: -0.017em;
  --type-title-large: 20px; /* Title Large, weight 600 */
  --type-title-large-leading: 30px;
  --type-title-large-tracking: -0.025em;
  --type-title-small: 18px; /* Title Small, weight 600 */
  --type-title-small-leading: 25.7143px;
  --type-body-large: 16px; /* Body Large, weight 500 */
  --type-body-large-leading: 25.6px;
  --type-body-small: 14px; /* Body Small, weight 400 */
  --type-body-small-leading: 21px;
  --type-label-1: 13px; /* Label 1, weight 400 */
  --type-label-1-leading: 18.85px;
  --type-label-2: 12px; /* Label 2, weight 400 */
  --type-label-2-leading: 17.1429px;
  --type-label-3: 11.7px; /* Label 3, weight 400 */
  --type-label-3-leading: 17.55px;
  --type-label-4: 11px; /* Label 4, weight 400 */
  --type-label-4-leading: 16.5px;
  --type-label-5: 10.8px; /* Label 5, weight 400 */
  --type-label-5-leading: 15.4286px;
  --type-label-6: 10px; /* Label 6, weight 700 */
  --type-label-6-leading: 14.2857px;
  --type-label-6-tracking: 0.05em;
  --space-4: 4px;
  --space-8: 8px;
  --space-12: 12px;
  --space-16: 16px;
  --space-20: 20px;
  --space-24: 24px;
  --space-32: 32px;
  --space-36: 36px;
  --space-40: 40px;
  --space-48: 48px;
  --space-60: 60px;
  --space-92: 92px;
  --space-96: 96px;
  --radius-xs: 1px;
  --radius-sm: 2px;
  --radius-md: 3px;

How this was measured

PikSpec’s scanner read the code.visualstudio.com home page in Chrome at 1440px wide on 15 October 2026: the computed styles of its elements, the fonts that rendered and how much of the page each colour covers. Websites change; capture the page yourself with PikSpec for today’s values, any page, and exports in five formats.

Visual Studio Code is a trademark of its owner. This page is an independent measurement and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Visual Studio Code.

Similar light designs: Airbnb · Airtable · Allbirds · Anthropic · Apple · Arc

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