Fix Error while fetching extensions. XHR failed in VS Code

# Fix Error while fetching extensions. XHR failed in VS Code

The VS Code "Error while extensions. XHR failed" error occurs when you have internet connectivity, proxy or firewall issues.

To solve the error, correct your VS Code settings and your proxy config if you use a proxy.

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + P (or Command + Shift + P on macOS).

2. Type user settings and select Preferences: Open User Settings.

You can also open the settings screen by pressing Ctrl + , on Windows and Linux or Cmd + , on macOS.

3. Type proxy.

4. Set the Http: Proxy Support setting to on.

5. Click on the Edit in settings.json link under Http: Proxy Authorization as shown in the screenshot.

6. Remove all properties that set proxy-related data other than http.proxySupport (which is set to "on") from your settings.json file.

7. Try to restart VS Code and see if you can load the extensions tab.

# Using the --ignore-certificate-errors option

If the error persists, close your current VS Code window and open the application with the --ignore-certificate-errors option.

Run the following command from your terminal (e.g. CMD or bash).

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code --ignore-certificate-errors

If you want to open the current directory in VS Code, run the following command.

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code . --ignore-certificate-errors

You can start VS Code with the flag, install extensions and then restart the editor without the flag.

# Manually installing an extension

An alternative approach to get around the error is to manually install an extension from the Open VSX registry.

1. Click on the link and search for the extension by name, tag or description.

2. Click on the extension you want to install.

3. Click on the Download button to download the extension.

4. Note the folder in which the extension is downloaded because we have to specify it in the next step.

5. Open your VS Code editor.

6. Click on Extensions in the left sidebar.

• You can also open the Extensions menu by pressing:
  • Ctrl + Shift + X on Windows or Linux.
  • Command + Shift + X on macOS.

7. Click on the three dots ... icon as shown in the screenshot and select Install extension from VSIX....

8. Navigate to the location where the extension is downloaded and select it.

Once you install the extension, a success message is shown.

# Make sure the http_proxy environment variable is set correctly

If no proxy is set directly in VS Code, it reads your http_proxy and https_proxy environment variables.

As the settings state:

If the Http: Proxy setting is not set, it is inherited from the http_proxy and https_proxy environment variables.

You either have to unset these environment variables or set them to the current value.

On Windows, open CMD and run the following commands to print the value of the environment variables.

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# Windows CMD

echo %http_proxy%

echo %https_proxy%

If you see any output, make sure that the proxy is set correctly. If you don't see any output, then no proxy is set.

On macOS and Linux, use the following commands to print the environment variables.

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# macOS and Linux

echo $http_proxy

echo $https_proxy

If you need to unset an environment variable, use the following syntax.

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# 👇️ for macOS, Linux or Windows Git Bash
unset http_proxy
unset https_proxy

# -----------------------------------------

# 👇️ for Windows CMD (Command Prompt)
set http_proxy=
set https_proxy=

# -----------------------------------------

# 👇️ for Windows PowerShell
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('http_proxy', '', 'User')
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('http_proxy', '', 'Machine')

[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('https_proxy', '', 'User')
[Environment]::SetEnvironmentVariable('https_proxy', '', 'Machine')

If you need to set a proxy directly in Visual Studio Code:

1. Press Ctrl + Shift + P (or Command + Shift + P on macOS).

2. Type user settings and select Preferences: Open User Settings.

You can also open the settings screen by pressing Ctrl + , on Windows and Linux or Cmd + , on macOS.

3. Type proxy and fill in the value for the Http:Proxy setting.

The value of your proxy setting will have the following format:

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# Without a username and a password
http://SERVER:PORT/

# Or with a username and a password
http://USERNAME:PASSWORD@SERVER:PORT/

Make sure to replace the placeholders with the actual values.

If you'd rather set the http_proxy environment variable to a specific value, use the following command on Windows in CMD.

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# Without a username and a password
setx http_proxy http://SERVER:PORT/

# Or with a username and a password
setx http_proxy http://USERNAME:PASSWORD@SERVER:PORT/

Make sure to update the placeholder with the corresponding values.

If you need to set the http_proxy environment variable on macOS or Linux, use the following command.

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# Without a username and a password
export http_proxy=http://SERVER:PORT/

# Or with a username and a password
export http_proxy=http://USERNAME:PASSWORD@SERVER:PORT/

# Try to update your VS Code version

If the error persists, try to update VS Code to the latest version.

You can download the latest version from the official visualstudio.com website.

# Try to restart your computer

If nothing else helped, try to restart your PC as you might have a glitched VS Code process that runs in the background or stale environment variables associated with a VS Code process.

Restarting your PC might also help with connectivity issues.

# Additional Resources

You can learn more about the related topics by checking out the following tutorials:

• Clear your Proxy settings in NPM or npm install behind proxy
• How to exclude Folders from Search in Visual Studio Code
• VS Code: Folder contains emphasized items issue [Solved]
• What are the U and M file markers in Visual Studio Code
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