Toolchain briefing — Visual Studio Code 1.51 adds Apple silicon support
Visual Studio Code 1.51 shipped on 10 November 2020 with native Apple silicon builds and workspace trust controls, requiring IT to update managed distributions and security baselines for macOS developer fleets.
What happened: Microsoft released VS Code 1.51, delivering universal binaries for Apple M1 hardware alongside workspace trust policies that gate extension execution.
- Endpoint management: Update managed software catalogs so Mac developers receive the Apple silicon-native build and avoid Rosetta performance penalties.
- Security posture: Enforce workspace trust defaults to prevent unvetted extensions or tasks from running in cloned repositories.
- Developer onboarding: Refresh documentation covering the new settings and highlight how to verify the correct architecture binary is installed.
Next steps: Roll the update across macOS fleets, monitor extension compatibility, and capture testing evidence for regulated SDLC environments.
Follow-up: Visual Studio Code delivered the stable Universal build in 2021, and current 2024 releases ship native Apple silicon performance with built-in remote development and Dev Container tooling.
Sources
- Visual Studio Code October 2020 (version 1.51) — Microsoft
- Visual Studio Code on Apple Silicon — Microsoft DevBlogs