Does this issue occur when all extensions are disabled?: No (issue is with the auto-updater, not the editor itself)
- VS Code Version: Insiders
Version: 1.118.0-insider (user setup)
Commit: 102df5b59f1c706f14aee2259d4ec60a6acee55c
Date: 2026-04-22T11:25:25Z
Electron: 39.8.8
ElectronBuildId: 13870025
Chromium: 142.0.7444.265
Node.js: 22.22.1
V8: 14.2.231.22-electron.0
OS: Windows_NT x64 10.0.26200
- OS Version: Windows 11 Pro 25H2 (10.0.26200), single user, non-managed, no MDM/Group Policy
Steps to Reproduce
- Have VS Code Insiders installed per-user (
C:\Users\<name>\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code Insiders)
- Allow VS Code Insiders to detect and attempt an automatic update (Help → Check for Updates)
- Observe the error dialog: "An error occurred while trying to rename a file in the destination directory: MoveFile failed; code 5. Access is denied." pointing to a
.pak file in the new commit subfolder (e.g. 102df5b59f\chrome_100_percent.pak)
What Happens
The auto-updater downloads the update successfully and completes the file removal phase without errors (confirmed via vscode-inno-updater-*.log in %TEMP%). The failure occurs when the updater spawns the Inno Setup installer as a subprocess to extract the new version.
The Inno Setup log (%TEMP%\Setup Log *.txt) shows the installer is being launched with no privileges:
2026-04-22 10:14:23.159 Compatibility mode: Yes (RunAsInvoker)
2026-04-22 10:14:23.159 User privileges: None
A normal per-user install should show User privileges: Standard. The RunAsInvoker compatibility mode causes the subprocess to inherit a restricted token from the VS Code parent process, stripping it of the permissions needed to write to its own install directory — even though the user is the owner of that directory.
The full Inno Setup installer command spawned by the updater:
CodeSetup-insider-<hash>.exe /verysilent /log /update="..." /progress="..." /sessionend="..." /cancel="..." /nocloseapplications /mergetasks=runcode,!desktopicon,!quicklaunchicon
The installer retries MoveFile four times before giving up:
2026-04-22 10:14:24.404 MoveFile: The existing file appears to be in use (5). Retrying.
2026-04-22 10:14:25.410 MoveFile: The existing file appears to be in use (5). Retrying.
2026-04-22 10:14:26.417 MoveFile: The existing file appears to be in use (5). Retrying.
2026-04-22 10:14:27.424 MoveFile: The existing file appears to be in use (5). Retrying.
2026-04-22 10:14:28.439 Message box (Abort/Retry/Ignore): MoveFile failed; code 5. Access is denied.
The target file does not exist prior to the install attempt — this is not a file-locking issue. The failure is a permissions issue caused by the restricted token.
What is Expected
The auto-updater completes successfully. The Inno Setup subprocess should run with User privileges: Standard, not User privileges: None.
Key Finding
Running the downloaded installer manually from %TEMP%\vscode-insider-user-x64\CodeSetup-insider-<hash>.exe as the same user completes successfully without any errors. This confirms the issue is specific to how VS Code spawns the Inno Setup subprocess via RunAsInvoker, causing it to inherit a restricted token.
What Workarounds Were Attempted
- Full uninstall and reinstall — issue recurs on next update cycle
- Remove %APPDATA%\Code - Insiders directory
- Remove %USERPROFILE%.vscode-agents-insiders directory
takeown and icacls /reset on the install directory- Clearing
%TEMP%\SquirrelTemp
- Disabling Windows Defender real-time protection
- Killing all integrated terminals before updating
- Closing and freshly reopening VS Code before triggering update
- Adjusting UAC
ConsentPromptBehaviorAdmin registry value
- No third-party AV, no MDM/Group Policy, no VS Code scheduled tasks present
Workaround
Setting "update.mode": "manual" in settings and downloading the installer directly from https://code.visualstudio.com/insiders/ works reliably, as does running the downloaded installer manually from the temp folder.
Does this issue occur when all extensions are disabled?: No (issue is with the auto-updater, not the editor itself)
Steps to Reproduce
C:\Users\<name>\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code Insiders).pakfile in the new commit subfolder (e.g.102df5b59f\chrome_100_percent.pak)What Happens
The auto-updater downloads the update successfully and completes the file removal phase without errors (confirmed via
vscode-inno-updater-*.login%TEMP%). The failure occurs when the updater spawns the Inno Setup installer as a subprocess to extract the new version.The Inno Setup log (
%TEMP%\Setup Log *.txt) shows the installer is being launched with no privileges:A normal per-user install should show
User privileges: Standard. TheRunAsInvokercompatibility mode causes the subprocess to inherit a restricted token from the VS Code parent process, stripping it of the permissions needed to write to its own install directory — even though the user is the owner of that directory.The full Inno Setup installer command spawned by the updater:
The installer retries
MoveFilefour times before giving up:The target file does not exist prior to the install attempt — this is not a file-locking issue. The failure is a permissions issue caused by the restricted token.
What is Expected
The auto-updater completes successfully. The Inno Setup subprocess should run with
User privileges: Standard, notUser privileges: None.Key Finding
Running the downloaded installer manually from
%TEMP%\vscode-insider-user-x64\CodeSetup-insider-<hash>.exeas the same user completes successfully without any errors. This confirms the issue is specific to how VS Code spawns the Inno Setup subprocess viaRunAsInvoker, causing it to inherit a restricted token.What Workarounds Were Attempted
takeownandicacls /reseton the install directory%TEMP%\SquirrelTempConsentPromptBehaviorAdminregistry valueWorkaround
Setting
"update.mode": "manual"in settings and downloading the installer directly from https://code.visualstudio.com/insiders/ works reliably, as does running the downloaded installer manually from the temp folder.