Why is not recommended to run Vscode as root?

Question

I did have a problem with vscode cause I wasnt able to write into files from vscode, I found that running as a root will help me to fix this problem, When i did run it as a root the program will tell me that is not recommended to run it as root, I was wondering why is not recommended, cause I can write files? can Other person exploit this ?

Answer 1

This AskUbuntu post is one of many hits when googling 'Why not to run software as root'. It's targeted at Ubuntu, but applicable to any *nix out there.

Essentially, running software as root, takes away a layer of protection that you have in case of problems or bugs in the software (or, quite often, user mistakes), and you can end up destroying your system.

I would recommend going through the pain of figuring out why VSCode won't run as a normal user, and rather fix that. You will learn a lot, and potentially not break anything on your system. Additionally, you will be conforming to a usage model which is de facto in the industry.