code-server/doc/npm.md

npm Install Requirements

If you're installing the npm module you'll need certain dependencies to build the native modules used by VS Code.

You also need at least node v12 installed. See #1633.

Ubuntu, Debian

sudo apt-get install -y \
  build-essential \
  pkg-config \
  libx11-dev \
  libxkbfile-dev \
  libsecret-1-dev

Fedora, Red Hat, SUSE

sudo yum groupinstall -y 'Development Tools'
sudo yum config-manager --set-enabled PowerTools
sudo yum install -y python2 libsecret-devel libX11-devel libxkbfile-devel
npm config set python python2

macOS

Install Xcode and run:

xcode-select --install