Vscodium - snap or flatpak - can't run javascript.

[wisdomlight]

on two seprate installation flatpak and snap I couldn't run a javascript from vscodium.
node and npm are both installed on my system - v23.1.0 and 10.9.0 respectivly
I can run the index.js from the system terminal but not from vscodium.
in defaultSettings.json
terminal.integrated.env.linux: {}
I am not permitted to add the path to node - it says editor is in read mode only because the file system of the file is read-only
any advice

[aaronthefullstackengineer]

Yo @wisdomlight 👋

I feel you — this is a classic sandbox / path issue when running VSCodium as Flatpak or Snap. Node works fine in your system terminal, but inside VSCodium it’s basically running in a restricted environment and can’t see your system PATH by default.

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Why this happens

• Flatpak / Snap apps are sandboxed and don’t inherit your normal environment variables fully. That’s why node works in your terminal but VSCodium can’t find it.
• Editing defaultSettings.json won’t work because it’s read-only; you’re supposed to use user settings instead.

---

How to fix it

1. Set the PATH in user settings

   • Open Settings (Ctrl+,) → search for terminal.integrated.env.linux

   • Add your Node path there. Example:

     "terminal.integrated.env.linux": {
         "PATH": "/usr/bin:/usr/local/bin:/home/youruser/.nvm/versions/node/v23.1.0/bin:$PATH"
     }

   • Replace with whatever path which node gives you.

2. Use the VSCodium terminal instead of trying to run scripts via the editor

   • Open integrated terminal (Ctrl+) and run node index.js`. The PATH you set above ensures it sees Node.

3. Alternative: Flatpak / Snap overrides

   • For Flatpak, you can run:

     flatpak override --user --env=PATH=$PATH com.vscodium.VSCodium

   • For Snap, you might need to connect classic interfaces or use snap run --shell vscodium to launch it with full env.

4. Consider a non-sandboxed version

   • If you keep running into PATH / permission issues, using a .deb or AppImage version of VSCodium avoids these sandbox restrictions.

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Basically, the issue isn’t VSCodium itself — it’s Flatpak / Snap restricting Node visibility. Fixing the terminal PATH or using a non-sandboxed build solves it.