VSCodium

Community-driven, freely-licensed binary distribution of Microsoft's VS Code editor.

Overview

VSCodium is a community-driven, freely-licensed binary distribution of Microsoft's VS Code editor. While Microsoft's VS Code source code is MIT-licensed and open source, the official downloadable product includes telemetry, tracking, and proprietary customizations. VSCodium provides clean builds of VS Code without these additions, licensed under the MIT license.

The project exists to make it easier to obtain the latest version of VS Code without needing to clone and build from source yourself. VSCodium's build scripts automatically clone Microsoft's vscode repository, run the build commands, and publish the resulting binaries to GitHub releases. All telemetry is disabled by default.

Available for Windows, macOS, and Linux, VSCodium can be installed via multiple package managers including Homebrew, WinGet, Chocolatey, Scoop, snap, and native deb/rpm repositories.

Key features

MIT-licensed binaries
Telemetry disabled by default
Cross-platform support (Windows, macOS, Linux)
Multiple installation methods (package managers, direct download)
Based on latest VS Code source
No proprietary customizations

Pros

Completely free and open source
No telemetry or tracking
Identical functionality to VS Code
Easy installation via package managers
Regular updates from upstream VS Code
Privacy-focused alternative

Cons

Requires manual updates if not using package manager
Smaller community than official VS Code
Depends on Microsoft's VS Code development

Use this if

You want VS Code functionality without telemetry, value privacy and open source software, or prefer MIT-licensed tools.

Skip this if

You need official Microsoft support, rely on proprietary VS Code extensions, or prefer the official Visual Studio Code distribution.

Best for

Developers wanting VS Code without telemetryOpen source software advocatesPrivacy-conscious developersCross-platform code editing

Alternatives

Visual Studio CodeSublime TextVimNeovimEmacs

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