Free, libre-licensed binaries of Visual Studio Code with Microsoft branding, telemetry, and licensing removed.
VSCodium is a free and open-source distribution of Microsoft's Visual Studio Code editor. It provides binary releases built from the official VS Code source code but with Microsoft's proprietary branding, telemetry, and licensing removed. The project solves the problem of wanting a fully libre-licensed version of VS Code without the privacy concerns associated with Microsoft's default distribution.
Developers who want a privacy-respecting, libre-licensed code editor with the full feature set of Visual Studio Code. It's particularly valuable for open-source advocates, privacy-conscious users, and organizations requiring MIT-licensed software.
Developers choose VSCodium over official VS Code because it offers identical functionality without Microsoft's telemetry and proprietary licensing. It provides a truly open-source alternative that respects user freedom while maintaining complete extension compatibility through the open-vsx.org registry.
binary releases of VS Code without MS branding/telemetry/licensing
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All telemetry and tracking features are disabled out of the box, as the build process removes Microsoft's proprietary components, ensuring no data collection without user consent.
Binaries are released under the permissive MIT license instead of Microsoft's proprietary license, making it fully libre-licensed for any use, including commercial projects.
It uses the open-vsx.org registry for extensions, reducing reliance on Microsoft's marketplace and promoting open-source alternatives, though some proprietary extensions may be incompatible.
Available for multiple platforms including Windows, macOS, and various GNU/Linux architectures (e.g., x64, arm64, riscv64), as detailed in the supported platforms section.
Some proprietary extensions, especially debugging tools, are incompatible due to licensing restrictions that tie them to official VS Code builds, requiring workarounds as noted in the docs.
Builds are run daily but exit if there's no new release from Microsoft, potentially causing delays in receiving the latest VS Code features or security patches.
VSCodium is built directly from Microsoft's VS Code source, making it inherently tied to Microsoft's development decisions and pace, with limited ability to diverge or add unique features.
VSCodium is an open-source alternative to the following products: