Community builds of VS Code without Microsoft telemetry or branding
VSCodium is a community project that compiles the open source VS Code codebase into ready-to-use MIT-licensed binaries, with Microsoft telemetry disabled and branding removed. It offers the same editing experience, debugger, terminal and Git tools, and installs extensions from the Open VSX registry instead of the Microsoft marketplace. It suits developers who want the VS Code workflow in a fully open source package.
- features
- 5
- alternatives
- 12
- platforms
- 3
- Updated
- Oct 12, 2026
Features
Our take
Pros
- The VS Code experience without Microsoft telemetry or branding
- Fully open source, MIT-licensed binaries
- Ready-made builds for Windows, macOS and Linux
Cons
- Open VSX lacks some extensions found in the Microsoft marketplace
- Microsoft extensions such as Pylance or Remote SSH are not officially usable
Editorial assessment by the Alternatives.tools team, based on what the product is known for. Not a user review.
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