What is VSCodium?
VSCodium is not a fork of Visual Studio Code but a set of build scripts that compile Microsoft's open-source `vscode` repository into binaries you can install. The point is licensing: the source is MIT-licensed, but the product Microsoft ships carries its own licence and includes telemetry, so building it yourself produces a cleaner binary. VSCodium does that build for you, disables telemetry and publishes the result under the MIT licence. The trade-off is the extension marketplace: because Microsoft restricts other products from using its marketplace, VSCodium defaults to Open VSX, where some extensions are missing and some proprietary ones will not work at all. It suits developers who want VS Code without the telemetry or the licence terms.
Verified product facts
- Type
- code editorEditorially reviewed
- Platform
- macOS
- Apple Silicon
- Yes
- Pricing
- Open sourceDeveloper-stated
- Open source
- Yes
- Relationship to Nuanyue
- Third-party product — not published by NuanyueEditorially reviewed
- Licence
- MIT
- Current version
- 1.135.06055Developer-stated
- Official website
- vscodium.com/
Last updated . Facts marked developer-stated come from the developer and are not independently confirmed; editorially reviewed marks a Nuanyue judgement.
Key features
What VSCodium does at a glance.
Built from Microsoft's open-source vscode repository rather than being a fork
Telemetry disabled
In the shipped binaries
Microsoft branding and licensing replaced
With an MIT-licensed build
Open VSX Registry as the default extension gallery
Builds run daily and exit early when Microsoft has not released a new version
macOS builds
For both x86_64 and arm64, as zip and dmg
Also available
For Windows and Linux, including deb, rpm, AppImage, snap and Flatpak
What you can use VSCodium for
- Using the VS Code editing experience without sending telemetry
- Running an MIT-licensed editor build where a licence review rules out Microsoft's terms
- Installing through a package manager such as Homebrew instead of a vendor download
Who is VSCodium for?
- Developers who want VS Code's features but not its telemetry or licence terms
- Users who prefer to install an editor from an open-source build pipeline
Who is VSCodium not for?
- Anyone who depends on extensions that exist only in Microsoft's marketplace and cannot be installed another way
- Teams relying on Microsoft's Remote Development extensions or its C# and C++ debuggers, which are licensed to work only with the official build
Limitations
- The default extension gallery is Open VSX, so extensions published only to Microsoft's marketplace may be missing
- Microsoft's marketplace terms restrict use of its offerings to Visual Studio products, so the project cannot support using it
- Microsoft's C# and C++ extension debuggers are licensed to work only with the official VS Code build
- Some proprietary extensions are hard-coded to the official build and cannot be made to work
- The project notes that extensions in the Microsoft marketplace may be non-free and forbid use in non-Microsoft products
Strengths and trade-offs
What VSCodium does well, and what to weigh before choosing it. Points marked developer-stated come from the developer’s own material and have not been independently confirmed.
Strengths
- Ships with telemetry disabled, which is the main difference from Microsoft's build.Developer-stated
- The binaries are MIT-licensed, where Microsoft's distributed product carries a proprietary licence.
- Is built from Microsoft's own vscode repository by an automated pipeline, not a hand-maintained fork.
- Publishes macOS builds for both Intel and Apple silicon, requiring macOS 12 or later.
- Can be installed through package managers including Homebrew on macOS.
Trade-offs
- The default extension gallery is Open VSX rather than Microsoft's marketplace, so familiar extensions may be absent.
- Microsoft's marketplace terms restrict its offerings to Visual Studio products, so VSCodium cannot use it by default.
- Microsoft's C# and C++ debuggers are licensed to run only in the official VS Code build.
- Some proprietary extensions are hard-coded to the official build, and the project states the documented workaround will not help in those cases.
First-use experience
What the app asks of you when you set it up. Only established facts appear here; anything we could not confirm is left out rather than guessed at.
- Installation
- Download from the project's GitHub releases, or install with Homebrew as a cask on macOS.
- First launch Developer-stated
- On macOS Mojave the app may be blocked the first time it is opened and needs to be opened by right-clicking; no account is required.
- System integration Derived
- Installs as a standalone editor with its own configuration directory, separate from any existing VS Code installation.
- Apple Silicon
- Supported
What it does
VSCodium gives you the editor Microsoft builds, minus the parts Microsoft adds.
Microsoft’s vscode repository is MIT-licensed, but the product you download from
Microsoft is not: it carries its own licence and includes telemetry. Building
directly from the repository produces a clean binary instead — which is what
VSCodium automates, so you do not have to compile the editor yourself.
The result is published under the MIT licence with telemetry disabled, built daily by an automated pipeline that stops early when Microsoft has not shipped a new release. macOS builds are published for both Intel and Apple silicon and require macOS 12 or later.
The marketplace problem
The one real compromise is extensions. Microsoft does not permit other products to use its extension marketplace, and its terms state that marketplace offerings are for use only with Visual Studio products. VSCodium therefore defaults to the Open VSX Registry, which the project itself describes as a newer service, warning that you will likely miss extensions you know from Microsoft’s marketplace.
There are ways around individual cases — asking a maintainer to publish to Open
VSX, requesting publication through the Open VSX project, or installing a .vsix
file by hand — but some things cannot be worked around at all. Microsoft’s C# and
C++ extension debuggers are licensed to run only in the official build, and the
project notes that some proprietary extensions, including the Remote Development
pack, are hard-coded to the official product and will not work regardless of
configuration.
Who it is for
VSCodium makes sense when the telemetry or the licence terms are the problem, and it does not when the extension ecosystem is. Before switching, the useful check is whether the extensions a project depends on exist on Open VSX — because that, not the editor itself, is what differs in daily use.
Questions about VSCodium
Is VSCodium a fork of VS Code?
No. The project states it is not a fork. It is a repository of build scripts that clone Microsoft's vscode repository, apply a modified product.json that removes Microsoft-specific endpoints and telemetry, build it, and publish the resulting binaries.
Does VSCodium send telemetry?
The project states that telemetry is disabled in its binaries, which is the main practical difference from Microsoft's build of the same source.
Why can't I find some extensions in VSCodium?
Because Microsoft prohibits other products from using its marketplace, VSCodium defaults to the Open VSX Registry instead. The project notes that Open VSX is a newer service, so extensions you know from Microsoft's marketplace may be missing. They can be obtained by asking the maintainer to publish to Open VSX, requesting publication through the Open VSX project, or installing a .vsix file manually.
Will Microsoft's C# or C++ debugger work in VSCodium?
Not as shipped. The debuggers bundled with Microsoft's C# and C++ extensions are licensed to work only with the official Visual Studio Code build. The project documents Samsung's open-source netcoredbg as a workaround for C# projects.
Alternatives to VSCodium
Apps that could replace this one — the same job, a different trade-off.
Visual Studio Code
Free MIT-licensed code editor with a large extension marketplace.
Both provide the same editing experience from the same source, but VSCodium ships MIT-licensed, telemetry-free binaries while Visual Studio Code carries Microsoft's licence, telemetry and marketplace.
Similar apps
Related in purpose, but not a straight swap.
Cursor
AI code editor with autocomplete, chat, and coding agent features.
Both are editors derived from the VS Code codebase, but Cursor adds AI features on top of a Microsoft-derived build while VSCodium strips Microsoft's customisations out.
Zed
Fast, collaborative code editor written in Rust, with built-in AI agents.
Both are open-source editors positioned against Visual Studio Code, but Zed is an independent native codebase while VSCodium rebuilds Microsoft's source without the proprietary parts.
Links
Sources
Facts on this page are checked against the sources below. Last updated .
- VSCodium — official websiteGrade B
- VSCodium — documentationGrade C
- VSCodium — source repositoryGrade D
