VSCodium is a community project that compiles the open-source core of Visual Studio Code into binaries without Microsoft’s telemetry or proprietary branding. The editing experience matches VS Code, because it is the same source, but it carries the MIT license and collects no usage data. Extensions install from the Open VSX registry rather than Microsoft’s Marketplace.
Reviewed by Marcus Holmberg
VSCodium
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Threat level
Covered
A covered pick. Anyone can use it as a private drop-in, with no setup or know-how. Enough for most people. Threat levels
Our take
VSCodium is the lowest-friction way to keep the editor you already know while cutting out the part that reports back to Microsoft. Your settings and keybindings transfer unchanged, and the telemetry is gone at the build level rather than hidden behind a setting you have to trust. The honest catch is the extension registry: because Microsoft’s Marketplace terms forbid third-party builds from using it, VSCodium pulls from Open VSX, which covers most popular extensions but not a handful of proprietary ones. Pick it if you want VS Code without the tracking and your key extensions are on Open VSX. Look elsewhere only if you depend on a Microsoft-exclusive extension that the open registry does not carry.
GitHub at a glance
VSCodium/vscodium
Stars
32,286
+ 157 this week
Last commit
8d ago
healthy
License
MIT
Latest release
1.121.03429
2mo ago
Stars, last 31d
Website at a glance
vscodium.com
D- score 25
Weak website security headers
Graded by Mozilla HTTP Observatory, tested 14d ago
Inspect this site yourself
Measures the security configuration of the tool's own website, not the privacy of the product itself. A strong tool can still score low here.
VSCodium alternatives
Zed A fast open-source editor written in Rust with real-time collaboration. Telemetry is on by default and can be turned off in settings.
Neovim A hyperextensible, fully open-source modal editor that runs in the terminal and collects no telemetry. Configured in Lua, with a built-in language-server client.
Frequently asked
- Is VSCodium safe to use?
- Yes. It is compiled from the same public source code as VS Code, just without Microsoft's telemetry and proprietary additions, and the build scripts are open for anyone to inspect. You get the editor you already know with the tracking removed. The only practical change is where your extensions come from.
- What is the difference between VSCodium and VS Code?
- They share the same core source, but Microsoft's official build adds telemetry and branding on top, under a proprietary license. VSCodium compiles that source clean, so it carries the MIT license and no telemetry. In daily editing the two feel identical.
- Why can't VSCodium use the VS Code marketplace?
- Microsoft's Marketplace terms restrict it to Microsoft's own products, so a community build is not allowed to connect to it. VSCodium uses the Open VSX registry instead, which carries most popular extensions. A few proprietary ones, including some Microsoft-published, are not available there.
VSCodium license, in plain English
MIT Permissive
Do almost anything: use, change, and ship it, even inside closed-source products. The only condition is keeping the copyright notice.
Permits
- Commercial use
- Modification
- Distribution
- Private use
Requires
- License and copyright notice
Does not provide
- Liability cover
- Warranty
Why it matters: Permissive licensing lets anyone reuse this, including inside closed products. That is freedom to build on, but no guarantee that downstream copies stay open.
Plain-language summary of the project's license, not legal advice. Read the full text for the exact terms.
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