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VSCodium

VSCodium

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Verified working Sep 19, 2026

A telemetry-free VS Code build with open-source licensing.

VSCodium provides ready-to-install builds of Microsoft’s open-source VS Code codebase without Microsoft’s proprietary product licensing or telemetry configuration. The project automates the build process and publishes MIT-licensed binaries for Windows, macOS, and Linux so users do not have to compile the editor themselves.

Why it stands out

  • Removes the need to manually clone and compile VS Code to get a clean open-source build.
  • Tracks the upstream VS Code codebase while stripping Microsoft-specific product configuration.
  • Offers broad package-manager coverage across major desktop operating systems and Linux distributions.
  • Publishes builds through GitHub releases with transparent build scripts behind the project.

Good to know

  • It is not Microsoft’s official Visual Studio Code build, so branding and some Microsoft-specific integrations may differ.
  • Several package-manager options are maintained through separate repositories, so installation issues may need to be reported outside the main VSCodium project.
  • On some macOS versions, first launch may require manually approving the app through the system security prompt.

Under the radar: For rolling pre-release builds on supported deb/rpm installs, the site notes that you can install the insiders variant by using the vscodium-insiders or codium-insiders package name instead of the stable one.

Photos

Illustration for VSCodium