Visual Studio Code
Free, extensible code editor with built-in AI agents for automated development workflows
- Vendor
- Microsoft Corporation
- Also known as
- visual-studio-code
Available worldwide
What is Visual Studio Code?
Visual Studio Code is a free, open-source editor available on desktop (Windows, macOS, Linux) and web platforms, supporting dozens of programming languages through its extension marketplace. It features integrated source control, debugging, and AI-powered agent capabilities to automate coding tasks and development workflows.
Visual Studio Code pricing
We don't have Visual Studio Code's full plan breakdown yet (its pricing page resisted automated reading). Here's what we could confirm. Always check live pricing for exact numbers.
Free and open source
What Visual Studio Code does
The capabilities that matter for ides & code editors, normalised so it lines up with every alternative. “-” means we haven't confirmed it, not that it's missing.
- Type
- Full IDE
- Language scope
- Polyglot
- Deployment
- Both
- OS support
- Windows, macOS, Linux
- Base platform
- Original
- Extensibility
- Extension marketplace
- LSP / DAP support
- ✓
- Remote / dev-containers
- ✓
- Integrated debugger / profiler
- ✓
- Code intelligence depth
- IDE-grade
- Built-in git integration
- ✓
- Built-in AI
- Native
- Openness
- Open-core
- Pricing model
- Free
Platform & deployment
Independently observed- macOS
- Web
- Linux
- Windows
- Cloud / SaaS
- Hybrid
Integrations (8)
Independently observed- Git⇄•
- GitHub
- GitHub Actions
- GitHub Copilot
- Azure Pipelines
- GitLab CI
- Azure DevOps
- MCP servers
Security & compliance
Known vulnerabilities: 0 (0 in the last 12 months) sourcea count reflects scale & disclosure, not quality
Visual Studio Code FAQ
Common questions about Visual Studio Code, answered from independent, dated evidence.
What is Visual Studio Code?
A multi-platform code editor combining traditional editing, debugging, and terminal capabilities with built-in AI agents that research, modify code, run commands, and iterate toward task completion. It is indexed under IDEs & Code Editors.
Source: https://code.visualstudio.com
Is Visual Studio Code free?
Visual Studio Code offers a free tier, so you can start without paying. Pricing changes often, so verify at source before relying on it.
Source: https://code.visualstudio.com
What platforms does Visual Studio Code support?
Visual Studio Code supports the web, Windows, macOS, Linux and a command-line interface. Platforms we have not confirmed are simply not listed here rather than ruled out.
Source: https://code.visualstudio.com
Can Visual Studio Code be self-hosted?
Yes. Visual Studio Code can be deployed cloud / SaaS and self-hosted, so it does not have to run on the vendor's infrastructure.
Source: https://code.visualstudio.com
What does Visual Studio Code integrate with?
We have confirmed 5 integrations for Visual Studio Code, including GitHub, Azure Pipelines, GitLab CI, Azure DevOps and MCP servers. This is what we could verify from public sources, so the vendor may support others we have not indexed.
Source: https://code.visualstudio.com
Is Visual Studio Code open source?
Yes. Visual Studio Code is published under the MIT licence, a permissive licence that generally allows commercial use and modification. Licence terms can change between releases, so verify against the repository for the version you intend to use.
Visual Studio Code alternatives
Other ides & code editors we track, ranked by the same independent score.
- GitHub CodespacesCloud-hosted development environments pre-configured for your project and accessible from any browsermedium · 74%
- ReplitBuild functional applications from text prompts using AI agents, with no coding requiredmedium · 73%
- TheiaOpen-source IDE for cloud and desktop development with built-in AI-powered coding assistancemedium · 64%
- Vimlow · 29%
- Visual StudioUnleash your potential with the world's most popular IDE for the professional developermedium · 54%
- ZedA lightweight, fast code editor built for collaborative development with AI and agentsmedium · 53%
Compare Visual Studio Code
Side by side against other ides & code editors, attribute by attribute, with a source on every value.
The vioscaleAI score: one lens on the evidence
Not user reviews and not a paid placement: a confidence-weighted blend of the independent signals below (adoption, activity, security posture, and more), which you can sort and re-weight yourself. Vendors can correct their listing but can never move their rank, and stars are weighted low as a vanity metric. It is one way to read the evidence for Visual Studio Code, not the verdict.
| Signal | Score | Weight | Contribution | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Development activity | 63 | 0.09 | 5.9 | ✓ |
| Release cadence | 97 | 0.05 | 5.0 | ✓ |
| Capabilities | 67 | 0.07 | 4.7 | ✓ |
| Security score | 74 | 0.04 | 3.1 | ✓ |
| Stars | 100 | 0.03 | 2.6 | ✓ |
| Dependent projects | 31 | 0.06 | 2.0 | ✓ |
| Integrations | 24 | 0.08 | 1.9 | ✓ |
| Security posture | 5 | 0.06 | 0.0 | - |
| Package downloads | 0 | 0.14 | 0.0 | - |
| Developer Q&A activity | 0 | 0.06 | 0.0 | - |
Computed . Re-weight it by intent, or see the full method.
All data & sourcesshow ↓
Every value we hold, with its source, retrieval date, and confidence. This is the evidence behind the score: don't trust it, verify it.
Activity
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Commits last 30d | 100 | mediumsource · 2026-09-11 · 65% |
Adoption
Content
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Faq | 6 items | mediumsource · 2026-09-10 · 66% |
Features
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Capabilities | Type: full_ide · Lsp dap: Yes · Builtin ai: native · Deployment: both · Os support: Windows, macOS, Linux · Remote dev: Yes | mediumsource · 2026-09-14 · 60% |
Integrations
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Count | 6 | mediumsource · 2026-09-14 · 60% |
Language
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | TypeScript | highsource · 2026-09-11 · 90% |
License
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Spdx | MIT | highsource · 2026-09-11 · 95% |
Market
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Availability | PrimaryMarkets: … · AvailabilityScope: global · AvailableCountries: … · NotAvailableCountries: … | highsource · 2026-08-14 · 75% |
Pricing
Release
Reliability
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Status page | Yes | mediumsource · 2026-09-14 · 60% |
Security
| Attribute | Value | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Disclosure policy | Yes | mediumsource · 2026-08-13 · 60% |
| Scorecard | 7.4 | highsource · 2026-09-11 · 90% |
| Vulnerabilities | Count: 0 · Source: https://advisories.ecosyste.ms/api/v1/advisories?ecosystem=npm&package_name=%40typefox%2Fmonaco-editor-core&per_page=100 · Last 12m: 0 | highsource · 2026-09-11 · 90% |
| Trust center | https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/agents/concepts/trust-and-safety | mediumsource · 2026-09-14 · 60% |
Is Visual Studio Code the right choice for you?
Tell us the job, the constraints and what you weigh most, and we will rank Visual Studio Code against the rest of the ides & code editors we index, using the same dated evidence weighted your way.
Free to run, no account needed to start. How the evaluation works
Is this your product?
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