head to head · open source
code-server vs vscodium
code-server has 79,759 GitHub stars, 6,941 forks, 152 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. vscodium has 33,919 stars, 1,918 forks, 146 open issues and last shipped 3 days ago. code-server leads on adoption by 135% (79,759 vs 33,919 stars). code-server is written in TypeScript under MIT; vscodium is written in Shell under MIT. code-server has attracted 9% as many forks as stars, vscodium 6%. code-server was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 2 topic tags (ide, vscode), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| code-server | vscodium | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 80K | ★ 34K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Shell |
| Last push | 2026-11-01 | 2026-10-31 |
| Forks | ⑂ 6.9K | ⑂ 1.9K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick code-server if
- You weight community size — 80K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick vscodium if
- You want the vscodium feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You evaluated both and vscodium fits your workflow better
About code-server
code server Run VS Code on any machine anywhere and access it in the browser. Highlights Code on any device with a consistent development environment Use cloud servers to speed up tests, compilations, downloads, and more Preserve battery life when you're on the go; all intensive tasks run on your server Requirements See requirements for minimum specs, as well as instructions on how to set up a Google VM on which you can install code server. TL;DR: Linux machine with WebSockets enabled, 1 GB RAM, and 2 vCPUs Getting started There are five ways to get started: 1. Using the install script, which automates most of…
read the full code-server overview →
About vscodium
VSCodium Free/Libre Open Source Software Binaries of Visual Studio Code This is not a fork. This is a repository of scripts to automatically build Microsoft's vscode repository into freely licensed binaries with a community driven default configuration. Table of Contents Download/Install Install with Brew Install with Windows Package Manager (WinGet) Install with Chocolatey Install with Scoop Install with snap Install with Package Manager Install on Arch Linux Flatpak Option Build Why Does This Exist More Info Supported Platforms Previously Supported Platforms Download/Install :tada: :tada: Download latest…
read the full vscodium overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is code-server or vscodium more popular?
code-server has 79,759 GitHub stars and vscodium has 33,919. code-server has the larger community by that measure.
Are code-server and vscodium free?
Both are open source. code-server is licensed under MIT and vscodium under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between code-server and vscodium?
code-server is written in TypeScript and vscodium in Shell. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, code-server or vscodium?
Choose code-server if you want the larger community (79,759 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose vscodium if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.