head to head · open source
vscodium vs opcode
vscodium has 33,312 GitHub stars, 1,865 forks, 146 open issues and last shipped 4 days ago. opcode has 22,409 stars, 1,720 forks, 332 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. vscodium leads on adoption by 49% (33,312 vs 22,409 stars). vscodium is written in Shell under MIT; opcode is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. vscodium has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, opcode 8%. opcode was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (ide), 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
| vscodium | opcode | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 33K | ★ 22K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | Shell | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-16 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.9K | ⑂ 1.7K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick vscodium if
- You weight community size — 33K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Shell
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick opcode if
- You want the opcode feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the AGPL-3.0 license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and opcode fits your workflow better
About vscodium
VSCodium is a repository of scripts that automatically build Microsoft's vscode repository into freely licensed binaries with a community driven default configuration, made for developers who want the Visual Studio Code editing experience without Microsoft branding, telemetry, or licensing encumbrance.
read the full vscodium overview →
About opcode
opcode is an open source desktop GUI application and toolkit for Claude Code that provides a visual command centre for projects, sessions, custom agents, Model Context Protocol servers, checkpoints, and API usage, aimed at developers who already work with Claude Code from the command line and want a graphical layer over it.
read the full opcode overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is vscodium or opcode more popular?
vscodium has 33,312 GitHub stars and opcode has 22,409. vscodium has the larger community by that measure.
Are vscodium and opcode free?
Both are open source. vscodium is licensed under MIT and opcode under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between vscodium and opcode?
vscodium is written in Shell and opcode in TypeScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, vscodium or opcode?
Choose vscodium if you want the larger community (33,312 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose opcode if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.