head to head · open source
vscode vs code-server
vscode has 192,658 GitHub stars, 42,648 forks, 21,181 open issues and last shipped yesterday. code-server has 79,352 stars, 6,856 forks, 152 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. vscode leads on adoption by 143% (192,658 vs 79,352 stars). vscode is written in TypeScript under MIT; code-server is written in TypeScript under MIT. vscode has attracted 22% as many forks as stars, code-server 9%. vscode was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee.
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
| vscode | code-server | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 193K | ★ 79K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-09-17 |
| Forks | ⑂ 43K | ⑂ 6.9K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick vscode if
- You weight community size — 193K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick code-server if
- You want the code-server feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You evaluated both and code-server fits your workflow better
About vscode
Visual Studio Code is Microsoft's open source code editor — the Code OSS repository, written in TypeScript on Electron and released under the MIT license — and it serves two audiences: developers who want a lightweight editor covering the core edit build debug cycle on Windows, macOS, and Linux, and contributors who want to work directly on the editor, its roadmap, and its extensions.
read the full vscode overview →
About code-server
code server is an MIT licensed TypeScript project from Coder that runs VS Code on a remote machine and serves the full editor in a browser, aimed at developers who want one consistent development environment reachable from any device.
read the full code-server overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is vscode or code-server more popular?
vscode has 192,658 GitHub stars and code-server has 79,352. vscode has the larger community by that measure.
Are vscode and code-server free?
Both are open source. vscode is licensed under MIT and code-server under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between vscode and code-server?
vscode is written in TypeScript and code-server 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, vscode or code-server?
Choose vscode if you want the larger community (192,658 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose code-server if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.