head to head · open source
vscode vs CodeEdit
vscode has 192,640 GitHub stars, 42,602 forks, 21,181 open issues and last shipped yesterday. CodeEdit has 23,033 stars, 1,193 forks, 213 open issues and last shipped 1 months ago. vscode leads on adoption by 736% (192,640 vs 23,033 stars). vscode is written in TypeScript under MIT; CodeEdit is written in Swift under MIT. vscode has attracted 22% as many forks as stars, CodeEdit 5%. vscode was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (editor), 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
| vscode | CodeEdit | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 193K | ★ 23K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | Swift |
| Last push | 2026-09-18 | 2026-08-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 43K | ⑂ 1.2K |
| 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 CodeEdit if
- You want the CodeEdit feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Swift
- You evaluated both and CodeEdit 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 CodeEdit
CodeEdit is a code editor for macOS. It is written in Swift, released under the MIT license, and described as a community project. The GitHub description says the app is open source and free forever. The project aims to provide a native editing experience for developers who work on software outside Apple platform projects.
read the full CodeEdit overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is vscode or CodeEdit more popular?
vscode has 192,640 GitHub stars and CodeEdit has 23,033. vscode has the larger community by that measure.
Are vscode and CodeEdit free?
Both are open source. vscode is licensed under MIT and CodeEdit under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between vscode and CodeEdit?
vscode is written in TypeScript and CodeEdit in Swift. 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 CodeEdit?
Choose vscode if you want the larger community (192,640 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose CodeEdit if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.