head to head · open source
vscode vs opcode
vscode has 192,669 GitHub stars, 42,705 forks, 21,181 open issues and last shipped today. opcode has 22,408 stars, 1,720 forks, 332 open issues and last shipped yesterday. vscode leads on adoption by 760% (192,669 vs 22,408 stars). vscode is written in TypeScript under MIT; opcode is written in TypeScript under AGPL-3.0. vscode has attracted 22% as many forks as stars, opcode 8%. 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.
← all 15422 open source comparisons
Side by side
| vscode | opcode | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 193K | ★ 22K |
| License | MIT | AGPL-3.0 |
| Written in | TypeScript | TypeScript |
| Last push | 2026-09-19 | 2026-09-18 |
| Forks | ⑂ 43K | ⑂ 1.7K |
| 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 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 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 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 →
More in Developer Tools
Related comparisons
More IDEs & Code Editors projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the IDEs & Code Editors field.
Frequently asked questions
Is vscode or opcode more popular?
vscode has 192,669 GitHub stars and opcode has 22,408. vscode has the larger community by that measure.
Are vscode and opcode free?
Both are open source. vscode is licensed under MIT and opcode under AGPL-3.0. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between vscode and opcode?
vscode is written in TypeScript 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, vscode or opcode?
Choose vscode if you want the larger community (192,669 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose opcode if its feature set, stack or AGPL-3.0 licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.