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.

What it is

VSCodium is not a fork. It is a set of Shell scripts that take Microsoft's upstream vscode source and compile it into binaries released under a free licence, with a default configuration decided by the community rather than by Microsoft. The project publishes both a stable channel and an insiders channel, and it targets macOS, Windows and GNU/Linux, with a documented list of supported platforms and a separate list of previously supported platforms. The repository itself carries the MIT licence, and it sits alongside a companion vscodium-insiders repository used for the pre-release builds.

The concrete problem it solves is licensing and configuration, not editing. Microsoft's published binaries of Visual Studio Code ship under a proprietary licence, are branded, and include telemetry. Anyone who wants the same editor but needs freely-licensed binaries, no Microsoft branding, and a configuration not dictated by Microsoft has to either rebuild the source themselves or install someone else's build. VSCodium replaces that manual rebuild effort with maintained automation: the scripts track Microsoft's vscode repository, apply the free-licensing and de-branding changes, and publish ready-to-install artefacts.

Key capabilities

• Automated build scripts that compile Microsoft's vscode repository into freely-licensed binaries under the MIT licence.
• A stable release channel and a separate insiders channel, published from the vscodium and vscodium-insiders repositories.
• Community-driven default configuration, applied at build time rather than left to each user.
• Package-manager delivery across ecosystems: brew install --cask vscodium, winget install -e --id VSCodium.VSCodium, choco install vscodium, and scoop install vscodium.
• GNU/Linux distribution through the Snap Store as codium via snap install codium --classic, and through Flatpak.
• Arch Linux packages vscodium-bin, vscodium-insiders-bin, and vscodium-electron, the last of which reuses the system-wide Electron to save disk space.
• Direct downloads as deb, rpm, and tar artefacts on the releases page for both channels.

Who uses it and how

• macOS developers who already use Homebrew and want VSCodium installed and updated through the same cask workflow, with vscodium@insiders available for pre-release testing.
• Windows developers and fleets that standardise on WinGet, Chocolatey, or Scoop, installing by package identifier such as VSCodium.VSCodium.
• GNU/Linux desktop users who prefer distro-native delivery, either the Snap or the Flatpak, rather than unpacking a tarball.
• Administrators who want automatic editor updates through apt, dnf, or zypper, using the separate community repository set up for those package managers.
• Arch users who want either the standard vscodium-bin package or the space-saving vscodium-electron variant.

Getting started

Download the latest stable or insiders build from the releases page, or install through whichever package manager applies: brew install --cask vscodium on macOS, winget install -e --id VSCodium.VSCodium or choco install vscodium on Windows, or snap install codium --classic on GNU/Linux.

How it compares

The only comparable tool named in the facts is Microsoft's own vscode repository, from which VSCodium builds rather than diverging. The distinguishing axes are the licence on the resulting binaries, the removal of Microsoft branding and telemetry, and the substitution of a community-driven default configuration for Microsoft's own defaults.

When to use it — and when not to

VSCodium is the right choice when freely-licensed binaries, no telemetry, and community-controlled defaults matter more than vendor alignment. It is the wrong choice for anyone who wants Microsoft's exact branding and configuration, or who expects support from the project for installs delivered through the third-party apt/dnf/zypper repository or the AUR packages, since the README directs those issues to the respective maintainers rather than to VSCodium itself. Support is therefore split across the project and several community channels, which a self-hoster or administrator should account for before standardising on it.

# stable
brew install --cask vscodium

# insiders
brew install --cask vscodium@insiders

:: stable
winget install -e --id VSCodium.VSCodium

:: insider
winget install -e --id VSCodium.VSCodium.Insiders

:: stable
choco install vscodium

:: insider
choco install vscodium-insiders

scoop bucket add extras
scoop install vscodium

snap install codium --classic

flatpak install flathub com.vscodium.codium
flatpak run com.vscodium.codium