microsoft/vscode

What this is

This repository, Code - OSS, is where Microsoft and the community develop Visual Studio Code. It contains the editor source as well as roadmaps, monthly iteration plans and endgame plans for releases (repository overview, roadmap, iteration plans).

The editor combines code editing, navigation and code understanding with lightweight debugging, an extensibility model and integration with existing tools. Language support is partly provided by bundled extensions in the extensions directory: grammar and snippet extensions provide basic support, while extensions suffixed language-features add richer features such as inline suggestions and Go to Definition (bundled extensions).

Get the editor

If you want to use VS Code rather than build it, download the Windows, macOS or Linux build from the official site (downloads). Daily builds are available as the Insiders build (Insiders).

Build from source

The repository includes a development container for Dev Containers and GitHub Codespaces. In VS Code with Docker installed, run Dev Containers: Clone Repository in Container Volume...; the linked redirect can also clone the repository into a container volume and install the Dev Containers extension if needed (development container instructions).

A full build needs at least 4 cores and 6 GB of RAM, with 8 GB recommended. The .devcontainer directory has more detail (container README). Build, debugging and test commands are documented in the contributing guide rather than in this repository's README.

Licensing and constraints

Code - OSS is released under the MIT license (license). The Visual Studio Code product distributed from the website is a separate distribution with Microsoft-specific customizations and a traditional Microsoft product license (product license). The repository is a source and issue-tracking hub; it is not a replacement for the product license of the distributed editor.

HotRepo's take

HotRepo has recorded a best GitHub daily rank of 11 for this repository, reached on 2026-11-06 with 295 stars gained that day. Earlier sampled daily records in late September 2026 showed gains of 78 and 223 stars, so the recorded history points to continued attention rather than a single spike, although only a few daily snapshots are available.

Discussion around the repository is mostly about product decisions rather than the code itself. A May 2026 thread on VS Code adding a Co-Authored-by Copilot commit trailer by default drew 850 comments; the person who approved the change apologized and said the default would revert to off in 1.119 (thread, maintainer response). For readers evaluating the editor, this is a useful reminder that product defaults can change between releases and that the open-source repository and the shipped product follow separate release and licensing paths.