Visual Studio Code is freeware for private and commercial use, distributed under a Microsoft product license. Its price is therefore zero, while the editor includes practical tools for everyday development: code editing and search, Git integration, a terminal, and debugging for JavaScript and TypeScript. Those built-in capabilities make the cost a reasonable match for users who need a flexible editor rather than a full development environment with built-in visual designers.

What the license covers

The licensing distinction matters if open-source status is a requirement. The Code – OSS source code in the microsoft/vscode repository is available under the MIT License, but the Visual Studio Code build distributed by Microsoft adds proprietary components, including branding and Marketplace access, and is governed by a Microsoft product license. The Microsoft build is free, but it is not itself open source.

Visual Studio Code runs on Windows 10, Windows 11 (64-bit), macOS, and Linux. On Windows, Visual Studio Code can be installed with a user installer that works for an account without administrator rights and updates itself; system-installer and ZIP versions are also offered. Install Git separately if you want source control, then add extensions for the languages and tools used in your projects.

How the editor supports development work

For source control tasks, the built-in Git interface lets you stage and commit changes, compare revisions, and resolve conflicts without switching away from the editor. The integrated terminal runs PowerShell, Command Prompt, Git Bash, or WSL shells in a panel, so commands can be run alongside the files being edited. Debugging tools provide breakpoints, call stacks, and variable inspection within the editor.

Language support can be expanded through extensions from the Visual Studio Marketplace. These add tools such as language features, debuggers, formatters, and themes, with options for languages including Python, C++, and Go. This extension-based approach lets developers, students, and administrators adapt the editor for work across several programming languages and configuration-file formats rather than relying only on its default JavaScript and TypeScript debugging support.

Remote work and optional features

Remote development extensions support working with code inside WSL, connecting over SSH, or using dev containers. These options let the editor interact with development environments that are separate from the Windows desktop, while keeping editing and related tools in the same application.

Recent versions give GitHub Copilot and other AI features visible prominence in the interface. These features require sign-in and can be turned off. Telemetry is enabled by default and can be disabled in Settings, a consideration for users reviewing the editor’s data and privacy behavior.

Choosing it for a project

The combination of a free license for personal and commercial use, built-in Git, terminal and debugging tools, and a broad extension library suits general-purpose code editing. It is less appropriate when a strictly open-source build is mandatory or when a project depends on a full IDE with built-in designers for large .NET work. Microsoft’s own extensions are licensed only for Microsoft products, so their terms should also be considered when selecting extensions.