Forks of Futility: Open-Source Alternatives to Microsoft's VS Code

VS Code is one of the most popular coding editors around, known for its lightweight design and extensive extension library. However, when you download VS Code from Microsoft's website, it comes with telemetry, a proprietary license, and a marketplace limited to Microsoft's own builds.

This has led to the creation of several open-source forks of VS Code that offer alternative solutions. One such fork is VSCodium, which strips out all telemetry and proprietary elements from the original code, providing an almost identical user experience without the limitations.

For Linux users who prefer to use their own package manager, there's Code OSS, a build of VS Code that comes pre-packaged with some distributions. However, this version often runs behind the main release schedule, and some versions may not include a marketplace at all.