Visual Studio Code
A free, widely used code editor.
Cost
Completely free
Free. The source is open; Microsoft's official builds add some proprietary pieces.
Open source
Yes
The code is public. Anyone can inspect it, and it cannot be taken away from you.
Your data
Stays on your computer
Nothing is uploaded. This matters for anything confidential.
Use it for this
Writing and editing code, with extensions for nearly every language.
Do not use it for this
Nothing much — but it is an editor, not a full development environment for every language.
A moment where you would reach for it
Opening code an AI generated for you so you can actually read it before running it.
How hard is it to pick up?
Straightforward, but expect an hour of figuring it out.
About this entry
Checked on 1 Sept 2026. Prices and free limits change without warning, and often quietly. Treat everything above as a starting point and confirm on the official site before you rely on it.
Nothing here is sponsored. A tool appears because it solves a real problem, not because someone paid for it to be listed.