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What is VS Code?
VS Code is a free code editor from Microsoft that many developers use to write and manage code.
- Category GitHub & code
- Also called Visual Studio Code, VSCode
- Updated 20 Oct 2026
VS Code, explained simply
VS Code is short for Visual Studio Code. It runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux.
You can add extensions to give it new features, including AI helpers.
Many AI coding tools work inside it or are built on top of it.
For example, you can open a downloaded project in VS Code to look at its files.
On ITG Now, our free tool guides mention VS Code when a tool offers an extension for it.
Related terms
IDEGitHub CopilotCursorAI coding agentTerminal
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Questions people ask about VS Code
Is VS Code free?
Yes. VS Code is free to download and use.
VS Code vs Visual Studio: what is the difference?
They are different products. VS Code is lighter and works on Mac, Windows, and Linux, while Visual Studio is a larger Windows-focused IDE.
Do I need VS Code to use GitHub tools?
No. It is just a convenient place to view and edit a project's files.