VS Code without Microsoft branding/telemetry/licensing
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Submission timeline
2007–2026One slot for every year since HN launched. Height is that year's peak points; orange marks a 100+ point or 50+ comment breakout. Select a bar to open its strongest thread.
First comments on top threads
HN comment orderNote that this doesn't work with VSCode's Remote extensions, such as for SSH, Docker containers, and WSL. Those extensions are closed source and explicitly check that they're running on only VSCode. I thought of using this but since I mainly use WSL, this doesn't work for me. Still, a laudable effort.
If I needed a one-time “use it and lose it” attack vector, this would be an excellent way to provide one. Imagine how many thousands of code repositories I could _successfully_ inject a backdoor into, using only a repackaged “without the telemetry” version of Microsoft’s code. Y’all are far too trusting. Edit: The point is that we all have a blind spot around risk assessment and threat evaluation when it comes to certain software topics, such as code editors and…
The first top-level comment from each of the four biggest threads, in HN’s own order. Excerpts are shortened; open a comment for full context.
- Breakout years
- 2
- Total points
- 642
- Total comments
- 313
100+ points or 50+ comments
reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking
reference only — not used in Hall rules or ranking
Every submission
| Date | Title as submitted | By | Points | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018-08-27 | VSCodium: Binary releases of VSCode without MS branding, telemetry and licensingFirst breakout | hsribei | 266 | 113 |
| 2018-10-11 | The Linux repository for VSCodium (VSCode without branding/telemetry/licensing) | paulcarroty | 4 | 0 |
| 2019-12-05 | Binary releases of VS.Code without MS branding/telemetry/licensing | mooreds | 1 | 0 |
| 2020-06-07 | VS Code without Microsoft branding/telemetry/licensingBest thread · Latest 20+ point return | max_ | 369 | 200 |
| 2022-01-27 | VS Code fork without Microsoft telemetry and licensing | vincent_s | 2 | 0 |