VS Code from repository vs Flatpak version

lorand

Is there any practical difference between the two, are they the same? Heard that VS Code from the repos is the open source version.

Harvey

lorand Heard that VS Code from the repos is the open source version.

Yes that is correct. The package description says as much.

eopkg info vscode

Installed package:
Name : vscode, version: 1.59.0, release: 141
Summary : Visual Studio Code (open source version) is a new type of tool that combines the simplicity of a code editor with what developers need for their core edit-build-debug cycle.

If you look at the github repo for vscode

This repository ("Code - OSS") is where we (Microsoft) develop the Visual Studio Code product together with the community. Not only do we work on code and issues here, we also publish our roadmap, monthly iteration plans, and our endgame plans. This source code is available to everyone under the standard MIT license.

Visual Studio Code is a distribution of the Code - OSS repository with Microsoft specific customizations released under a traditional Microsoft product license.

Differences with microsofts vscode https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/wiki/Differences-between-the-repository-and-Visual-Studio-Code

ard

I think you might be confused with Code OSS

Gordi

Harvey So it's the same as VS Codium? Is Flatpak version untouched MS VS Code then? Like OP I'm a little confused too, naming and packaging convections can be strange to new users.

Harvey

Gordi
To my understanding the main difference was license.

When we (Microsoft) build Visual Studio Code, we do exactly this. We clone the vscode repository, we lay down a customized product.json that has Microsoft specific functionality (telemetry, gallery, logo, etc.), and then produce a build that we release under our license.

When you clone and build from the vscode repo, none of these endpoints are configured in the default product.json. Therefore, you generate a "clean" build, without the Microsoft customizations, which is by default licensed under the MIT license.

Source: https://github.com/Microsoft/vscode/issues/60#issuecomment-161792005

So Microsoft's version makes some minor changes and is released under a different license.

Visual Studio Code flatpak should be unmodified Microsoft version. It states:

This is the proprietary Microsoft build of Visual Studio Code, packaged into a Flatpak. This repackaging is not supported by Microsoft.

Source: https://flathub.org/apps/details/com.visualstudio.code

But Solus had absolutely nothing to do with the flatpak's creation.

VS Codium to my understanding just disables all telemetry that the user could have disabled themselves in settings. The only real benefit over MS Visual Studio Code is that its under the MIT license (Same as Solus vscode) instead of a proprietary license.

To complicate matters further recently MS introduced some more nonsense that broke functionality that they refused to fix saying it was a design decision. So their crash reporter was removed entirely from Solus's vscode https://dev.getsol.us/R3148:7a9127428d89ac3f47e8766898d8f72a3f3aa885

Probably didn't make that any clearer huh?