# Visual Studio Code

> Free, open source code editor from Microsoft with built-in AI coding agents

Source: https://optioncmd.com/visual-studio-code
Website: https://code.visualstudio.com/?utm_source=optioncmd
Pricing: Free
Categories: [Developer tools](https://optioncmd.com/categories/developer-tools.md)
Listed: 2026-10-26
Updated: 2026-10-26

Visual Studio Code is a free, open source code editor from Microsoft that runs on Mac, Windows, and Linux. It's built for developers who want a lightweight editor with AI agents that can take on coding tasks.

**Key features:**

- Hand off tasks to AI agents that plan, make code changes, run commands, and iterate until the job is done.
- Run CLI-based agents in the background, work with an agent using live validation in the integrated browser, or delegate to a cloud agent that opens a pull request.
- Keep several agent sessions running and switch between them from a sessions list.

VS Code is a free download for macOS, with Insiders and web editions also available.

## More developer tools

- [Cursor](https://optioncmd.com/cursor.md): AI coding app with agents that plan, write and test code, plus a CLI and cloud agents
- [Ghostty](https://optioncmd.com/ghostty.md): Fast, cross-platform terminal emulator with platform-native UI and GPU acceleration
- [ForkLift](https://optioncmd.com/forklift.md): Dual-pane file manager and file transfer client for SFTP, S3, cloud drives and more
- [iTerm2](https://optioncmd.com/iterm2.md): Free, open source Terminal replacement for macOS developers and power users
- [Transmit](https://optioncmd.com/transmit.md): File transfer app for FTP, SFTP, WebDAV, S3 and cloud services, with sync
- [Tower](https://optioncmd.com/tower.md): Git client for Mac with drag and drop, undo, interactive rebase, stacked branches and pull requests
- [OrbStack](https://optioncmd.com/orbstack.md): Fast, lightweight Docker Desktop alternative for running containers and Linux machines
- [Zed](https://optioncmd.com/zed.md): Fast open-source code editor with multiplayer collaboration and optional AI agents and edit predictions
- [Proxyman](https://optioncmd.com/proxyman.md): Native HTTP(S) debugging proxy for capturing, inspecting and mocking network traffic
- [LM Studio](https://optioncmd.com/lm-studio.md): Desktop app for running open-source LLMs locally, now with Bionic, an agent for documents and code