VSCodroid

VS Code, natively on Android.
A full-featured IDE on your phone — not a toy editor, not a cloud IDE.
Download. Open. Code.

Manifesto • Who This Is For • Why Now • Principles • Promise • Features • Architecture • Getting Started • Build • Contributing • License

What if the next great developer is holding a phone, not a laptop? What if a career in software could start without buying expensive hardware? What if all you needed was curiosity, effort, and the device already in your pocket?

What if a software career could begin from the device already in your hand?

Around the world, people are ready to learn and build. Too many are told to wait: wait for a laptop, wait for better internet, wait for better circumstances.

VSCodroid is a refusal of that waiting. VSCodroid exists for people with talent, discipline, and ideas — but without access to expensive hardware.

We believe access to software creation should depend on effort and curiosity, not on purchasing power. So this project brings a real development environment to Android: real editor, real terminal, real tooling, real output.

No watered-down coding toy. No mandatory cloud lock-in. No "come back later when you can afford more."

If you are ready to learn, you should be able to start today.

• Learners who only have access to a smartphone.
• Developers who want a portable fallback dev environment.
• Remote contributors who need quick fixes while away from a laptop.
• Communities and educators who want lower barriers to coding access.

1. IDC: Worldwide Smartphone Shipments Grew 6.4% in 2024
2. IDC: The PC Market Closed out 2024 with Slight Growth
3. ITU Facts and Figures 2025: Internet use
4. ITU Facts and Figures 2025: Mobile phone ownership
5. ITU Facts and Figures 2025: Affordability of ICT services
6. Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2025: Technology (Dev IDEs)

• Human potential first — talent exists everywhere, even where hardware access does not.
• Real tools, real dignity — people deserve production-grade workflows, not watered-down substitutes.
• Offline-first by design — learning and working should remain possible when internet is weak or expensive.
• Local by default — your environment runs on your own device, on localhost.
• Pathway to opportunity — the goal is not just writing code, but opening doors to real projects and jobs.

• We will keep VSCodroid practical for low-resource conditions, not just high-end setups.
• We will prioritize reliability and usefulness over hype.
• We will build in public and listen to learners, contributors, and first-time developers.
• We will measure success by how many people can start and keep building, not installs alone.

• Real VS Code — Monaco Editor, Workbench UI, Command Palette, and all the features you know.
• Extension Support — Install themes, linters, language packs, and more from Open VSX.
• Integrated Terminal — Full bash terminal with real PTY support (vim, tmux, readline all work).
• Batteries Included — Node.js, Python 3, Git, npm, SSH, and essential tools bundled out of the box.
• Offline-First — Code without an internet connection. Everything runs locally on your device.
• Mobile-Optimized — Extra Key Row (Ctrl, Alt, Tab, Esc, arrows), touch-friendly UI, clipboard bridge.
• SSH Out of the Box — Bundled OpenSSH client and ssh-keygen, preconfigured with sane defaults (ed25519, keepalive, accept-new).
• Language Picker — Select your languages; Go/Ruby/Java install on demand — via Play Asset Delivery on Play installs, or direct download on sideloaded installs.
• Dev Server Preview — Preview a running dev server in an editor tab beside your code, or hand it to the device's browser.

Code editor with syntax highlighting · Extensions marketplace (Open VSX) · Terminal with Node.js, Git, and bundled tools

VSCodroid runs a local VS Code Server instance on your Android device. The VS Code Web Client renders inside a WebView, and the VS Code Server (Node.js) runs as a native ARM64 process, all on localhost.

flowchart TD
  subgraph APP["Android App (Kotlin)"]
    WV["WebView"]
    WEB["VS Code Web Client (vscode-web)"]
    KEY["Extra Key Row [Tab][Esc][Ctrl][Alt]"]
    NODE["Node.js Process (VS Code Server, vscode-reh, ARM64)"]
    REH["VS Code Server (vscode-reh)"]
    EXT["Extension Host"]
    TERM["Terminal (node-pty)"]
    FS["File System / Search"]
    WV --> WEB
    NODE --> REH
    REH --> EXT
    REH --> TERM
    REH --> FS
    KEY --> WV
  end
  WEB <--> LOCAL["localhost:PORT (HTTP + WebSocket)"]
  LOCAL <--> REH

For full architecture details, see Architecture Documentation.

1. Install from Google Play.
2. Open the app. Core binaries extract automatically (~5-10 seconds).
3. Pick your languages (Go, Ruby, Java). They install automatically.
4. Start coding. Editor, terminal, and tools are ready.

You can also download APKs directly from GitHub Releases.

• Android Studio latest stable version with Android API 36 support.
• Android NDK r27+ (for cross-compiling the native addons).
• Python 3.x (used by the download and verification scripts).
• Git.

You do not build VS Code locally: the server tree is built once per VS Code version by a separate workflow and fetched as a verified tarball by scripts/fetch-vscode-oss.sh.

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/rmyndharis/VSCodroid.git
cd VSCodroid

# Build the Android app
cd android && ./gradlew assembleDebug

# Install on connected device
adb install android/app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk

We welcome contributions in code, docs, testing, UX feedback, and bug reports. If you care about widening access to software development, this is your project too.

# Get started
git clone https://github.com/rmyndharis/VSCodroid.git
cd VSCodroid

# Read the contributing guide for setup details
# See CONTRIBUTING.md

Please read our Contributing Guide before submitting a Pull Request.

Quick links:

• 🐛 Report a Bug
• 💡 Request a Feature
• 📖 Documentation

If you discover a security vulnerability, please do not open a public issue. Instead, see our Security Policy for responsible disclosure instructions.

VSCodroid is not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft Corporation.

The bundled editor server is built from the MIT-licensed Code - OSS source, with this project's Android patches and branding applied before the build. Its licence and third-party notices ship inside the tree, at android/app/src/main/assets/vscode-reh/LICENSE.txt and ThirdPartyNotices.txt. Earlier releases bundled Microsoft's pre-built Visual Studio Code Server distribution instead, which is covered by Microsoft's own proprietary terms rather than MIT.

• "Visual Studio Code" and "VS Code" are trademarks of Microsoft.
• Uses Open VSX extension registry, not Microsoft Marketplace.
• See NOTICE.md for third-party attribution.
• See Privacy Policy for data practices.

VSCodroid's own source — the Android app, the build scripts, and the bundled configuration — is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE.

That licence does not extend to the third-party components VSCodroid downloads or bundles; each carries its own terms, listed in NOTICE.md.

💬 Discussions • 🐛 Issues • 📦 Releases

Made with ❤️ for mobile developers everywhere by Yudhi Armyndharis & VSCodroid Community