VSCodroid

VS Code, on your phone.

Not an editor inspired by it. The real workbench, with a real terminal, running natively on Android.

Get it on Google Play Download the APK

Android 13 or newer, 64-bit. Around 873 MB free space for the first launch, and again after each update.

VSCodroid open on a phone, showing the Get Started walkthrough inside the VS Code workbench.

What you get

Everything needed to actually work is bundled. There is no setup step, no Termux to install first, and nothing to configure before the first file opens.

  • The real workbench

    Built from the MIT-licensed Code - OSS source, so the editor, the command palette, settings and keybindings are the ones you already know.

  • A real terminal

    Bash on a proper PTY, with Git, make, ripgrep, tmux and OpenSSH already on the path. Not a shell emulator over a socket.

  • Node.js and Python, bundled

    Node 24 with npm, and Python 3 with pip, both installed on first launch. Ruby and Java 17 install on demand when you ask for them.

  • Extensions from Open VSX

    Browse and install from the extensions view as usual. Extensions written in JavaScript work; the few that ship a desktop Linux binary do not.

  • Your own files

    Work in the app's own project directory, or open a folder from device storage: the app keeps a working copy and writes your changes back to the original. Both are ordinary folders to the editor.

  • Offline once installed

    No telemetry, and no update service to call. Editing, the terminal and the bundled runtimes all work with the network off; installing extensions, downloading a language toolchain and the package managers are what need it.

Getting started

Four steps, and only the unpacking and the language downloads take any waiting.

  1. Install

    From Google Play, or by sideloading the APK from GitHub Releases. Both are the same build.

  2. Let it unpack

    The first launch extracts the editor and the bundled tools behind a progress bar, and it needs the space before it starts rather than partway through. It repeats after each app update, though an update needs far less room because what is already unpacked counts toward it.

  3. Pick your languages

    Ruby and Java 17 are offered once, and can be added or removed later from the app icon's long-press menu.

  4. Open a folder and work

    Use the app's projects directory, or open a folder from device storage. The terminal starts where the editor is.

Read the user guide

A look around

Screenshots from a phone, at the size a phone actually shows them.

  • A source file open in the editor with syntax highlighting.
    The editor
  • A bash prompt running in the integrated terminal.
    The terminal
  • The file explorer showing a project tree.
    The explorer
  • The extensions view, listing the extensions installed.
    Extensions

Worth knowing before you start

Android is not a desktop, and a few things follow from that. The user guide covers each in full.

  • No C compiler

    Packages that build native code at install time, anything reaching for node-gyp, will not install. Pure JavaScript and pure Python packages are fine.

  • Toolchains run through the shell

    Android refuses to execute files in an app's private storage, so installed tools are reached through shell functions. Typing them, or running them from a task, works.

  • Some extensions cannot work

    An extension that ships a compiled desktop Linux binary installs without complaint and then does nothing. The JavaScript ones are the overwhelming majority.