Microsoft releases browser version of Visual Studio Code

Microsoft has released a version of Visual Studio Code that works in the browser. VS Code for Web is a slimmed-down version of the program that allows users to open and edit local files in Chrome or Edge.

The web version of Visual Studio is available at vscode.dev. With the web version it is possible to edit files, write and debug applications with the tools of the browser. Microsoft says the online version is especially interesting for users who want to write code on machines they can’t install software on, such as managed devices or devices like Chromebooks that don’t run VS Code by default. The website version also works on the iPad.

Microsoft warns about the limitations of the tool. For example, it does not have its own debugger and the syntax coloring has to be done completely natively in the browser, which may not work properly. The same goes for things like auto-completions. Microsoft says VS Code for Web has syntax coloring for “most popular programming languages,” as does bracket pair coloring. For languages ​​like HTML and CSS, Microsoft says the experience is “almost identical” to VS for the desktop. Previews can also be shown for such files, but not for other languages.

Users can set different themes and key maps. They can also synchronize them via the settings. Node.js extensions are not available, but some other extensions such as image editors are. The web tool can also link to GitHub and Azure repos.

The tool can be used in browsers that use the File System Access API. It only works on Edge, Chrome and Opera. However, in Firefox, for example, users can upload individual files in the browser or entire repos via a link.