Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

GitHub Codespaces VS Theia

Compare GitHub Codespaces VS Theia and see what are their differences

GitHub Codespaces logo GitHub Codespaces

GItHub Codespaces is a hosted remote coding environment by GitHub based on Visual Studio Codespaces integrated directly for GitHub.

Theia logo Theia

Cloud & desktop IDE framework implemented in TypeScript
  • GitHub Codespaces Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-01
  • Theia Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-03

GitHub Codespaces features and specs

  • Instant Setup
    GitHub Codespaces allows for quick setup of development environments, enabling developers to start coding within minutes.
  • Consistency
    By using Codespaces, all team members can work in consistent development environments, avoiding the 'works on my machine' problem.
  • Scalable
    Codespaces can easily scale up or down resources based on the needs of the project, offering flexibility in resource allocation.
  • Integrated with GitHub
    Seamless integration with GitHub means that Codespaces takes advantage of all GitHub features like pull requests, issues, and workflows directly within the development environment.
  • Customizable Environments
    Developers can define the configuration of their development environments using devcontainer.json files, making it easy to set up tailored workspaces.
  • Remote Development
    Codespaces allows developers to work from virtually anywhere without needing to rely on the power of their local machines.

Possible disadvantages of GitHub Codespaces

  • Cost
    Using Codespaces incurs a cost based on compute and storage resources, which can add up, especially for larger teams or more intensive projects.
  • Internet Reliance
    Codespaces are cloud-based, so a stable internet connection is required. Any disruption in connectivity can hinder development progress.
  • Customization Limitations
    While customizable, Codespaces may not support all specific or advanced development setups or niche tools as effectively as local environments.
  • Performance Variability
    Performance might vary depending on the selected instance type and current load on GitHub's infrastructure.
  • Dependency on GitHub Ecosystem
    Codespaces are tightly integrated with GitHub, which could be a downside for teams that use other platforms or who prefer a more platform-independent solution.
  • Learning Curve
    Developers unfamiliar with cloud-based environments may face a learning curve when first transitioning to Codespaces.

Theia features and specs

No features have been listed yet.

Analysis of GitHub Codespaces

Overall verdict

  • GitHub Codespaces is considered a good tool for developers looking for convenience, consistency, and speed in their workflow. It's particularly valued for its ability to streamline onboarding and its seamless integration with GitHub repositories.

Why this product is good

  • GitHub Codespaces offers a cloud-based development environment that enables developers to code directly in the browser without the need to set up a local development environment. It integrates seamlessly with GitHub, allows for quick setup, provides consistent environments across teams, and is particularly useful for remote collaboration.

Recommended for

  • Developers looking for a cloud-based development solution
  • Teams working remotely who need consistent development environments
  • Project maintainers who want to simplify setup for contributors
  • Developers who frequently switch between projects and need quick environment setups

GitHub Codespaces videos

Brief introduction of GitHub Codespaces

More videos:

  • Review - GitHub Codespaces First Look - 5 things to look for

Theia videos

Eclipse Theia 1.0 -- Visual Studio Code Competitor?

More videos:

  • Review - Ultroner does a Stabwood AIO?! - Ultroner Theia Review
  • Review - Theia Remodel Ship Review & VS Prototype X-1: Roblox Galaxy [-] Ship Review 2020

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to GitHub Codespaces and Theia)
Text Editors
93 93%
7% 7
IDE
87 87%
13% 13
Programming
100 100%
0% 0
Software Development
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare GitHub Codespaces and Theia

GitHub Codespaces Reviews

12 Best Online IDE and Code Editors to Develop Web Applications
Beginners who want to try their luck can use GitHub Codespaces for free with limited benefits, but you will have enough features to carry on. If you are a team or an enterprise, you can start using GitHub Codespaces at $40/user/year.
Source: geekflare.com

Theia Reviews

12 Best Online IDE and Code Editors to Develop Web Applications
If you’re a die-hard SOLID fan and a nit-picking software architect, the Theia IDE will tickle your separation-of-concerns bone. It’s a TypeScript-coded (five points for style straightaway!) code IDE that has a perfectly separate front-end and backend. The front-end runs in a browser, while the backend can be anywhere — local machine or the cloud!
Source: geekflare.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, GitHub Codespaces seems to be a lot more popular than Theia. While we know about 148 links to GitHub Codespaces, we've tracked only 3 mentions of Theia. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

GitHub Codespaces mentions (148)

  • VSCode's SSH Agent Is Bananas
    https://github.com/features/codespaces All you need is a well-defined .devcontainer file. Debugging, extensions, collaborative coding, dependant services, OS libraries, as much RAM as you need (as opposed to what you have), specific NodeJS Versions — all with a single click. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • GitHub Workflows: The First Line of Defense
    For this week, our task was to automate everything: GitHub workflows for testing, linting, building, and error checking. Additionally, I set up a dev container that contributors can use in GitHub Codespaces for a fast, hassle-free setup. Finally, we were assigned to write tests for a classmate's project! - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
  • Dear AWS, how do I build & develop purely on AWS right now?
    As an alternative for Cloud9, you can use vscode.dev, which runs VS Code in the browser or other alternatives that are more integrated and personalized like gitpod.io or Github Codespaces. - Source: dev.to / 9 months ago
  • Ask HN: Any Recommendations Around Programming on an iPad?
    Check out GitHub Codespaces https://github.com/features/codespaces I have used it for learning C, Rust and Go. It even has a VSCode editor in the browser. It’s pretty easy to setup. Create a repo, add a hello_world.c, push the code, then in the UI press the green code option and select Create code space on main and then use the gcc from the terminal to compile... - Source: Hacker News / 9 months ago
  • Local development with Subdomains, Mobile Testing, and OAuth
    I updated the settings in my router to keep my IP assigned to my computer to avoid needing to update the DNS file. ### Remote Development One option I didn't try is doing all of your development remotely in something like Github Workspaces. From what it looks like, I think this would provide all the functionality needed except, you'd be dependent on internet and be locked into their pricing. I've worked in this... - Source: dev.to / 10 months ago
View more

Theia mentions (3)

  • Suitable Rust GUI Library for Code Editor?
    You should also take a look at Theia, which provides in some respects (e.g., graphical plugins) a more powerful alternative to the VSCode editing shell. Source: over 2 years ago
  • We opened a lightweight Web IDE UI framework!
    In the past two years, We researched the Cloud9 IDE, VS Code, Eclipse Theia solutions. These products have good UI abstraction, extensibility, and full features for IDE. But, so many features are useless for our product, and it's too hard to customize for our team. Another reason is our React.js code is also hard to integrate with these solutions. - Source: dev.to / over 3 years ago
  • GitHub Codespaces vs. Gitpod: Choosing the Best Online Code Editor
    You can look at https://theia-ide.org, https://github.com/eclipse-theia/theia. - Source: Hacker News / almost 4 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing GitHub Codespaces and Theia, you can also consider the following products

CloudShell - Cloud Shell is a free admin machine with browser-based command-line access for managing your infrastructure and applications on Google Cloud Platform.

VS Code - Build and debug modern web and cloud applications, by Microsoft

replit - Code, create, andlearn together. Use our free, collaborative, in-browser IDE to code in 50+ languages — without spending a second on setup.

AWS Cloud9 - AWS Cloud9 is a cloud-based integrated development environment (IDE) that lets you write, run, and debug your code with just a browser.

StackBlitz - Online VS Code Editor for Angular and React

IntelliJ IDEA - Capable and Ergonomic IDE for JVM