Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

VS Code VS Cerbos

Compare VS Code VS Cerbos and see what are their differences

VS Code logo VS Code

Build and debug modern web and cloud applications, by Microsoft

Cerbos logo Cerbos

Cerbos helps teams separate their authorization process from their core application code, making their authorization system more scalable, more secure and easier to change as the application evolves.
  • VS Code Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-10-09
  • Cerbos Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-08-21

Cerbos is a self-hosted, open source authorization layer that separates your authZ logic from your core application code.

Cerbos allows for swift and secure set up and modification of complex roles and permissions. Unlike traditional methods that require intricate code manipulation, Cerbos simplifies the process by making changes through configuration. This reduces risks associated with authZ changes, such as downtime or security incidents.

Cerbos' structure, independent from the app code, allows both business stakeholders and non-expert engineers to understand the permissions structure. A broader range of stakeholders can make changes to the authZ logic without needing extensive coding knowledge or risking the stability of the core application.

In an era where authZ logic is business logic, the ability to quickly adapt and scale this element is vital. Cerbos makes this possible, facilitating an agile response to new markets and customer needs while maintaining a mature product.

VS Code features and specs

  • Cross-platform
    VS Code works on Windows, macOS, and Linux, providing a consistent development experience across different operating systems.
  • Extensibility
    A vast library of extensions allows users to add functionalities like debuggers, linters, and themes, making it highly customizable.
  • Integrated Git
    Built-in Git integration makes it easy to manage version control tasks directly within the editor.
  • Performance
    Lightweight compared to full-fledged IDEs, ensuring good performance even on systems with limited resources.
  • IntelliSense
    Advanced code completion and refactoring tools help improve coding efficiency and reduce errors.
  • Community Support
    A strong and active community provides extensive support, tutorials, and third-party extensions.
  • Debugging
    Robust debugging tools for various languages and frameworks are available out of the box.
  • Free and Open-Source
    VS Code is completely free to use and open-source, which is beneficial for both individual developers and organizations.

Possible disadvantages of VS Code

  • Limited IDE Features
    While extensible, it may lack some advanced features found in dedicated IDEs out of the box.
  • Extension Management
    Managing and configuring a large number of extensions can become cumbersome and sometimes lead to performance issues.
  • Learning Curve
    Although user-friendly, it has a steeper learning curve for beginners due to its numerous features and customization options.
  • Memory Usage
    Despite being lightweight, it can consume a significant amount of memory when multiple extensions are installed.
  • Update Frequency
    Frequent updates may sometimes introduce bugs or require users to adapt to new changes quickly.
  • Internet Dependency
    Some features and extensions may require an internet connection to function optimally.
  • Telemetry
    By default, VS Code collects usage data, which might be a concern for users sensitive about data privacy. However, this can be disabled.

Cerbos features and specs

  • Flexibility
    Cerbos is designed to be highly flexible, allowing for complex policy definitions and use cases that can accommodate a wide range of authorization needs.
  • Scalability
    Cerbos can handle large volumes of authorization requests efficiently, making it suitable for applications that need to scale.
  • Compatibility
    It can be easily integrated with various existing systems and technologies, thanks to its support for standard protocols and formats.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source project, Cerbos offers transparency, extensibility, and community support, allowing users to contribute and customize their own solutions.

Possible disadvantages of Cerbos

  • Complexity
    The flexibility and features of Cerbos might introduce a steeper learning curve for new users who are not familiar with authorization systems.
  • Resource Intensive
    Depending on the deployment and configurations, running a Cerbos instance might require significant resources, which could be a consideration for smaller projects.
  • Limited Documentation
    Users might find that certain advanced features or integrations are not as well-documented, potentially leading to difficulties in implementation.

Analysis of VS Code

Overall verdict

  • Yes, VS Code is generally considered a good choice for developers due to its flexibility, efficiency, and strong community support. It is lightweight, fast, and user-friendly, catering to both novice and experienced developers.

Why this product is good

  • VS Code, developed by Microsoft, is a widely popular and versatile code editor. It offers a robust extension ecosystem, which allows developers to customize their workflow and coding environment extensively. Additionally, VS Code supports numerous programming languages right out of the box and provides features like IntelliSense, debugging, Git integration, and a built-in terminal, making it a powerful tool for developers.

Recommended for

  • Web developers looking for a comprehensive yet lightweight coding environment.
  • Software developers who need an editor with extensive language support and customization options.
  • Beginner programmers who would benefit from a feature-rich editor that can grow with their skills.
  • Developers interested in an open-source tool with continuous updates and community-driven enhancements.

VS Code videos

My New Favorite Text Editor - Visual Studio Code

More videos:

  • Review - 7 reasons why I switched to Visual Studio Code from Sublime Text

Cerbos videos

Cerbos - How It Works - Intro

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to VS Code and Cerbos)
Text Editors
100 100%
0% 0
Developer Tools
98 98%
2% 2
IDE
100 100%
0% 0
Security
0 0%
100% 100

Questions & Answers

As answered by people managing VS Code and Cerbos.

Which are the primary technologies used for building your product?

Cerbos's answer:

  • Go
  • Protobuf
  • gRPC
  • CEL

What makes your product unique?

Cerbos's answer:

Cerbos stands out in the crowded authorization landscape due to its innovative approach to managing roles and permissions. Unlike traditional systems that embed authorization logic within an application's core code, Cerbos introduces a standalone, self-hosted, stateless service, transforming intricate coding tasks into simpler configurations. This separation not only streamlines the authorization process but also reduces potential security risks and system bottlenecks.

Being open-source, Cerbos fosters a strong community backing, ensuring its evolution aligns with real-world developer needs. Its adaptability is evident in its support for multiple SDKs, YAML configuration, and dynamic context handling, which cater to a wide range of environments and use-cases. This flexibility is further enhanced by Cerbos Cloud, a premium solution offering advanced policy management tools.

Furthermore, Cerbos emphasizes transparency, allowing both technical and non-technical stakeholders to understand and modify the permissions structure. This democratization of authorization logic management reduces reliance on specialized coding expertise. Additionally, its commitment to robust security features, including audit logging and risk mitigation, ensures that businesses can trust Cerbos to safeguard their authorization processes.

In essence, Cerbos' unique blend of innovation, adaptability, community support, and security focus reshapes the way businesses approach and manage authorization, making it a game-changer in the field.

How would you describe the primary audience of your product?

Cerbos's answer:

Cerbos' primary audience is best described as forward-thinking engineering leaders at the helm of emerging startups, particularly within the FinTech and Software Development sectors. These leaders typically oversee small to medium-sized teams, with 5-20 engineers, in companies that have a workforce ranging from 0 to 100 employees. Their technological stack prominently features Kubernetes (k8s), indicating a modern and scalable infrastructure.

Financially, these companies are in their early growth stages, having secured funding between 0 to 10 million dollars, primarily in the Seed to Series A range. This suggests that they are in a phase of rapid expansion and are actively seeking solutions that can seamlessly scale with their growth.

The primary objectives of Cerbosโ€™ users revolve around finding a reliable solution to their authorization challenges, ensuring that the chosen solution can be implemented without disruptions, and that it scales effortlessly as the company grows. In essence, the Cerbos champion is a visionary engineering leader, keen on adopting innovative solutions that align with their company's rapid growth trajectory.

What's the story behind your product?

Cerbos's answer:

Cerbos, co-founded by Emre and Charith, emerged from a vision to revolutionize the way authorization is approached in modern, cloud-native applications. The duo recognized a persistent challenge in software development: the immense time and effort developers invest in crafting and continually updating custom permissions. This repetitive cycle not only consumes valuable time but also diverts attention from the core essence of product development.

Driven by this realization, Emre and Charith embarked on a mission with Cerbos: to make the implementation of access-control as seamless and painless as possible. Their goal was to eliminate the need for repeatedly writing and rewriting custom permissions implementations. Instead, they envisioned a world where developers could channel their energies and creativity into building outstanding products that resonate with and delight their customers.

Who are some of the biggest customers of your product?

Cerbos's answer:

Why should a person choose your product over its competitors?

Cerbos's answer:

A person should choose Cerbos over its competitors for several compelling reasons:

Innovative Design: Unlike many competitors, Cerbos separates the traditionally embedded authorization logic from the application's core code. This standalone, stateless service simplifies authorization changes, converting intricate coding tasks into straightforward configurations.

Open-Source Flexibility: Cerbos' open-source nature ensures continuous evolution based on real-world feedback. This community-driven approach ensures that the product remains relevant and adaptable to changing needs.

Transparency and Inclusivity: Cerbos' structure allows a broader range of stakeholders, both technical and non-technical, to understand and modify the permissions structure. This democratizes the authorization process, reducing the dependency on specialized coding expertise.

Robust Security: Cerbos places a strong emphasis on security, offering features like audit logging and risk mitigation. This commitment ensures businesses can trust Cerbos to maintain the integrity of their authorization processes.

Flexibility and Control: Cerbos provides complete control over its deployment, scaling, and monitoring. Unlike solutions that are solely cloud-based or hardcoded, Cerbos strikes a balance between flexibility, control, and security.

Clear Value Proposition: Cerbos offers straightforward pricing and a user-friendly approach, contrasting with competitors that may have complex pricing structures or less intuitive systems.

Community and Support: As an open-source project, Cerbos boasts a strong community backing, ensuring users have access to a wealth of knowledge and support.

In summary, Cerbos' unique blend of innovation, flexibility, transparency, and security makes it a superior choice in the authorization landscape.

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare VS Code and Cerbos

VS Code Reviews

  1. dksinden
    ยท Working at SpeechKit ยท

Boost Your Productivity with These Top Text Editors and IDEs
Visual Studio Code, commonly known as VS Code, is a powerful and extensible code editor developed by Microsoft. With its rich ecosystem of extensions and features like IntelliSense, debugging, and Git integration, VS Code enhances your coding productivity.
Source: convesio.com
13 Best Text Editors to Speed up Your Workflow
Finally, the Visual Studio Code website has numerous tabs for you to learn about the software. The documentation page walks you through steps like the setup and working with different languages. Youโ€™re also able to check out some tips and tricks and learn all of the Visual Studio Code keyboard shortcuts. Along with a blog, updates page, extensions library and API...
Source: kinsta.com
Jupyter Notebook & 10 Alternatives: Data Notebook Review [2023]
Previously, VS Code was more suited to developers or engineers due to its lack of data analysis capabilities, but since 2020, the VS Code team has collaborated with the Jupyter team to create an integrated notebook within VS Code. The end result is a fantastic IDE workbook for data analysis.
Source: lakefs.io
The Best IDEs for Java Development: A Comparative Analysis
Overview: Although not a traditional IDE, VS Code has gained popularity as a lightweight code editor.
Source: dev.to
20 Best Diff Tools to Compare File Contents on Linux
Visual studio code is a code editor made by Microsoft. It supports several development operations like debugging, task running, and version control. It works on Linux, macOS and Windows operating systems.
Source: linuxopsys.com

Cerbos Reviews

We have no reviews of Cerbos yet.
Be the first one to post

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, VS Code seems to be a lot more popular than Cerbos. While we know about 1214 links to VS Code, we've tracked only 6 mentions of Cerbos. 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.

VS Code mentions (1214)

  • How to Get Your First Tool Online
    The step up from there is an editor with a built-in agent like Cursor, Google Antigravity, Windsurf, or VS Code with a coding extension. These are code editors with an AI agent living inside them, and the difference is the responsible party for getting things from place to place. Instead of the software creator shuttling code between windows, the AI agent edits the project files directly and runs the GitHub and... - Source: dev.to / 13 days ago
  • Agentic Engineering: What Does AI Coding Really Cost?
    For IDE-heavy teams, BYOK (bring your own key) can be interesting, no matter whether you live in WebStorm or VS Code. On the JetBrains side, the JetBrains AI plans and Junie BYOK docs allow it, and most VS Code AI extensions offer the same idea: keep the IDE, connect provider keys, pay the provider. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Best Markdown Editors for Developers
    Option 1: Raw editing in IDE. You open the .md file in VS Code or whatever you use. Syntax highlighting shows you the structure. Maybe you toggle a preview pane. This works for quick edits but becomes painful for anything involving tables, diagrams, or complex formatting. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Document Generation for Developers: Security, Compliance, and Build-vs-Buy Decisions for the Template-Plus-Data Pipeline
    You'll need Python 3.8+ and pip for the quickstart, with venv recommended for isolation. Install the requests library for HTTP calls. VS Code with the Python extension works well as an editor, though PyCharm or Sublime Text work equally well. You'll also need a free Foxit developer account. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • Notes + Local AI: Simpler Than You Think
    For viewing and navigating, Obsidian handles large markdown libraries well: graph view, tag search, template plugins. VSCode works too if you'd rather stay in your dev environment. Both read the same folder with no conversion needed. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
View more

Cerbos mentions (6)

  • Show HN: Authorization game โ€“ matching requests to permission policies
    I wanted to get back to coding and play around with a simple way to explain how our product works(permission management platform, https://cerbos.dev). So I built the Cerbos Game, where players match incoming requests to permission policies and decide to ALLOW or DENY them; just like our product does for software apps. This game disrupted our engineering teamโ€™s daily work as they competed to beat the high score.... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Nuxt authorization: How to implement fine-grained access control
    In this tutorial you will learn how to use Cerbos to add fine-grained access control to any Nuxt web application, simplifying authorization as a result. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • ๐Ÿ–Œ๏ธโš™๏ธ Innovate Like Da Vinci: Blending Art and Science in Software Development
    In my work with Cerbos, I apply the lessons learned from Da Vinci to tackle authorization challenges. Our approach is to create solutions where functionality seamlessly integrates with developer experience. Constantly iterating and viewing the tools through the users' lens, helps ensure that our access control solutions are robust and dev-friendly. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Feedback needed: Cerbos Hub is now in public beta!
    Hello fellow devs! I'm with Cerbos (https://cerbos.dev/), a tool designed to manage who can do what in your software applications. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Show HN: Cerbos Hub โ€“ Implement roles and permissions in your app in minutes
    Hello HN! I'm on the DevRel team at Cerbos (https://cerbos.dev/), a tool designed to manage who can do what in your software applications. For a couple of years now, Open Worldwide Application Security Project (OWASP) is naming authorization a top 10 API security risk: https://owasp.org/API-Security/editions/2023/en/0x11-t10/ We are thrilled to announce that Cerbos Hub is now in public beta! - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing VS Code and Cerbos, you can also consider the following products

Sublime Text - Sublime Text is a sophisticated text editor for code, html and prose - any kind of text file. You'll love the slick user interface and extraordinary features. Fully customizable with macros, and syntax highlighting for most major languages.

Aserto - Fine-grained, scalable authorization in minutes

Vim - Highly configurable text editor built to enable efficient text editing

authzed - The platform to store, compute, and validate app permissions

Node.js - Node.js is a platform built on Chrome's JavaScript runtime for easily building fast, scalable network applications

Oso - A batteries-included system for authorization.