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VS Code VS Kitty terminal

Compare VS Code VS Kitty terminal and see what are their differences

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VS Code logo VS Code

Build and debug modern web and cloud applications, by Microsoft

Kitty terminal logo Kitty terminal

Super fast, GPU and OpenGL based terminal emulator with tiling support
  • VS Code Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-10-09
  • Kitty terminal Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-21

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.

Kitty terminal features and specs

  • Performance
    Kitty is designed to be a fast and efficient terminal, with support for GPU rendering. This can provide smoother and quicker display updates, especially beneficial for intensive command-line tasks.
  • Features
    Kitty offers a rich set of features including support for tabs, multiple layouts, and extensions. It also supports features like ligatures, image display, and sixel graphics.
  • Customization
    Kitty is highly customizable, allowing users to modify key bindings, color schemes, and more through its comprehensive configuration files.
  • Remote Control
    Kitty provides a remote control framework, which allows users to script and control the terminal from the command line or other external programs.
  • Platform Support
    Kitty is available on multiple platforms including Linux, macOS, and Windows (through WSL), making it versatile for various operating systems.
  • Active Development
    The terminal is actively maintained by its developers, ensuring regular updates, bug fixes, and the addition of new features.

Possible disadvantages of Kitty terminal

  • Learning Curve
    Given its extensive feature set and customization options, there can be a steep learning curve for new users unfamiliar with its configuration and advanced features.
  • Configuration Complexity
    The extensive customization options, while powerful, can be overwhelming and may require a considerable amount of time to configure to a user's liking.
  • Font Support
    Although Kitty supports font ligatures and several other advanced font features, some users have reported occasional issues with font rendering and compatibility.
  • Resource Usage
    While designed for performance, the use of GPU rendering can mean higher resource usage compared to simpler terminals, which might be noticeable on older hardware.
  • Documentation
    Though extensive, the documentation can sometimes be challenging to navigate for new users, making it harder to find specific information or solutions to particular problems.
  • No Native Windows Support
    Kitty does not have native Windows support; it runs on Windows through the Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). This might not be ideal for users looking for a fully native Windows terminal experience.

VS Code videos

+ Add

My New Favorite Text Editor - Visual Studio Code

More videos:

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

Kitty terminal videos

+ Add

Kitty Is A Fast And Feature Rich Terminal Emulator

Category Popularity

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VS Code

Kitty terminal

Text Editors
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Text Editors
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SSH
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SSH
100% 100
IDE
100 100%
IDE
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Terminal Tools
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Terminal Tools
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 VS Code and Kitty terminal

VS Code Reviews

  1. dksinden
    · Working at SpeechKit ·
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. You’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

Kitty terminal Reviews

We have no reviews of Kitty terminal 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 Kitty terminal. While we know about 1141 links to VS Code, we've tracked only 93 mentions of Kitty terminal. 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 (1141)

  • What's Happening in Developer Tools? (OpenAI Just Bought Windsurf for $3B)
    Microsoft's Visual Studio Code is a free code editor that relies on community plugins for support across various languages and frameworks. It also has an AI offering, Copilot, that provides code completion and it just added its own agent. VSCode supports multiple LLMs, but initially, there seemed to be a preference for ChatGPT, in part given its early lead and no doubt influenced by the fact Microsoft was an early... - Source: dev.to / about 3 hours ago
  • Your first MCP Server (quick)
    Explore different MCP Clients too! You can continue using ollmcp as we did earlier, or try other clients like Claude Desktop, Visual Studio Code, and more to see how different environments interact with your server. - Source: dev.to / about 10 hours ago
  • An Introduction to TypeScript for JavaScript Developers
    Better Tooling – Enhanced autocompletion, refactoring, and navigation in IDEs like VS Code. - Source: dev.to / 2 days ago
  • Why Understanding, Not Just Generating Code, Still Matters
    To do this, I used VS Code, an extension called Cline configured in Act mode, and Gemini 2.5 Pro Preview 03-25, which is amazing. I made two attempts. The first one using a simple and very generic prompt, and a second one using a more detailed prompt. Let’s talk about them. - Source: dev.to / 5 days ago
  • 🚀 Your First Setup Win: Python and VS Code on Mac (Beginner Friendly)
    I visited code.visualstudio.com and clicked the big, inviting "Download for Mac" button. After downloading, I opened the .zip file, dragged the VS Code app into my Applications folder, and launched it. - Source: dev.to / 9 days ago
View more

Kitty terminal mentions (93)

  • Optimizing My Dev Workflow in 2025
    Initially, I used the Mac's built-in Terminal, but encountered issues with font loading. This led me to explore alternative terminal options. I initially chose Kitty, but after the official release of Ghostty, I made the switch. It has been running flawlessly for me. - Source: dev.to / 21 days ago
  • iTerm2 Critical Security Fix
    Kitty (https://sw.kovidgoyal.net/kitty) has been my go to for many years and with tmux it's fantastic. I have heard a lot of great things about https://ghostty.org/ but haven't had a chance to check it out. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Preview images, videos, fonts, PDFs ... in Vifm.
    The terminal I am currently using is st but I have also tested this "Vifm" enhancement in kitty and alacritty. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Show HN: Shpool, a Lightweight Tmux Alternative
    Oh, this might be the missing piece of the puzzle for me to get rid of tmux! I've been using screen/tmux for a long time. Recently I switched to kitty[0] locally. I like kitty a lot! But I've been stuck with tmux on my servers for session persistence. [0]: https://sw.kovidgoyal.net/kitty/. - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
  • Ask HN: What macOS apps/programs do you use daily and recommend?
    Besides the usual Firefox/Chrome, Spotify, etc I use the following: - Karabiner-Elements for key remapping, specifically, for making caps lock into ctrl/esc. I don't know of anything else that does this job. Everyone who remaps keys seems to use this. - Kitty as my terminal of choice. I spend most of my time logged in remotely to a server via ssh where I attach to a tmux session. Kitty was easy enough to... - Source: Hacker News / 11 months ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing VS Code and Kitty terminal, 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.

wezterm - GPU-accelerated cross-platform terminal emulator and multiplexer made with Rust.

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

iTerm2 - A terminal emulator for macOS that does amazing things.

Notepad++ - A free source code editor which supports several programming languages running under the MS Windows environment.

Tabby.sh - Tabby is a free and open source SSH, local and Telnet terminal with everything you'll ever need.

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