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VS Code VS lazygit

Compare VS Code VS lazygit 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

lazygit logo lazygit

Simple terminal UI for git commands.
  • VS Code Landing page
    Landing page //
    2024-10-09
  • lazygit Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-17

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.

lazygit features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    Lazygit provides an intuitive terminal user interface (TUI) for managing git repositories. It simplifies complex git tasks and makes them more accessible for users who are not comfortable with the command line.
  • Speed and Efficiency
    With keybindings and an efficient layout, lazygit can significantly speed up git workflows. Common tasks like staging, committing, and switching branches can be performed more quickly.
  • Cross-Platform Compatibility
    Lazygit is available for multiple operating systems, including Windows, macOS, and Linux, making it versatile for users across different platforms.
  • Interactive UI
    The interactive UI of lazygit allows users to visualize changes, diffs, and logs in a more comprehensible way compared to traditional command-line interfaces.
  • Ease of Installation
    Lazygit is straightforward to install, often requiring just a few commands, making it accessible even for those with limited technical knowledge.

Possible disadvantages of lazygit

  • Learning Curve
    Despite its user-friendly design, lazygit introduces a new set of keybindings and interfaces that users must learn, which could be a barrier for some.
  • Limited Customization
    Lazygit may lack the deep customization options available in other git clients or command-line tools, potentially limiting power users who need highly specific configurations.
  • Dependent on Terminal
    Since lazygit operates within a terminal, it might not fully integrate with other graphical development tools some users prefer, reducing its appeal for those who favor all-in-one solutions.
  • Feature Parity
    Lazygit might not support all the advanced features found in more comprehensive GUI-based git clients, potentially requiring users to fall back to command-line git for specific tasks.
  • Resource Consumption
    As a terminal-based tool, lazygit might consume more system resources compared to purely CLI-based git operations, which could be a concern for users on less powerful machines.

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.

Analysis of lazygit

Overall verdict

  • Lazygit is highly regarded among developers who prefer working from the command line but want a more user-friendly interface than the traditional Git CLI. Its lightweight nature and efficient functionality make it a great tool for those looking to streamline their version control workflow.

Why this product is good

  • Lazygit is a simple, yet powerful terminal UI for Git commands. It allows users to manage their Git repositories with ease through an intuitive interface, reducing the need to remember complex command line options. Users have praised it for improving productivity and making Git processes more visually accessible.

Recommended for

    Lazygit is recommended for developers and software engineers who frequently use Git for version control and prefer a terminal-based user interface. It's particularly useful for those who want a quick and efficient way to perform Git operations without leaving their terminal environment.

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

lazygit videos

15 Lazygit Features In Under 15 Minutes

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to VS Code and lazygit)
Text Editors
100 100%
0% 0
Git
0 0%
100% 100
IDE
100 100%
0% 0
Code Collaboration
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 VS Code and lazygit

VS Code Reviews

  1. dksinden
    ยท Working at SpeechKit ยท

Choosing the Best SQL Server Tool in 2026
If you're a Windows DBA who mainly manages servers, SSMS is still hard to beat. SQL Server Data Tools makes the most sense for teams building database projects in Visual Studio, Visual Studio Code with the MSSQL extension is a good option for cross-platform development, and DBeaver works well if SQL Server is just one of several databases you manage.
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

lazygit Reviews

We have no reviews of lazygit 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 lazygit. While we know about 1215 links to VS Code, we've tracked only 120 mentions of lazygit. 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 (1215)

  • History of JavaScript: Browser wars, ECMAScript, Node.js, TypeScript, and React
    Visual Studio Code, a code editor created by Microsoft, was first introduced on April 29, 2015, at the Build conference. - Source: dev.to / about 1 month ago
  • 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 / about 2 months 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 / 2 months 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 / 3 months 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 / 3 months ago
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lazygit mentions (120)

  • Git rebase -I is not that scary
    I'm a big fan of https://github.com/MitMaro/git-interactive-rebase-tool on the terminal. I also use git absorb (https://github.com/tummychow/git-absorb) and lazygit a lot (https://github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit). - Source: Hacker News / 21 days ago
  • The Git Commands I Run Before Reading Any Code
    Navi is good for generating personal cheatsheets: https://github.com/denisidoro/navi But for Git, I can't recommend lazygit enough. It's an incredible piece of software: https://github.com/jesseduffield/lazygit. - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • 10 CLI Tools Every Developer Should Use with AI Coding Agents
    When an AI agent is making autonomous changes to your codebase, you need a fast way to review what it just did. LazyGit is a terminal UI for git that lets you visually review diffs, stage files, and commit โ€” all without memorizing git commands. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Ask HN: What dev tools do you rely on that nobody talks about?
    Https://github.com/atuinsh/atuin for fuzzy shell history (ctrl+r) https://github.com/sharkdp/bat (nice coloured cat replacement) https://github.com/abiosoft/colima (so I don't need docker desktop) https://github.com/duckdb/duckdb (performant database that lets you directly query JSON, parquet, csv files with SQL queries and convert one to the other. https://github.com/eradman/entr (rerun commands automatically... - Source: Hacker News / 5 months ago
  • ๐Ÿ‘จ๐Ÿปโ€๐Ÿ’ป Developing my own VCS
    At this point, I found myself asking: Does Git continuously scan the working directory? I soon realized that there's a distinction between Git's core functionality and the behavior seen in Git GUIs like LazyGit. For example, when I modify a file in LazyGit, it's almost immediately marked in the UI. But that's not actually Git doing the tracking. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing VS Code and lazygit, 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.

Fork - Fast and Friendly Git Client for Mac

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

CodeHub - CodeHub is the most complete, unofficial, client for GitHub on the iOS platform.

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

Working Copy - The powerful Git client for iOS