VS Code VS MacVim

Compare VS Code VS MacVim and see what are their differences

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VS Code

Build and debug modern web and cloud applications, by Microsoft

MacVim

MacVim is a port of the text editor Vim to Mac OS X.

Landing page //
2024-10-09

Landing page //
2023-10-08

VS Code

Website: code.visualstudio.com
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MacVim

Website: github.com
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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.

MacVim features and specs

Familiar Vim Interface
MacVim provides the same powerful and familiar editing interface as Vim, making it a great choice for users who are already accustomed to Vim's keybindings and commands.
Native macOS Integration
MacVim is specifically designed for macOS, offering better system integration, including support for native macOS features like full-screen mode, a menu bar, and better keyboard shortcut customization.
GUI Enhancements
While retaining Vim's command-line capabilities, MacVim offers a graphical user interface (GUI) which makes it more accessible to users who prefer a more visual interaction with their text editor.
Plugin Support
MacVim supports Vim's extensive plugin system, allowing users to customize and extend its functionality with thousands of available plugins.
Active Development
Being open-source and maintained by a community of developers means MacVim benefits from regular updates, bug fixes, and new features.

Possible disadvantages of MacVim

Steep Learning Curve
Like Vim, MacVim can be challenging for beginners due to its unique mode-based editing paradigm and the need to remember extensive keybindings.
Resource Intensive
Though optimized for macOS, MacVim with a GUI can be more resource-intensive compared to traditional Vim, which may be a concern for those with older or less powerful machines.
Not for Non-Vim Users
For users unfamiliar with Vim, MacVim can be intimidating and less intuitive compared to other modern text editors or IDEs.
Occasional macOS-Specific Bugs
Being a macOS-specific application, some users encounter macOS-related bugs or compatibility issues that might not be present in the original Vim.
Requires Additional Configuration
To fully leverage MacVim's capabilities, users often need to spend time configuring their environment, including installing and setting up plugins.

VS Code videos

+ Add

My New Favorite Text Editor - Visual Studio Code

MacVim videos

+ Add

Why is MacVim much faster than Vim in the Terminal?

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to VS Code and MacVim)

MacVim

Text Editors

99 99%

Text Editors

1% 1

IDE

99 99%

IDE

1% 1

Developer Tools

99 99%

Developer Tools

1% 1

Software Development

99 99%

Software Development

1% 1

User comments

Share your experience with using VS Code and MacVim. For example, how are they different and which one is better?

Reviews

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

VS Code Reviews

dksinden

· Working at SpeechKit · over 5 years ago

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

MacVim Reviews

We have no reviews of MacVim 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 MacVim. While we know about 1143 links to VS Code, we've tracked only 3 mentions of MacVim. 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 (1143)

Build Python Docker Development Environment on Win11 from Scratch
Download VSCode through the following URL Https://code.visualstudio.com/. - Source: dev.to / about 15 hours ago
How to Handle File Uploads with Node.js and Express - Multer Edition
A text editor or lightweight IDE such as Visual Studio Code. - Source: dev.to / about 15 hours ago
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 / 5 days 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 / 6 days ago
An Introduction to TypeScript for JavaScript Developers
Better Tooling – Enhanced autocompletion, refactoring, and navigation in IDEs like VS Code. - Source: dev.to / 7 days ago

MacVim mentions (3)

Notepad Next
gVim (only on windows/linux) with a minimal config is my preferred. Fast but a few powerful built-in vim features like search, replace, syntax highlighting, spellchecking, auto-indent etc. It loads in about 1.5s on my machine and renders the text nicely. Maybe take a look at https://github.com/macvim-dev/macvim on mac, perhaps someone can comment about the state of macvim? - Source: Hacker News / about 3 years ago
Vim: The Best Way to Write Code?
Vim (aka Vi IMproved) is a highly efficient text editor that has inspired other editors like it, most notably MacVim (which I will refer to as vim from here on) and gVim. - Source: dev.to / almost 4 years ago
Vim 9 - Update
If you want to try out Vim9, you can download the latest Win32 binaries from: https://github.com/vim/vim-win32-installer/releases. For MacOS, you can use https://github.com/macvim-dev/macvim/. Source: about 4 years ago

What are some alternatives?

When comparing VS Code and MacVim, 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.

Kakoune - Vim inspiredâââFaster as in less keystrokesâââMultiple selectionsâââOrthogonal design

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

Neovim - Vim's rebirth for the 21st century

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

Spacemacs - Community-driven Emacs distribution that meshes Emacs and Vim features.

Sublime Text vs VS Code

Sublime Text vs MacVim