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eclipse-theia

eclipse-theia/theia

An open-source framework in TypeScript for building browser-based and desktop IDEs and developer tools.

Open-source alternative to:VS Code

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What is it?

Eclipse Theia is a framework for building full-fledged, multi-language IDEs and developer tools that run in the browser or as desktop applications. It is written in TypeScript and built on web technologies, so the same codebase can target a cloud-hosted IDE and an Electron-packaged desktop app.

The project is designed as an extensible platform rather than a finished editor. Adopters compose their own applications from Theia's building blocks and extend them through Theia's extension mechanisms. Theia also supports the VS Code extension protocol, so many VS Code extensions can be used or tested inside Theia.

The project is maintained under vendor-neutral open-source governance by the Eclipse Foundation and is licensed under EPL-2.0. The official Theia IDE is produced from a separate blueprint repository, and the project publishes an SBOM for each release.

Key features

  • 01Build browser-based and desktop IDEs from one TypeScript codebase.
  • 02Support the VS Code extension protocol.
  • 03Provide an extension mechanism for customizing and composing applications.
  • 04Use the Language Server Protocol for multi-language support.
  • 05Package desktop applications with Electron.

Use cases

  • Building a custom cloud IDE for a specific language or platform.
  • Creating a domain-specific desktop tool based on an editor core.
  • Running VS Code extensions in a self-hosted web environment.
  • Testing VS Code extensions against an alternative editor framework.

Quick start

  1. 1

    Fork the repository and follow the quick start in doc/Developing.md to run the examples from source

Things to know

  • Licensed under EPL-2.0 with a secondary GPL-2.0 option, which is copyleft.

Topics

#ide#editor#typescript#electron#language-server-protocol#cloud-ide

FAQ

What is theia?
An open-source framework in TypeScript for building browser-based and desktop IDEs and developer tools. Eclipse Theia is a framework for building full-fledged, multi-language IDEs and developer tools that run in the browser or as desktop applications. It is written in TypeScript and built on web technologies, so the same codebase can target a cloud-hosted IDE and an Electron-packaged desktop app.
Is theia free to use? What license does it have?
theia is open source under the EPL-2.0 license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
Is theia still maintained?
Actively maintained. The last commit to theia was on Nov 6, 2026.
What can I use theia for?
Building a custom cloud IDE for a specific language or platform. Creating a domain-specific desktop tool based on an editor core. Running VS Code extensions in a self-hosted web environment. Testing VS Code extensions against an alternative editor framework.
How do I install theia?
Fork the repository and follow the quick start in doc/Developing.md to run the examples from source
Where can I get theia?
The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/eclipse-theia/theia

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