V
AI coding agents
Visual Studio Code
Microsoft's free code editor, used as Justin's local workspace for Claude Code.
Microsoft's free code editor, used as Justin's local workspace for Claude Code.
Visual Studio Code, often shortened to VS Code, is a free source-code editor built by Microsoft. It opens a folder of files as a project and adds a syntax-highlighted editor, an integrated terminal, built-in Git support, and a large library of extensions on top of plain text editing.
Unlike a full IDE built around one language's toolchain, VS Code stays lightweight and works with almost any programming language through extensions. It runs on Windows, Mac, and Linux and is widely used among professional developers.
In Episode 005, Justin used VS Code as the local workspace while building three real companies in one hour, including the bakery Milk and Cookies. He dictated the product brief, handed it to Claude Code to write the marketplace, then pulled Claude Design's brand files back into the VS Code project to finish the build. VS Code didn't write any of the code itself. It held the project, ran the terminal commands, and let Justin see every file Claude Code touched.
We keep VS Code in the stack because it's the one place AI-generated code stops being abstract and becomes a folder you can open, run, and ship. Claude Code and Codex both write the code, but you still need somewhere to view the result, check it into Git, and hand it off to a designer or another tool. The practical takeaway is this: you don't need to master VS Code, but it helps to know it exists as the workbench sitting underneath the AI tools you actually use.
VS Code is built for people who write and manage code, so on its own it's a technical tool, not a beginner app. If you're using Claude Code or Codex to build something, VS Code is likely already running underneath as the workspace where that AI writes and organizes your project's files. You don't need to learn it to benefit from it, but knowing it's there helps you understand what the code actually looks like once someone hands it to you.
Genuine substitutes for Visual Studio Code that we've also run on stage:
Yes, Visual Studio Code has a free tier. Free.
Free.
Justin Novak used it in Episode 005 for hosting the local workspace for building Milk and Cookies with Claude Code.
VS Code is built for people who write and manage code, so on its own it's a technical tool, not a beginner app. If you're using Claude Code or Codex to build something, VS Code is likely already running underneath as the workspace where that AI writes and organizes your project's files. You don't need to learn it to benefit from it, but knowing it's there helps you understand what the code actually looks like once someone hands it to you.
Tools we've also used live that can stand in for Visual Studio Code: Claude Code, Codex.
| Category | AI coding agents |
|---|---|
| Pricing | Free. |
| Free tier | Yes |
| Used live in | Episode 005 |
| Operator(s) | Justin Novak |
| Website | code.visualstudio.com |
On AI4NTP, every tool is shown live by a real operator. These are the people who demoed Visual Studio Code on stage.
Founder and host of AI4NTP. He sold his first company from his college dorm room, and as a fractional CMO has helped scale multiple businesses past $50M in ARR.
Explore other tools we've demoed live at AI4NTP:
See tools like Visual Studio Code set up live, step by step, on AI4NTP, or get hands-on help putting it to work.