The Eclipse Foundation has released Theia IDE, which they say is created for developers seeking a modern, open, and flexible tool for their coding pursuits. The IDE is based on the Theia Platform, which offers an open source alternative to Microsoft’s popular Visual Studio Code.

When Theia was first announced in 2017, the Eclipse Foundation described it as an extensible platform to develop multi-language Cloud and Desktop IDEs, and the project team said this ensures that as an adopter you don't need to make an upfront decision about whether your new developer product should run in the cloud, on the desktop, or both.

Theia IDE's open-source credentials are one of its main attractions. The project is hosted by the vendor-neutral Eclipse Foundation, and developed and maintained by an active community under the Eclipse Public License (EPL). This ensures the freedom to use and distribute the software as well as allowing for commercial use,. Theia does not contain any proprietary or closed source components.

The Theia IDE is based on modern web technologies, meaning it can run seamlessly on the desktop and in the browser. It uses the latest standards such as the Language Server Protocol (LSP), the Debug Adapter Protocol (DAP), and the Monaco Code Editor.

Alongside Theia IDE's out-of-the-box feature set, it is also compatible with VS Code extensions, accessible via the vendor-neutral OpenVSX registry. This provides over 3,600 extensions. The developers say that Theia IDE's strong support for extensibility  mechanisms means it can be adapted to almost any purpose, be it a highly optimized IDE for internal developers or a domain-specific tool even beyond coding.

Theia IDE offers features including an adaptable toolbar, detachable views, remote development support, and a forthcoming live collaboration mode. It also has a commitment to privacy and a stance against incorporating telemetry by default to reflect its respect for user preferences.

Commenting on the release, Jonas Helming, Theia Project Lead and CEO at EclipseSource GmbH, said: 

“With its flexibility and extensibility, the Theia IDE is designed to meet the evolving needs of developers and adopters creating custom tools and IDEs at the same time. Together with its commitment to providing a tool that respects user privacy and is free from proprietary constraints, Theia is an important building block for EclipseSource to fulfill our customers' needs with their specialised IDEs and tools.”

More Information

Theia IDE Website

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