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Code editors: star history compared

Most starred

193k

microsoft/vscode

VS Code is the biggest open-source editor project ever measured by stars, but the more interesting lines are underneath it: Neovim decisively outgrowing the Vim it forked from, Helix proving a modal editor can be born modern, and Zed converting years of anticipation into one of the sharpest launch spikes in the category's history.

Ranked by current GitHub stars · growth = stars gained in the trailing 90 days · data updated Sep 2026

Code editors — star history
207k STARS12 YR 7 MOmicrosoft/vscode207kneovim/neovim109kzed-industries/zed70khelix-editor/helix43kvim/vim46k

microsoft/vscode: 206,617 stars on September 15, 2026. neovim/neovim: 108,635 stars on September 15, 2026. zed-industries/zed: 70,463 stars on September 15, 2026. helix-editor/helix: 42,754 stars on September 15, 2026. vim/vim: 45,516 stars on September 15, 2026.

Star history for microsoft/vscode
DateStars
November 18, 20152383
January 6, 20169844
February 24, 201611449
April 13, 201613155
June 1, 201615783
July 19, 201617247
September 6, 201618574
October 25, 201620356
December 13, 201622180
January 30, 201724612
March 30, 201728582
May 18, 201731557
July 6, 201733893
August 23, 201736590
October 11, 201739547
November 29, 201744285
January 17, 201847509
March 6, 201850885
April 25, 201854186
June 13, 201858557
August 1, 201861975
September 18, 201865364
November 6, 201869270
December 25, 201872163
February 12, 201975137
April 2, 201979355
May 20, 201983587
July 8, 201987051
August 26, 201990007
October 14, 201992887
December 11, 201997381
January 29, 2020100332
March 18, 2020103094
May 5, 2020106405
June 23, 2020109893
August 11, 2020113224
September 30, 2020116336
November 18, 2020119286
January 5, 2021122301
February 23, 2021125574
April 13, 2021128953
June 4, 2021131517
July 22, 2021134434
September 11, 2021137002
November 2, 2021138713
December 21, 2021141403
February 8, 2022143933
March 28, 2022146380
May 16, 2022149159
July 4, 2022151403
August 31, 2022154286
October 19, 2022156699
December 7, 2022158819
January 25, 2023160996
March 14, 2023163335
May 2, 2023165740
June 20, 2023167906
August 8, 2023169896
September 26, 2023172752
November 13, 2023174594
January 1, 2024176518
February 19, 2024178784
April 8, 2024180716
May 26, 2024182696
July 14, 2024184828
September 1, 2024186747
October 20, 2024188886
December 7, 2024190800
January 25, 2025192810
March 15, 2025195429
May 13, 2025197984
June 30, 2025200534
August 18, 2025201944
October 6, 2025202997
November 29, 2025203872
January 16, 2026204754
March 6, 2026205410
April 24, 2026205924
June 13, 2026206154
September 15, 2026206617
Star history for neovim/neovim
DateStars
February 21, 2014834
April 18, 20147563
June 13, 20149116
August 9, 20149925
October 4, 201410877
November 30, 201411817
January 25, 201512638
March 23, 201513593
May 18, 201514618
July 13, 201515499
September 19, 201516559
November 15, 201517761
January 11, 201618596
March 8, 201619518
May 3, 201620610
June 28, 201621362
August 24, 201622055
October 19, 201622836
December 15, 201623585
February 9, 201724316
April 7, 201725135
June 2, 201726093
July 28, 201726741
September 23, 201727550
November 18, 201728525
January 14, 201829284
March 11, 201830111
May 8, 201830926
July 3, 201831734
August 29, 201832446
November 4, 201833227
December 31, 201833869
February 25, 201934594
April 23, 201935637
June 18, 201936551
August 14, 201937496
October 9, 201938600
December 4, 201939532
January 30, 202040441
March 26, 202041447
May 22, 202042610
July 17, 202043639
September 13, 202044705
November 8, 202045894
January 3, 202147325
March 1, 202148643
April 26, 202150337
June 25, 202151978
August 20, 202153868
October 19, 202155013
December 29, 202157075
February 24, 202258772
April 21, 202260624
June 17, 202262568
August 12, 202264913
October 8, 202266871
December 3, 202268754
January 29, 202370734
March 26, 202373093
May 21, 202375378
July 17, 202377091
September 11, 202379184
November 7, 202381143
January 2, 202483096
February 28, 202485587
April 24, 202488025
June 19, 202491152
August 15, 202493205
October 10, 202495241
December 6, 202497019
February 12, 202599662
April 9, 2025102263
June 4, 2025103905
July 31, 2025105050
September 25, 2025106062
November 26, 2025106829
January 21, 2026107504
March 19, 2026108032
May 16, 2026108472
September 15, 2026108635
Star history for zed-industries/zed
DateStars
January 24, 20242246
February 4, 202418272
February 15, 202421240
February 27, 202425187
March 9, 202427170
March 21, 202428170
April 1, 202428824
April 12, 202429525
April 24, 202431374
May 5, 202432178
May 19, 202433585
May 30, 202434337
June 11, 202435123
June 22, 202437851
July 3, 202438662
July 15, 202440910
July 26, 202441960
August 7, 202442932
August 18, 202443565
August 29, 202445409
September 10, 202446363
September 21, 202447047
October 3, 202447695
October 14, 202448230
October 25, 202448801
November 6, 202449530
November 17, 202450262
November 29, 202450915
December 10, 202451463
December 21, 202451875
January 4, 202552722
January 16, 202553394
January 27, 202553925
February 7, 202554421
February 19, 202555059
March 2, 202555551
March 14, 202556164
March 25, 202556782
April 5, 202557276
April 17, 202557839
April 28, 202558289
May 10, 202559786
May 21, 202560865
June 1, 202561343
June 13, 202561701
June 24, 202562058
July 6, 202562327
July 17, 202562635
July 28, 202562959
August 9, 202563357
August 23, 202563823
September 3, 202564245
September 14, 202564617
September 26, 202565090
October 7, 202565378
October 23, 202565877
November 3, 202566230
November 14, 202566545
November 26, 202566830
December 7, 202567074
December 19, 202567388
December 30, 202567667
January 10, 202667976
January 22, 202668309
February 2, 202668551
February 14, 202668815
February 25, 202669020
March 8, 202669210
March 20, 202669375
March 31, 202669479
April 14, 202669677
April 25, 202669795
May 7, 202670049
May 18, 202670180
May 29, 202670251
June 11, 202670287
June 23, 202670307
July 17, 202670330
September 3, 202670346
September 15, 202670463
Star history for helix-editor/helix
DateStars
May 30, 20216
June 22, 20212691
July 15, 20212918
August 8, 20213103
September 2, 20213442
September 25, 20213556
October 30, 20213631
November 22, 20214117
December 15, 20214671
January 7, 20225029
February 3, 20225526
February 27, 20225696
March 22, 20225910
April 14, 20227873
May 7, 20228734
May 30, 20229289
June 22, 202210055
July 15, 202210587
August 7, 202211024
August 30, 202211470
September 23, 202212848
October 16, 202214965
November 8, 202216073
December 1, 202216687
December 24, 202217414
January 16, 202318276
February 8, 202318891
March 3, 202319584
March 26, 202320226
April 18, 202321371
May 15, 202322015
June 7, 202322693
June 30, 202323470
July 23, 202323923
August 15, 202324428
September 7, 202324902
September 30, 202325405
October 23, 202325800
November 15, 202326658
December 8, 202327207
January 1, 202427716
January 24, 202428254
February 16, 202428910
March 10, 202429494
April 2, 202430328
April 25, 202430930
May 18, 202431300
June 10, 202431818
July 3, 202432230
July 26, 202432990
August 22, 202433573
September 14, 202434106
October 7, 202434578
October 30, 202434982
November 22, 202435402
December 15, 202435774
January 7, 202536347
January 30, 202537056
February 22, 202537646
March 17, 202538088
April 10, 202538545
May 3, 202538898
May 26, 202539436
June 18, 202539660
July 11, 202539965
August 3, 202540424
August 26, 202540735
September 18, 202540953
October 15, 202541134
November 7, 202541471
December 4, 202541727
December 27, 202541935
January 19, 202642104
February 11, 202642250
March 6, 202642395
March 30, 202642517
April 22, 202642601
May 19, 202642663
June 26, 202642706
September 15, 202642754
Star history for vim/vim
DateStars
August 18, 20155
October 5, 20152090
November 23, 20152544
January 12, 20162966
March 1, 20163457
April 19, 20164738
June 7, 20165160
July 26, 20165573
September 13, 20166962
October 31, 20168018
December 29, 20168608
February 16, 20179033
April 6, 20179527
May 25, 20179973
July 13, 201710413
August 31, 201710904
October 18, 201711436
December 6, 201712102
January 24, 201812669
March 14, 201813265
May 3, 201813843
June 21, 201814472
August 9, 201815018
September 27, 201815616
November 15, 201816090
January 2, 201916647
February 20, 201917221
April 10, 201917905
May 29, 201918605
July 17, 201919295
September 14, 201919963
November 1, 201920420
December 20, 201921011
February 7, 202021568
March 27, 202022091
May 15, 202022745
July 3, 202023333
August 21, 202023894
October 10, 202024492
November 28, 202025070
January 15, 202125624
March 5, 202126285
April 24, 202126848
June 15, 202127430
August 3, 202127939
September 23, 202128402
November 18, 202128814
January 6, 202229481
February 24, 202230077
April 13, 202230645
June 11, 202231242
July 30, 202232130
September 17, 202232607
November 5, 202233068
December 24, 202233508
February 10, 202333954
March 31, 202334406
May 19, 202334852
July 7, 202335232
August 25, 202337019
October 13, 202337909
December 1, 202338444
January 19, 202438972
March 8, 202439556
April 25, 202440095
June 13, 202440626
August 1, 202441137
September 19, 202441639
November 7, 202442217
December 26, 202442736
February 23, 202543391
April 12, 202543887
May 31, 202544263
July 20, 202544508
September 7, 202544763
November 2, 202544950
December 26, 202545139
February 15, 202645313
April 9, 202645430
September 15, 202645516

How each series was read

  • microsoft/vscode

    Historical star data · Covers through September 15, 2026

  • neovim/neovim

    Historical star data · Covers through September 15, 2026

  • zed-industries/zed

    Historical star data · Covers through September 15, 2026

  • helix-editor/helix

    Historical star data · Covers through September 15, 2026

  • vim/vim

    Historical star data · Covers through September 15, 2026

Ranking

5 repositories

Code editors ranked by current total GitHub stars
#RepositoryStars+90dFirst starHealth
1microsoft/vscode192,577~4632015debt charts
2neovim/neovim102,353~1072014debt charts
3zed-industries/zed90,265~1672024debt charts
4helix-editor/helix46,231~532021debt charts
5vim/vim40,890~312015debt charts

Repository health compared

Live analysis · unavailable data stays labelled

Popularity is only one axis. Compare technical scale, maintenance cadence, ownership resilience and change pressure against the same completed analysis that sits behind each report.

Reach

Popularity and real-world adoption

Signalmicrosoft/vscodeneovim/neovimzed-industries/zedhelix-editor/helixvim/vim
GitHub starsCurrent public GitHub metadata total.Best result in this row: 192,577102,35390,26546,23140,890
Stars gained · trailing 90dChange in the newest 90 days covered by each cached series.Best result in this row: +463+107+167+53+31
ForksCurrent public GitHub metadata total.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Largest package audienceLargest resolved registry total; sources are shown explicitly.No resolved packageNo resolved packageNo resolved packageNo resolved packageNo resolved package
Repository ageElapsed years since the GitHub creation timestamp.11 years13 years5.6 years6.3 years11 years

Codebase

Size and technical center of gravity

Signalmicrosoft/vscodeneovim/neovimzed-industries/zedhelix-editor/helixvim/vim
Dominant languageLargest share of analyzed code lines at current HEAD.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Code linesAnalyzed source lines at current HEAD, excluding blanks and comments.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Languages representedLanguages with non-zero files or line counts.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available

Maintenance

Commit volume and recent operating cadence

Signalmicrosoft/vscodeneovim/neovimzed-industries/zedhelix-editor/helixvim/vim
Repository commitsFull repository commit total reported by the analysis.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Commits · trailing 90dCommit count in the newest 90 days covered by the repository analysis.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available

Ownership

How broadly maintenance responsibility is distributed

Signalmicrosoft/vscodeneovim/neovimzed-industries/zedhelix-editor/helixvim/vim
Bus factorFewest analyzed contributors carrying at least half the commits.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Top contributor concentrationShare of attributed commits carried by the most active contributor.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available

Change signals

Debt markers and fix pressure in frequently changed files

Signalmicrosoft/vscodeneovim/neovimzed-industries/zedhelix-editor/helixvim/vim
Fix-labelled share · frequently changed filesFix-labelled commits divided by commits across the analyzed high-frequency file set.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available
Recent TODO/FIXME movementLatest cumulative marker count and its change over the trailing 90 days.Not availableNot availableNot availableNot availableNot available

Head to head

open in the builder

Frequently asked

Which of these code editors has the most GitHub stars?

microsoft/vscode is the most-starred of the code editors gitdebt compares, with 192,577 GitHub stars as of Sep 2026. It earned its first star in 2015.

Which of these code editors is growing the fastest?

microsoft/vscode added the most stars over the last 90 days of its cached history — about 463 new stars. 90-day figures are approximate for older repos, whose history is downsampled.

How is this comparison computed?

The table ranks public repository metadata by current total stars. Each curve is that repository's stored star series — read either from GitHub's stargazer list or rebuilt from historical star data — drawn on shared axes, with trailing 90-day growth estimated from it. The legend under the chart names each series' own source and coverage date. Repo-health charts come independently from each repository's commit history.

Related categories

all categories

Fastest-growing repos across all of gitdebt