About Theia
Eclipse Theia is an AI-native, open-source IDE that runs on desktop and in the cloud. It is built on the Theia Platform, a framework for creating custom AI-native tools and IDEs. The IDE is designed with transparency and data ownership in mind, sending no telemetry on code, prompts, or AI usage.
Theia IDE supports the Language Server Protocol (LSP) and is fully compatible with VS Code extensions, with over 3000 extensions available via open-vsx.org. It allows users to bring their own API keys or subscriptions to connect to AI providers like OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, or self-hosted/local models, with no vendor lock-in.
Key features
- AI-native IDE with transparent AI assistance and full control over data
- Compatible with VS Code extensions, with over 3000 available
- Supports Language Server Protocol (LSP)
- No telemetry on code, prompts, or AI usage
- Bring your own API key or subscription to connect to AI providers
- Customizable AI interactions, prompts, and custom agents
Good fit for
- Cloud and desktop development
- Privacy-conscious teams with data sovereignty requirements
- Building custom AI-native tools and IDEs
Theia: questions and answers
- What is Theia used for?
- Theia is an AI-native, open-source IDE framework for cloud and desktop, supporting VS Code extensions and offering transparent AI assistance. It is a good fit for cloud and desktop development, privacy-conscious teams with data sovereignty requirements, and building custom AI-native tools and IDEs.
- Is Theia open source?
- Yes. Theia is open source under the EPL-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at eclipse-theia/theia and is written mainly in TypeScript.
- Is Theia free?
- Yes. Theia is open source, so the software itself is free to use. A managed cloud version is also available.
- Can I self-host Theia?
- Yes. Theia can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure.
- What is Theia an alternative to?
- Theia is an open-source alternative to Replit, StackBlitz, CodeSandbox and Ona. Other open-source alternatives to Replit include code-server, Coder and Gitpod.
- Is Theia actively maintained?
- Yes. The most recent commit to Theia was on 14 October 2026, and the latest release is v1.76.0, published on 24 September 2026. The project has 22k stars on GitHub.
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