The VS Code alternative that every developer should try in 2026

If you are reading this, there is a 90% chance you have VS Code installed. It is the industry standard for a reason. It has an extension for everything from Kubernetes management to a pet cat that walks across your status bar, but as we move through 2026, many of us have started to notice the “Electron Creep” and the lag it brings. The reality is that VS Code is essentially a web browser pretending to be a text editor.