Void
Open source AI code editor with local model support
Install with Homebrew
brew install --cask voidQuick Take: Void
Void proved that a privacy-first, BYOM VS Code fork could feel close to Cursor—then development stopped and the repo was archived. Keep the page for searchers, study the code if you are building a fork, and do not standardise a Mac engineering team on Void in August 2026. If your requirement is simply 'AI in the editor without a subscription,' paid Cursor Pro or free Continue inside VSCodium both beat an archived Void install for reliability on macOS Tahoe.
Best For
- •Developers researching how open-source AI IDEs are built
- •Users who already depend on the last Void build and accept breakage risk
- •Teams documenting why they migrated away from Void
What is Void?
IMPORTANT STATUS (2026-08-09): Void is deprecated. The voideditor/void GitHub repository is archived and no longer accepts contributions. The last shipping build (1.99.30044) still runs via Homebrew (brew install --cask void) and the marketing site remains online, but there is no active maintenance: API connectors drift as providers change, security patches stop, and macOS Tahoe 26.x / Apple Silicon edge cases will not be fixed by the original team. Treat Void as a frozen snapshot of a privacy-first VS Code fork, not as a living Cursor competitor.
Historically, Void was the open-source answer to commercial AI IDEs. It forked VS Code, kept the familiar editing surface, and let you bring any cloud LLM or run local models through Ollama so code never had to pass through a vendor middleman. Features that shipped before the pause—Agent Mode, Gather Mode, MCP tool access, inline Tab completions, Cmd+K Quick Edit, checkpoints before LLM edits, and Fast Apply—still describe the last binary. The website still advertises older model marketing names; ignore those as current recommendations. If you connect providers today, use whatever frontier models your own keys support (for example GPT-5.6 family, Claude Opus 5 / Sonnet 5, Gemini 3.x, Grok 4.5) or local coding models via Ollama.
Why it stalled: maintainers paused work to explore other coding ideas, then moved the repo into a deprecated/archived state. Community forks and guides remain useful references for building your own VS Code–based AI editor, which is now the honest use case. For day-to-day Mac development in August 2026, prefer actively maintained tools—Cursor, Windsurf/Devin Desktop under Cognition, Zed, VS Code + Continue, Claude Code, Codex, or Meta Muse Code in the terminal.
This page stays live because people still search for Void. The truthful answer is: download only if you accept an unmaintained binary or you are studying the codebase; do not plan a team standard around it.
Practical migration notes for Mac users: export any custom AI provider settings, keybindings, and snippets before you uninstall. If Agent Mode workflows depended on MCP servers, inventory those server configs and recreate them in Cursor, Claude Code, or Continue. Apple Silicon machines that still launch Void 1.99.30044 should not treat a successful launch as a supportability signal—Gatekeeper and notarization posture can change with future macOS point releases, and Void will not re-sign builds. Enterprise security teams should remove Void from golden images the same way they removed other archived Electron forks: the risk is unpatched Chromium/Electron components more than missing AI features. Hobbyists who loved the BYOM philosophy can keep a local copy of the source tree as documentation even if they never open the GUI again.
Key Features
Bring Your Own Model (historical, still in last build)
Connect OpenAI-compatible, Anthropic, Google, Mistral, Groq, xAI, or custom endpoints. You pay providers directly; Void does not meter a proprietary model pool. Useful when policies forbid sending code through Cursor or Windsurf backends.
Local models via Ollama (historical)
Point Void at a local Ollama endpoint so completions and chat stay on-device. Suitable for air-gapped or compliance-sensitive work, with the usual tradeoff that local models lag frontier cloud quality.
Agent Mode and MCP (historical)
Agent Mode could create/edit/delete files, run terminal commands, and call MCP tools. Gather Mode offered a read-only exploration path. These remain in 1.99.30044 but will not track new MCP protocol revisions.
Chat with codebase context (historical)
Project-aware chat with @ file/symbol mentions for grounded answers about your repo.
Inline completions and Quick Edit (historical)
Tab completions plus Cmd+K natural-language edits with diff preview, including FIM-oriented models and Fast Apply for larger patches.
Checkpoints before LLM changes (historical)
Automatic checkpoints before applying model edits so you can accept or revert with lint awareness.
VS Code compatibility (frozen at 1.99.x)
As a VS Code fork, Void imported themes, keybindings, and marketplace extensions at the 1.99.x API level. It will not track newer VS Code / VSCodium releases (1.12x+) without a fork maintainer.
No proprietary telemetry backend (historical)
Void marketed direct provider connections without a Void-operated inference middleman. That architecture remains the main reason privacy-focused developers downloaded it, even though the binary is now stale.
Who Should Use Void?
1Compliance engineer evaluating options
Needs an offline AI editor for a regulated codebase. Tries Void + Ollama for a proof of concept, then migrates to a maintained BYOM stack (Continue in VSCodium, or Cursor with privacy mode) before Void's frozen connectors break.
2Open-source student
Studies Void's HOW_TO_CONTRIBUTE and void-builder guides to learn how Cursor-like IDEs are assembled from VS Code, without depending on Void for daily work.
3Budget freelancer
Previously used Void to avoid Cursor subscriptions. In August 2026 they keep local Ollama in a maintained editor instead of relying on an archived binary.
4Security reviewer
Audits developer laptops and flags Void as an archived Electron editor. Replaces it with VSCodium plus an approved AI extension list, documenting the change for SOC 2 evidence.
Install Void on Mac (unsupported)
Void remains installable, but it is deprecated. Prefer a maintained editor unless you explicitly accept an unmaintained build.
Install Homebrew
If needed: /bin/bash -c "$(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Homebrew/install/HEAD/install.sh)"
Install the last Void cask
Run brew install --cask void (version 1.99.30044 as of 2026-08-09). Requires macOS 11+.
Configure providers carefully
Add your own API keys or Ollama. Expect breakage as provider APIs evolve; there is no upstream to file bugs against.
Configuration Tips
Prefer a maintained BYOM path
If privacy is the goal, run Continue or a similar extension inside VSCodium/VS Code with Ollama rather than staying on Void long term.
Pin model IDs you control
Do not trust Void marketing copy for model names. Configure explicit current model IDs from your provider dashboard.
Export settings before switching
Copy keybindings and AI provider config out of Void so you can recreate them in Cursor, Zed, or VSCodium.
Watch Electron and extension breakage
Because Void is frozen on an older VS Code line, newer extensions may refuse to install or crash. Prefer extensions that declare broad engine compatibility or move to a current VSCodium build.
Alternatives to Void
Void's privacy pitch still matters, but the living alternatives in August 2026 are elsewhere.
Cursor
Actively developed AI IDE with Composer 2.5 and frontier models. Paid, polished, and the default Void replacement for most developers.
Windsurf / Devin Desktop (Cognition)
Cascade agent IDE now under Cognition with SWE 1.7 and Pro at $20/month. Choose if you want agentic editing with cloud sessions.
VSCodium + Continue
Closest spiritual successor: telemetry-free VS Code binaries plus open-source BYOM chat/completions.
Meta Muse Code
August 2026 terminal coding agent on Muse Spark 1.2 for macOS/Linux—another open-ish agent path without Void's frozen IDE shell.
Zed
Native Mac editor with collaborative focus and growing AI features; not a VS Code fork.
Pricing
Void itself has no subscription: MIT/Apache open-source builds are free. You still pay cloud LLM providers per token or run free/local models. There is no support contract and no refund path for time lost on broken connectors.
Pros
- ✓Historically strong privacy story: direct-to-provider or fully local inference
- ✓Last build still installs on Apple Silicon via Homebrew
- ✓Excellent reference codebase for anyone forking a VS Code AI editor
- ✓No Void subscription fee
- ✓Full VS Code-like UX for users who already know the keybindings
- ✓Remains a clear case study in why BYOM editors need ongoing API maintenance
Cons
- ✗Deprecated and archived—no feature work, PR review, or security maintenance
- ✗Frozen on VS Code 1.99.x while the ecosystem moved on
- ✗Provider/model marketing on the website is stale
- ✗Smaller community now migrating away; Discord help will thin out
- ✗Not a safe default for teams or regulated production workflows
- ✗Homebrew install counts can falsely signal that the project is healthy
Community & Support
GitHub discussions and Discord remain historical artifacts. Maintainers redirect serious fork questions to email (hello@voideditor.com) and the HOW_TO_CONTRIBUTE / void-builder docs. Expect community sentiment on X and Reddit to emphasise 'paused then deprecated' rather than feature requests. On X, posts about Void in 2026 mostly recirculate the pause/deprecation notice or point newcomers to Cursor and Continue rather than troubleshooting new bugs.
Frequently Asked Questions about Void
About the Author
Expert Tips for Void
Community consensus after archival: keep Void only as a temporary offline BYOM stopgap, then move to Continue/VSCodium or Cursor before provider APIs drift.
Documentation and fork guides (HOW_TO_CONTRIBUTE, void-builder) are now more valuable than the binary itself for teams that wanted Void's architecture.
Related Technologies & Concepts
Related Topics
Sources & References
Key Verified Facts
- The voideditor/void repository is archived and Void is marked deprecated, no longer accepting contributions.[cite-1]
- Homebrew still distributes Void 1.99.30044 for macOS 11+.[cite-4]
- Maintainers paused IDE work and warned features may stop working without maintenance.[cite-2, cite-5]
- Void's site still positions the product as a BYOM VS Code fork with Agent/Gather modes.[cite-3]
- 1voideditor/void on GitHub
Accessed Aug 9, 2026
"Repository archived; Void marked deprecated and no longer accepting contributions."
- 2Void README pause/deprecation note
Accessed Aug 9, 2026
"Maintainers paused IDE work; features may stop working without maintenance."
- 3Void official site
Accessed Aug 9, 2026
"Marketing site still describes BYOM AI editor features for the last product generation."
- 4Homebrew Cask: void
Accessed Aug 9, 2026
"Cask version 1.99.30044; macOS 11+; install via brew install --cask void."
- 5Void IDE guide 2026
Accessed Aug 9, 2026
"Documents paused development and practical status for 2026 users."
- 6Void binaries release tag
Accessed Aug 9, 2026
"Arm64 DMG for the last known Void release 1.99.30044."
- 7Meta Muse Code launch (replacement landscape)
Accessed Aug 9, 2026
"New August 2026 macOS coding agent competing in the space Void left."