If you want to use VSCode without the Microsoft bits, they actually provide that officially. VSCodium is VSCode with all the Microsoft-specific bits stripped out (or rather, not added in in the first place, at compile time). It’s all open source too so you can either verify yourself or have a knowledgeable friend do an audit on your behalf.
I use VSCode at work a lot and enjoy it quite a bit. A good alternative would be to use Kate/Kwrite with all of the coding plugins and the linter plugins turned on, the experience is pretty close to VSCode/ium without store extensions.
If you want to use VSCode without the Microsoft bits, they actually provide that officially. VSCodium is VSCode with all the Microsoft-specific bits stripped out (or rather, not added in in the first place, at compile time). It’s all open source too so you can either verify yourself or have a knowledgeable friend do an audit on your behalf.
I use VSCode at work a lot and enjoy it quite a bit. A good alternative would be to use Kate/Kwrite with all of the coding plugins and the linter plugins turned on, the experience is pretty close to VSCode/ium without store extensions.