Next Term vs VS Code
VS Code is Microsoft’s free code editor for macOS, Windows and Linux, with the Visual Studio Marketplace of extensions, a built-in debugger, remote development over SSH, in containers and in WSL, and GitHub Copilot built in. Its agents can run on Copilot, Anthropic’s Claude or OpenAI’s Codex, locally or in the cloud, and a sessions list and an Agents window track several sessions at once, including the ones waiting for your input. Next Term is much smaller and does one job: it runs command-line agents such as Claude Code, Codex and Gemini CLI side by side in a native Mac app, shows each agent’s status on its tab, and lets one agent run the others over MCP. It has no debugger, language servers or extensions. If VS Code is your editor, keep it, and add Next Term when you run several terminal agents at once.
At a glance
Section titled “At a glance”| Feature | Next Term | VS Code |
|---|---|---|
| Platforms | macOS 13 or later | macOS, Windows, Linux, and in the browser |
| Price and licence | Free, MIT | Free; the product has a Microsoft licence, its Code - OSS source is MIT |
| Account | None | None for the editor; Copilot needs a GitHub account, unless you bring your own model key |
| AI of its own | — Runs the agents you install | ✓ GitHub Copilot: chat, agents, inline and next edit suggestions; a free plan and paid plans |
| Agents from other vendors | ✓ Any agent that runs in a terminal; 20 recognised by name | ✓ Claude and Codex as agent harnesses; Anthropic’s Claude Code extension; Copilot CLI sessions |
| Several agents at once | ✓ Tabs and split panes | ✓ The sessions list and the Agents window, with worktrees |
| Status of each agent | ✓ On every tab: working, done, waiting (with the question), failed | ✓ In the sessions list: in progress, waiting for input, done |
| Status of agents in the terminal | ✓ Read from the agent’s own screen for Claude Code, Codex, Command Code and Gemini CLI, and from output timing for other agents | Partly: terminal tabs show a bell, and a check or a cross for tasks |
| Notifications | ✓ Quote the agent’s question; Dock badge | ✓ When a chat session needs input or responds, by default while the window is in the background |
| MCP | ✓ An MCP server: one agent starts, prompts, waits for and reads the others | ✓ An MCP client for the servers you add |
| Code intelligence | — | ✓ IntelliSense and refactoring, built in for JavaScript and TypeScript, more through extensions |
| Debugger | — | ✓ Built in for JavaScript, TypeScript and Node.js; other languages through extensions |
| Extensions | — | ✓ The Visual Studio Marketplace |
| Reviewing changes | ✓ Side-by-side diffs; stage, unstage or revert per hunk; the Git Log and blame | ✓ The diff editor; stage selected ranges |
| Remote development | Partly: terminal tabs on your servers over ssh, kept running in tmux or herdr; the editor opens your Mac’s files | ✓ SSH, Dev Containers, WSL, Tunnels |
| The app | Native Swift and AppKit, about a 16 MB download | Built on Electron |
Choose VS Code if…
Section titled “Choose VS Code if…”- You want one editor for everything: IntelliSense, refactoring, a debugger, and an extension for almost any language or tool.
- You want agents inside the editor. Copilot, Claude and Codex sessions share one sessions list, can run in Git worktrees or in the cloud, and their changes open in the diff editor.
- You work on Windows or Linux, in the browser, or on remote machines over SSH, in Dev Containers, in WSL or through Tunnels.
- Copilot is your main assistant, with inline and next edit suggestions as you type.
Choose Next Term if…
Section titled “Choose Next Term if…”- You run agents as command-line tools, such as Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI or Qwen Code, under their own subscriptions, and want each in its own tab with its status on the tab.
- You want the question in the notification. When an agent in a tab asks for permission, Next Term’s notification quotes it and takes you to the tab.
- You want one agent to orchestrate the others across projects, through Next Term’s MCP server.
- You want a small native app for agent work, about a 16 MB download, with no account, separate from the editor you write code in.
Use both
Section titled “Use both”If VS Code is your editor, keep it: VS Code for the code, Next Term for the agents.
- Open the project in both.
nxtrm .in VS Code’s terminal opens the folder as a Next Term project. Run your agents, tests and dev servers in Next Term tabs. - Keep your keys. Next Term › Import Settings and Shortcuts… reads the keys you changed in VS Code’s
keybindings.jsonand the settings Next Term has too, shows each change first, and undoes them in one click. See Switching to Next Term. - Pick the IDE link per session. A
claudestarted in VS Code’s integrated terminal connects to VS Code, where Anthropic’s extension shows its diffs and shares diagnostics. Aclaudestarted in a Next Term tab connects to Next Term instead. - Let Copilot drive Next Term. VS Code is an MCP client, and it also reads
~/.copilot/mcp-config.json, the file where Next Term registers itself for GitHub Copilot CLI. Or add a stdio server that runsnxtrm mcpwith MCP: Open User Configuration. Copilot’s agent can then start Claude Code or Codex in Next Term tabs, send them tasks, wait for them and read the results.
Questions
Section titled “Questions”Can’t I just run Claude Code in VS Code’s terminal?
Section titled “Can’t I just run Claude Code in VS Code’s terminal?”Yes, and it connects to VS Code for diffs and diagnostics. Next Term adds an overview of every agent you run in a terminal: a status mark on each agent’s tab, with nothing to set up, notifications that quote each agent’s question, and an MCP server through which one agent runs the others.
Does VS Code show the status of several agents?
Section titled “Does VS Code show the status of several agents?”Yes, for agent sessions in its sessions list, including Copilot, Claude and Codex sessions and Copilot CLI: you see which are in progress, waiting for your input or done. Next Term does the same for command-line agents in terminal tabs, whichever agent it is.
Do I need a Copilot subscription for agents in VS Code?
Section titled “Do I need a Copilot subscription for agents in VS Code?”Copilot has a free plan and paid plans, and needs a GitHub account; with your own model key you can use chat without either. Claude sessions are billed through Copilot or a Claude API key, and Codex through Copilot or a ChatGPT subscription. Next Term needs no subscription of its own: each agent uses its own sign-in.
Read more
Section titled “Read more”- Agent status in every tab
- Agents and the IDE link
- Orchestrate agents (MCP)
- The nxtrm command
- Next Term compared with other tools
Sources
Section titled “Sources”Checked October 2026 against VS Code’s documentation, GitHub’s Copilot pages and Anthropic’s Claude Code documentation. Products change quickly; if something here is out of date, please open an issue.
- VS Code FAQ (platforms, licence, account, Copilot) and Why VS Code (Electron)
- Agents overview, agent harnesses and managing sessions
- AI settings (notifications) and MCP servers
- Terminal basics and debugging
- Remote development and staging and committing
- GitHub Copilot plans (checked 6 October 2026)
- Claude Code in VS Code