The Open VSX Registry was transferred from TypeFox to the Eclipse Foundation and it now offers an alternative to the Microsoft Visual Studio Marketplace for VS Code extensions. 

The goal behind the transition was to increase flexibility for extension users, extension publishers and tool developers since the Visual Studio Marketplace doesn’t allow for extensions with the increasing number of open-source tools and technologies that support the VS Code extension API, the Eclipse Foundation explained. 

The Open VSX Registry is built on the Eclipse Open VSX project and it allows for the use of extensions from VS Code and forks of VS Code such as VSCodium, to Eclipse Theia, Eclipse Che, Gitpod, Coder, and SAP Business Application Studio.

“Following a true open source model, all aspects of the Open VSX Registry are guided by the community based on our proven governance framework and processes for entrepreneurial collaboration,” Mike Milinkovich, the executive director of the Eclipse Foundation wrote in a blog post.

With the transition, no single company or vendor owns the Open VSX Registry servers and any individual or organization can influence how the Open VSX Registry evolves. 

Also, the Eclipse Cloud DevTools (ECD Tools) Working Group will manage the Open VSX Registry and expand the platform.