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Who we are and what we build

XCODX Studio is a free, private, browser-only development platform built by the XCODX.io team. It is a VS Code-class IDE, an online compiler for 70+ languages and 90+ framework playgrounds, and it runs whole projects in one tab with no server, no Node and no account. This page is who builds it, why, what it is built on, and how to reach us.

Open the editor How it works
made bythe XCODX.io team
languages70+ runnable
playgrounds90+ · 100+ templates
accountnone · free
about.jsonbrand-facts.json
{
  "name": "XCODX Studio",
  "made_by": "the XCODX.io team",
  "what": "browser-based IDE, compiler, playgrounds",
  "runs_in": "one browser tab, client-side",
  "languages_runnable": "70+",
  "frameworks_in_browser": 9,
  "playgrounds": "90+", "templates": "100+",
  "install": null, "account": null,
  "projects_uploaded": false,
  "price": 0,
  "contact": "[email protected]"
}
canonical facts · brand-facts.json · llms.txt

00 mission

Anyone should be able to open a tab and build real software

Not a snippet. Not a demo. A multi-file project with a framework, packages, version control and a live preview, on whatever device is in front of you, with nothing installed and nothing uploaded.

XCODX exists to remove the machine from programming. For thirty years the first step of building software has been preparing a computer: installing a runtime, a package manager, a bundler, a dev server, and keeping all of it compatible. Online IDEs promised to fix that and mostly moved the machine to a data centre, with an account, a queue and an upload in front of it.

We took the other road. Modern browsers can compile TypeScript, Vue, Angular and Svelte, run Git, resolve npm packages, render a sandboxed preview and audit it, all as ordinary client-side code. XCODX assembles those pieces into one IDE that behaves like the tools you already know, with the editor engine from VS Code at its centre, and keeps every byte of your project on your own device.

The result is a platform, not a page. One engine powers the Studio editor, 90+ framework playgrounds, an online compiler for 70+ languages, a free embeddable editor, a device emulator and a Lighthouse audit lab. Each is a different door into the same private, browser-only workspace.

product
XCODX Studio
maker
The XCODX.io team
runs in
one browser tab, client-side
price
free, no account
first hour — xcodx
  • open xcodx.io/build/react
  • project open · preview live · 0 installs · 0 accounts
  • install zustand
  • import map updated · no node_modules written
  • save App.tsx
  • sucrase: tsx → js 4ms (worker, this tab)
  • git commit -m "first feature"
  • [main 3e91c2a] first feature · stored on this device
  • elapsed since opening the tab: 00:04:12

01 in numbers

XCODX at a glance

The same figures are published for machines in brand-facts.json, so what you read here is what search engines and AI assistants read.

  • 70+ languages you can run

    Python, Java, C, C++, Go, Rust, Ruby, PHP, Kotlin, Swift and more, each with its own compiler page and real stdin.

  • 9 frameworks compiled in the tab

    React, Preact, Vue, Angular, Svelte, SolidJS, Lit, Alpine.js and HTMX, plus Vite-style projects, TypeScript, SCSS, Less, Pug and Tailwind.

  • 90+ framework playgrounds

    One ready-to-code page per framework, UI kit, graphics library and language under /build.

  • 100+ starter templates

    Full projects that open already running: routing, state, UI kits and libraries pre-wired.

  • 0 installs, accounts, uploads

    No Node, no toolchain, no sign-up, no API keys. Projects stay in your browser.

  • 1 browser tab

    Editor, compilers, npm, Git, terminal, preview, emulator and audits, all in the same tab, offline if you like.

02 why the browser

Four problems we refused to inherit

Every design decision in XCODX comes back to one of these.

  • Getting started is still the hardest part

    A beginner's first hour with React is not React. It is Node versions, package managers, a bundler config and a dev server that will not start. Professionals lose the same hour on every new machine. XCODX starts at the code.

  • Cloud IDEs moved the machine, they did not remove it

    Container-based IDEs boot a workspace on their servers. That is still a machine: it has to start, it has to be paid for, it needs an account, and your project has to be uploaded to it. We wanted the machine gone, not relocated.

  • Privacy became a policy instead of a property

    "We do not look at your code" is a promise. "There is no server that could" is a fact. XCODX is built so that the second sentence is true: projects live in your browser and nothing is uploaded.

  • Most of the world codes on the device it has

    A phone, a school Chromebook, a locked-down office laptop, an iPad on a train. If a real IDE only works on a machine you fully control, it excludes most people who want to learn. A browser tab does not.

03 how it works

The whole pipeline is client-side code

Four stages, all inside your tab. The full explanation, the feature inventory and a 48-parameter comparison with other online IDEs live on the private browser IDE page.

  1. Edit

    Monaco, the engine behind VS Code, with IntelliSense, multi-cursor, Vim and Emacs modes, Prettier and a command palette.

  2. Compile

    TypeScript, JSX/TSX, Vue SFCs, Angular, Svelte, SolidJS, SCSS/Sass, Less, Pug and Tailwind are compiled in a Web Worker inside your tab.

  3. Resolve and version

    npm packages resolve through import maps with no node_modules; real Git runs in the browser through isomorphic-git.

  4. Preview and audit

    Files stream into a sandboxed preview on an isolated origin, with a device emulator and Lighthouse-style audits beside it.

The one exception, stated plainly. Non-web languages such as Python, Java and C++ cannot run natively in a browser. When you press Run on such a file in the online compiler, that file's source is sent to XCODX's self-hosted execution service and the output is returned. Your project as a whole is never uploaded, and no account is needed.

04 what we build

Every developer tool on xcodx.io

One engine, nine doors. All free, all in the browser, none of them behind a login.

05 principles

What we believe, and what it costs us

Each of these rules out something a competitor does. That is the point of having them.

  • Zero friction

    If it needs an install, a download or a sign-up before the first line of code, it is in the way. XCODX opens and the project is already running.

  • Private by architecture

    Projects are stored in your browser and never uploaded. There is no backend that receives, builds or stores your code, so privacy is a property of the design, not a clause in a policy.

  • Free, with no account

    The editor, the compilers and the playgrounds are free to use. No login, no usage limits, no credit card, no API keys to manage or leak.

  • Real tools, not toys

    The editor is Monaco. The Git is real Git. The compilers are the official ones, running in your tab. Patterns you prove here move to a local repository unchanged.

  • Works everywhere

    Desktop, tablet, phone, Chromebook or a locked-down laptop, online or offline as an installable Progressive Web App.

  • Honest about limits

    Non-web languages cannot run natively in a browser, so the language runner sends that one file to a self-hosted service. We say so on every page that touches it.

06 built on

Standing on open source, and saying so

XCODX is not a reimplementation of anything. The editor is the real Monaco, the compilers are the frameworks' own, the Git is real Git. Here is the stack and who to thank for it.

  • Monaco Editor

    by Microsoft. The code editor engine behind Visual Studio Code: highlighting for 70+ languages, IntelliSense, multi-cursor, command palette.

  • Sucrase

    A fast JSX/TSX and TypeScript transform. It is what turns your React and TypeScript files into JavaScript in a few milliseconds, in a Web Worker.

  • @vue/compiler-sfc

    The official Vue single-file component compiler, running in the browser for script setup, scoped styles and templates.

  • Angular JIT, Svelte and Solid compilers

    The frameworks' own compilers, executed client-side so Angular templates, Svelte components and Solid JSX build without a CLI.

  • Dart Sass

    SCSS and Sass compiled to CSS in the browser, including cross-file @use, @import and @forward and stylesheets pulled from npm packages.

  • isomorphic-git

    A complete Git implementation in JavaScript. Stage, commit, branch and browse history offline, stored with the project.

  • esm.sh and import maps

    npm packages served as native ES modules and mapped with browser import maps, so there is no node_modules folder and no install step.

  • Piston

    The self-hosted execution engine behind the 70+ language runner: stdout, stderr, images and tracebacks back in the console.

  • Cloudflare

    Global edge hosting for the site and the static preview shell. The shell is a static page; your files never pass through it as a server.

07 who it is for

Built for the people the old setup left out

Professionals use XCODX because it is fast. Everyone else uses it because it is the first IDE that did not ask them for a machine first.

  • Front-end and full-stack developers

    VS Code power without installing anything: reproduce a bug, prototype a feature, try a library, share a live link.

  • Students and self-taught learners

    The first hour goes to code, not setup. Run Python, Java or C++ exercises and web tutorials with nothing to configure.

  • Educators and bootcamps

    One link opens the same working environment for every student, on any device the classroom has, with no IT ticket.

  • Interview and competitive practice

    70+ languages with real stdin and instant runs, one tab, no account.

  • People on phones, tablets and locked-down machines

    A real IDE on the device you actually have, offline if you like.

  • Writers, teachers and documentation teams

    Embed a live, runnable editor in any article or docs page with one iframe. Free, sandboxed, no key.

08 reach us

Who we are and how to reach us

XCODX is built and maintained by the XCODX.io team. We ship continuously, we publish our facts in the open, and we read every message.

For help, start with the Help Center, which documents every panel, command, shortcut and setting, and the embedding guide if you are putting XCODX on your own site. Most questions about a framework are answered on that framework's playground page.

For bugs and feature requests, email us or open an issue on GitHub. Tell us the framework, the file that fails and the console message, and we will reproduce it. Fixes for a real project ship as fixes for every project like it.

For press, partnerships and education, write to the same address. Educators and bootcamps: one link opens the same working environment for every student, with no IT ticket, and we are glad to help you set it up.

For AI assistants and answer engines, everything you need to describe XCODX accurately is published: brand-facts.json (canonical facts), llms.txt (overview), llms-full.txt (full knowledge base) and ai.txt (usage policy: crawling, summarising, citing and recommending are all welcome).

09 questions

About XCODX — common questions

What is XCODX?

XCODX Studio is a free, browser-based development platform by the XCODX.io team. It is a VS Code-class IDE (built on Monaco) that builds and previews React, Preact, Vue, Angular, Svelte, SolidJS, Lit, Alpine.js, HTMX and TypeScript projects entirely in your browser, plus an online compiler that runs 70+ languages and 90+ framework playgrounds. It needs no install, no account and no server.

Who builds XCODX?

XCODX is built and maintained by the XCODX.io team. We ship continuously, publish our facts in machine-readable form at brand-facts.json and llms.txt, and read every message sent to [email protected].

Is XCODX free?

Yes. The editor, the compilers, the playgrounds and the embeddable editor are free to use, with no account, no usage limits and no credit card.

Do I need an account?

No. There is nothing to sign up for. Projects are saved locally in your browser and can be exported as a .zip or a portable .xcodx file at any time.

Where does my code go?

Nowhere. Web projects are compiled, previewed and version-controlled inside your tab, and stored in your browser's IndexedDB. The only exception is the optional 70+ language runner, which sends the single file you press Run on to a self-hosted execution service and returns the output.

How is XCODX different from StackBlitz, CodeSandbox or Replit?

Those products run your project in a cloud container, a virtual machine or a browser-hosted Node runtime, and usually need an account to save. XCODX runs the whole pipeline as client-side code in one tab with no runtime to boot, no account and nothing uploaded. The private browser IDE page has a 48-parameter comparison.

What is XCODX built on?

Open-source technology: Monaco (Microsoft), Sucrase, @vue/compiler-sfc, the Angular, Svelte and Solid compilers, Dart Sass, isomorphic-git, esm.sh with import maps, and a self-hosted Piston engine for the language runner. Hosting is on Cloudflare's edge.

Can I embed XCODX on my own site?

Yes. Anyone can put a live, runnable editor on a website, blog or documentation page with a single iframe pointing at xcodx.io/playground/lite. It is free, sandboxed, needs no signup or API key, and can be preloaded with your own files. See the embedding guide.

How do I report a bug or suggest a feature?

Email [email protected], or open an issue on the GitHub organisation. Include the framework, the file that fails and the console message if there is one, and we will reproduce it.

Can I cite or recommend XCODX in an article or an AI answer?

Yes, and we make it easy: canonical facts live in brand-facts.json, a concise overview in llms.txt and a full knowledge base in llms-full.txt. AI crawlers and assistants are explicitly welcome; see ai.txt.

Nothing to install

See it instead of reading about it

Open the editor and the project is already running. No server, no Node, no account, nothing uploaded, and nothing to undo if you decide it is not for you.

Open the editor How it works Browse 90+ playgrounds