TvijoCode: what the test build does and does not do

TvijoCode is a code editor built from the open-source VS Code sources (Code - OSS) with the Tvijo extension embedded as a built-in. It is a test build: Windows only, unsigned, and without auto-update. If you need a signed installer or Microsoft-only extensions, this is not the editor for you yet.

🧭 How it is built

The build uses the official microsoft/vscode tag and the VSCodium build scripts. Three consequences matter to anyone evaluating it:

1. Telemetry from Microsoft is removed at build time by the VSCodium patches.
2. Extensions come from Open VSX, not the Microsoft Marketplace.
3. Auto-update is off. New versions are published on the Releases page and installed by hand.

The Tvijo extension is pinned to a specific version and SHA-256 in the repository (tvijo/extensions.lock.json), so a build is reproducible: the lock file says exactly which extension binary is inside.

🧭 Install the test build

1. Open the Releases page.
2. Download TvijoCodeUserSetup-x64-*.exe (installs without admin rights) or the portable .zip.
3. Run it. Windows SmartScreen shows "unknown publisher" on first run because the build is not code-signed yet: More info → Run anyway.
4. Open the chat panel (Tvijo: Open chat) and sign in with your Tvijo account.

Check what you installed: the window title, the product name, and the fact that auto-update is disabled. If any of those is wrong, you are running a different build.

🔹 What you give up, compared with ordinary VS Code

If your team or your corporate policy requires signed binaries, wait. Do not work around code signing by disabling SmartScreen globally.

🔹 MCP: the editor can expose the knowledge base to tools

The same repository ships a Model Context Protocol server (tvijo-dshrem-mcp, registry name com.tvijo/dshrem). It lets an MCP-capable editor query the knowledge base and the workspace through a defined tool interface instead of copy-pasting text.

Treat this as experimental. Before you connect it to anything that can act on your behalf, decide:

• which tools the MCP server may expose;
• which account it authenticates as;
• whether the editor is allowed to call those tools without asking you.

🔹 Licensing is not implied by a public repository

This matters more than it looks:

• The TvijoCode repository is public, but public does not mean Open Source.
• The dshrempub package metadata is UNLICENSED; a public licensing decision is still pending.
• TvijoCode is built from Code - OSS sources, which carry their own licence, and bundles third-party extensions from Open VSX, each with its own terms.

So: reading the code is fine, but redistributing a build, shipping it inside your product, or removing notices may not be. Check each component's licence before you redistribute anything.

🚧 When this does NOT work

• You need Copilot or Microsoft language servers. They are not available here.
• You need a managed, signed rollout. Not yet.
• You need automatic security updates. Not yet — you install each release manually.
• You are on macOS or Linux. Only Windows x64 is built during the test phase.

➡️ Next

• Install the extension in a standard editor instead.
• Models and routing — what the composer's model control does.
• Permissions and data flow — what leaves your machine.