TL;DR
Google’s developers historically used diverse IDEs, causing fragmentation. Starting around 2013, Google began developing a cloud-based editor, Cider, which later transitioned to a VSCode frontend by 2020. This evolution aims to improve productivity and standardization.
Google has shifted from a highly fragmented IDE landscape to adopting a unified, cloud-based development environment, with the transition to VSCode as its primary frontend completed around 2022. This change aims to improve developer productivity and reduce tooling fragmentation across Google’s large-scale codebase.
For many years, Google engineers used various IDEs, leading to fragmentation and duplicated effort in tooling support. In 2011, senior engineers concluded that standardizing IDEs was impractical due to differing preferences. Instead, Google supported multiple IDEs, creating custom integrations for tools like Bazel, code search, and formatters. The company’s monorepo size and complexity posed challenges for traditional IDEs, which relied on local source indexing.
In 2013, Google introduced Cider, a web-based code editor designed to work within the company’s browser-centric ecosystem. Initially popular among technical writers, Cider evolved to include code completion via the language-server protocol, making it more suitable for developers. Its backend indexed the entire codebase, supporting rapid, cross-referenced searches across billions of files, which was a significant advantage at Google’s scale.
By 2020, Google decided to shift from Cider’s custom frontend to the more mature Visual Studio Code (VSCode) platform. This transition aimed to leverage VSCode’s extensive extension ecosystem and familiarity among developers. The switch required extensive development to support Google’s specific tooling, version control, code review, and other integrations. By 2022, the new system, dubbed Cider V, was in open beta and used by thousands of engineers, marking a significant step toward standardizing developer tools at Google.
Why It Matters
This transition is significant because it addresses longstanding challenges of tooling fragmentation at Google, potentially boosting developer productivity, consistency, and onboarding efficiency. It also reflects a broader industry trend toward cloud-based, web-compatible IDEs that scale with large codebases, reducing local dependencies and setup time for engineers.
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Background
Google’s main codebase, google3, is a massive monorepo that requires specialized tooling to support its scale. Historically, engineers used various IDEs, which led to duplicated effort in building integrations. The development of Cider in 2013 represented an early attempt to create a cloud-based editing environment tailored to Google’s needs. The move to VSCode in 2020 was driven by its maturity, extensibility, and widespread adoption, enabling Google to unify its developer experience while maintaining support for its complex tooling requirements.
“Trying to get a group of developers to all agree on a common editor is a recipe for unhappiness. Everyone has different opinions about what is important here.”
— Anonymous Google engineer
“Switching to VSCode as the frontend allows us to leverage a mature ecosystem and focus on integrating our unique tooling without reinventing the wheel.”
— Google developer tools team lead (2020)
cloud-based IDEs for programmers
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What Remains Unclear
It is not yet clear how widely the new Cider V system will be adopted across all Google engineering teams or how it will impact overall productivity long-term. The full scope of tooling integration and user experience improvements remains under development.
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What’s Next
Next steps include further refining Cider V, expanding its adoption across Google’s engineering teams, and evaluating its impact on developer productivity. Google is also likely to continue developing integrations and features to fully replace previous IDE setups.
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Key Questions
Why did Google initially avoid standardizing on a single IDE?
Google’s engineers had diverse preferences, and senior leadership believed that forcing a common IDE would cause dissatisfaction and reduce productivity, given the different needs and opinions across teams.
What is Cider, and why was it developed?
Cider is a web-based code editor developed at Google starting around 2013, designed to support Google’s large codebase and browser-centric culture. It aimed to provide a scalable, cloud-based alternative to traditional IDEs.
Why switch to VSCode as the frontend?
VSCode offers a mature, extensible platform with a large ecosystem, making it easier to support Google’s tooling needs and standardize the development environment across teams.
When will Google fully transition to Cider V?
The transition is ongoing, with the open beta of Cider V having started in 2021. Full adoption across all teams is expected to take more time, depending on feedback and further development.
