Microsoft activated stricter license enforcement for its popular C/C++ extension for Visual Studio Code earlier this month, a move that now prevents the add-on from working in unofficial VS Code distributions like VSCodium and the AI-focused editor Cursor. Proprietary Binaries and Licensing Fine PrintStarting around April 3rd, users of forks attempting to initialize the updated C/C++ extension were greeted with errors. Reports on GitHub issues for VSCodium and Cursor documented the specific message: “The C/C++ extension may be used only with Microsoft Visual Studio, Visual Studio for Mac, Visual Studio Code, Azure DevOps, Team Foundation Server, and successor Microsoft products and services to develop and test your applications.”The crux of the issue lies in the extension’s composition. Developers discovered that downgrading the C/C++ extension to v1.23.6, the last version before the check was implemented, and disabling automatic updates allowed continued use, albeit temporarily. AI Competition and Ecosystem ControlMicrosoft’s decision to enforce the C/C++ extension’s license arrived just as the company significantly advanced its own AI coding tool, GitHub Copilot, within VS Code.