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I guess it is just me, but I have never clicked on that pop-up. I always go to the extension tab and add extensions there, where the second link at the top, has a direct link to the licence of said extension. I always go to the extensions tab because it provides documentation about the extension, which I want to read before I add it to my IDE.


Even that page doesn’t tell you the license. It just has a link to “license”, and given that VS Code is marketed as open source software, and there’s often even a GitHub link (for issues), it’d be pretty easy that the “license” linked to was GPL or MIT or something.


Do you think that is the intended user interaction?


Many times, how developers / (manager that think it is a great idea) design an application and how users, use an application do not intersect. I personally would not install an extension to my IDE without at least skimming the docs, checking the licence to see if I am going to have to subscribe or pay later, and checking reviews to ensure that it's a legit extension. I am certain, that there is a contingent of people that do, but as for developers, I would expect them to be a power users that knows better than to just click a yeah, sure install that button.

Honestly, if that where the only way to install extensions on VS Code it would probably be a deal breaker for me. I never install something because the application tells me I should. Especially in an ecosystem where anyone can provide a package. To me it would be akin to blindly adding an Node module, python module, jar or any other third party provided dependency to the custom software I am writing without first vetting it. I mean the licence for an extension, could very well state, that any software produce form the use of this extension, entitles the author of the extension a 10% royalty from said resulting software. That is a very real and valid licence, game engines, codecs, encoders use it all the time.




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