diff --git a/learners/installation-instructions.md b/learners/installation-instructions.md
index 9651656a1..8665bfcbe 100644
--- a/learners/installation-instructions.md
+++ b/learners/installation-instructions.md
@@ -8,7 +8,8 @@ You will need the following software and accounts setup to be able to follow the
 - [Git version control program](#git-version-control-tool)
 - [GitHub account](#github-account)
 - [Python 3 distribution](#python-3-distribution)
-- [PyCharm](#pycharm) or [Visual Studio Code (VS Code)](#vs-code) integrated development environment (IDE)
+- [PyCharm](#pycharm) or [Visual Studio Code (VS Code)](#vs-code) integrated development environment (IDE).
+You can use another IDE of your choice but note that it may not have been tested with the material of this lesson and some features we are showcasing may not be available in that IDE.
 
 :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  callout
 
@@ -308,6 +309,10 @@ two tools (that correspond to your Python distribution) installed on your machin
 
 ## IDE
 
+The material has been tested with PyCharm and VS Code IDEs.
+You can use another IDE of your choice but note that some features we are showcasing in the lesson may not be available in that IDE (but the material could still be followed with modifications).
+For example, [VSCodium][vscodium] is fairly similar to VS Code (VSCodium entirely removes all telemetry, usage data collection, and tracking functionality present in the default Microsoft VS Code) and might work well but has not been tested by the developers of this lesson.
+
 ### PyCharm
 
 You can use JetBrains's [PyCharm Python Integrated Development Environment](https://www.jetbrains.com/pycharm) for the course.
diff --git a/links.md b/links.md
index 2d8cd4b46..878742abd 100644
--- a/links.md
+++ b/links.md
@@ -55,3 +55,4 @@
 [training]: https://carpentries.github.io/instructor-training/
 [yaml]: http://yaml.org/
 [ssi-fair-lesson]: https://github.com/carpentries-incubator/fair-research-software
+[vscodium]: https://vscodium.com/