AI coding assistant sidebar for VS Code — powered by the Codeep CLI.
Install the Codeep CLI first:
npm install -g codeep- Chat sidebar — ask questions, get explanations, request changes, all within VS Code
- Streaming responses — see the AI reply as it's being generated
- Send selection — highlight code and send it directly to chat (
Cmd+Shift+X) - Review file — right-click any file to run an AI code review
- Session browser — list, load, and delete past conversations
- Settings panel — switch AI model, provider, and permission mode without leaving the editor
- Inline permission prompts — approve or deny file writes and shell commands directly in the chat
- New session — start a fresh conversation at any time
Open the Codeep panel from the activity bar (red bracket icon), or press Cmd+Shift+C.
The extension connects to the Codeep CLI automatically on startup. Once connected, type your message and press Enter to send (Shift+Enter for a new line).
| Command | Shortcut | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Codeep: Open Chat | Cmd+Shift+C |
Open the chat sidebar |
| Codeep: Send Selection to Chat | Cmd+Shift+X |
Send selected code to chat |
| Codeep: Review Current File | — | AI review of the active file |
| Codeep: New Session | — | Start a new conversation |
Click Sessions in the toolbar to browse past conversations. Click a session to load it (history is restored in the chat). Use the × button to delete a session.
Click Settings in the toolbar to change the AI model, provider, and permission mode. Changes take effect immediately.
When the agent wants to write a file or run a shell command, an inline card appears in the chat asking you to Allow once, Allow always, or Deny. No popups.
| Setting | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
codeep.cliPath |
codeep |
Path to the Codeep CLI executable |
codeep.provider |
(CLI default) | Override AI provider |
codeep.model |
(CLI default) | Override AI model |
If codeep is not on your PATH, set the full path in settings:
{
"codeep.cliPath": "/usr/local/bin/codeep"
}The extension communicates with the Codeep CLI via the Agent Client Protocol (ACP) — a JSON-RPC protocol over stdio. Each VS Code workspace gets its own CLI session, so the agent has full context of your project.
MIT