🤖 Terminal Buddy – AI Error Simplifier

Terminal Buddy watches your VS Code terminal, automatically detects errors, and explains them in simple, beginner-friendly language using Gemini or OpenAI.

✨ Features

Automatic error detection — errors are caught the moment a command fails (exit code ≠ 0), no manual trigger needed.
Manual fallback — run Terminal Buddy: Explain Last Error any time.
Multi-provider support — choose between Google Gemini and OpenAI as your AI backend.
Configurable models — pick the exact model you want (e.g. gemini-2.5-flash, gpt-4o-mini).
Beginner-friendly explanations broken into clear sections:
- 🧠 Root Cause
- ❓ Why It Happened
- 🔧 How To Fix
- 💡 Prevention Tip
Side panel webview with copy-to-clipboard support.
Secure key storage via VS Code Secret Storage — keys never leave your machine.
Duplicate detection — the same error won't trigger repeated API calls.

📋 Requirements

Requirement	Details
VS Code	`1.93.0` or newer (Shell Integration API)
API Key	A valid Gemini or OpenAI API key

Gemini key — get one free from Google AI Studio

OpenAI key — create one at platform.openai.com

⚙️ Extension Settings

Open Settings (Ctrl + ,) and search for Terminal Buddy:

Setting	Default	Description
`terminalBuddy.provider`	`gemini`	AI provider — `gemini` or `openai`
`terminalBuddy.geminiModel`	`gemini-2.5-flash`	Model for Gemini requests
`terminalBuddy.openAiModel`	`gpt-4o-mini`	Model for OpenAI requests

🔧 Commands

Open Command Palette (Ctrl + Shift + P) and run:

Command	Description
`Terminal Buddy: Set API Key`	Store your Gemini API key securely
`Terminal Buddy: Set OpenAI API Key`	Store your OpenAI API key securely
`Terminal Buddy: Explain Last Error`	Manually explain the last terminal error

🚀 How To Use

1. Install & configure

1. Install the extension.
2. Open Command Palette → "Terminal Buddy: Set API Key" (for Gemini)
   or → "Terminal Buddy: Set OpenAI API Key" (for OpenAI).
3. (Optional) Switch provider in Settings → terminalBuddy.provider → "openai".

2. Let it work automatically

Run any command in the integrated terminal. If it fails (non-zero exit code), Terminal Buddy automatically:

Captures the terminal output.
Sends it to your chosen AI provider.
Opens an explanation panel beside your editor.

3. Manual trigger

If auto-capture doesn't fire, open the Command Palette and run:

Terminal Buddy: Explain Last Error

This reads the active terminal content and sends it for analysis.

🔄 Switching Providers

You can switch between Gemini and OpenAI at any time:

Open Settings (Ctrl + ,).
Search for terminalBuddy.provider.
Set it to gemini or openai.
Make sure you've stored the matching API key via the Command Palette.

Terminal Buddy – AI Error Simplifier

KunalPanche