Get AI-powered help for your code directly in VS Code. This build is configured for our user study and uses our hosted backend service.
What to expect
No setup required: The extension is already configured to use our backend. Do not change the service type or backend URL.
Chat UI: Ask questions about your selected code and continue the conversation.
Add context: Add multiple selections or files to give the AI more context.
Quick Start
1) Install
Open VS Code
Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X)
Search for "AI Turing"
Click Install
2) Sign in (device code)
Open Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P)
Run "AI Turing: Sign In"
A code and link will appear. Choose:
Open Link to open your browser automatically, or
Copy Link and paste into your browser manually
Complete sign-in in the browser, then return to VS Code
VS Code will show "Waiting for sign-in completion..." — please be patient while it finishes
You should see "AI Turing: Successfully signed in!"
Tips:
If the browser doesn’t open, use Copy Link and paste it into your browser.
If it times out, just run "AI Turing: Sign In" again.
3) Ask for help on selected code
Select code in the editor
Right-click → "Get AI Turing Help for Selected Code" (or run from Command Palette)
Type your question when prompted
A chat window opens with the AI’s response; you can send follow‑ups there
Add files or selections to AI context
You can collect multiple snippets and/or files before asking your question.
Add current selection(s): Command Palette → "Add Selection to AI Turing Context" (or right‑click with a selection)
Add file(s):
Explorer right‑click → "Add File(s) to AI Turing Context", or
Command Palette → "Add File(s) to AI Turing Context" and pick files
Ask with collected context:
Click the status bar button in the bottom left of your window "Ask with AI Context (N)" when it appears, or
Command Palette → "Ask AI Turing with Collected Context"
Clear context: Command Palette → "Clear AI Turing Context"
Notes:
The status bar shows how many items are in context. Clicking it opens the context flow.
After you ask a question using context, the context is automatically cleared.
Commands (cheat sheet)
Get AI Turing Help for Selected Code (ai-turing.getAIHelp)
Ask AI Turing with Collected Context (ai-turing.getAIHelpFromContext)
Add Selection to AI Turing Context (ai-turing.addSelectionToContext)
Add File(s) to AI Turing Context (ai-turing.addFileToContext)
Clear AI Turing Context (ai-turing.clearContext)
AI Turing: Sign In (ai-turing.signIn)
AI Turing: Sign Out (ai-turing.signOut)
Be patient (important)
Sign-in and first requests may take longer while servers wake up. Waiting 30–60 seconds can be normal.
Long or complex questions can take time to process. Let the progress notification finish.
Troubleshooting (common issues)
Prompt says “Please sign in to AI Turing”: Run AI Turing: Sign In and complete the browser flow.
Stuck on “Waiting for sign-in completion…”: Ensure you finished the browser step. If it times out, run Sign In again. Try Copy Link if the browser didn’t open.
Sign-in failed or cancelled: Try again. If you cancelled the progress dialog, rerun Sign In.
Unauthorized while asking a question: Run AI Turing: Sign Out, then AI Turing: Sign In.
“No active editor found”: Open a file first.
“Please select some code first”: Highlight code before running Get AI Turing Help for Selected Code.
“AI context is empty”: Add selections or files before Ask AI Turing with Collected Context.
Slow response / Backend error: Check your internet. Wait a bit and try again — the hosted service may be waking up. If it persists, sign out and sign in again.
Privacy & data
Your selected code, context, and questions are sent to our hosted backend to generate responses.
Your auth token is stored securely in VS Code’s Secret Storage. You can remove it via AI Turing: Sign Out.
License
MIT License — see LICENSE.
Ready to go? Install the extension, run AI Turing: Sign In, and start asking questions about your code.
