Ageneral for VS Code
Sign in to Ageneral once. You get Ageneral Coder: a coding agent in the Chat view under the Ageneral Coder activity bar. Choose models from the pane’s picker; conversations and attachments stay in that view.
The extension is on the Visual Studio Code Marketplace. A small local agent runs on your machine the first time you use the coding agent. Current version: 0.0.4.
Contents
Before you begin
| Requirement |
Notes |
| VS Code |
1.94.0 or newer |
| Network |
ageneral.ai, models.ageneral.ai, and a local port on your machine for the agent |
| Sign-in |
A normal desktop VS Code is best so OAuth and the return URL work reliably |
From the Marketplace
Search for Ageneral in the Extensions view and install.
From a VSIX
code --install-extension ageneralcoder-<version>-<target>.vsix
Build a target-specific VSIX so the package only ships the native OpenCode binary that target can run.
Or use Extensions → … → Install from VSIX and pick the file.
To remove the extension: code --uninstall-extension ageneral.ageneralcoder.
First run
- Click Ageneral Coder in the activity bar. You see a sign-in screen until you connect your account.
- Run Ageneral: Sign In from the Command Palette, or use the menu in the chat pane, then complete sign-in in the browser.
- When sign-in finishes, the chat view is ready.
- Start chatting, or right-click a file and use Add File to Ageneral Coder chat to attach it first.
What you can do
Chat pane
The Chat view under the Ageneral Coder activity bar is your main workspace for the coding agent. You can browse past conversations, start a new chat, and send messages and attachments. Assistant replies support formatted text and diagrams when the model provides them.
- Back and New Chat let you move between the thread list and a conversation, or start a new thread.
- Files touched shows a summary when the session has changed files, with per-file add and remove counts.
- Slash commands start with
/. A list of commands appears; choose one to run it in the current context.
- Attachments from the file context menus show as chips on the input; you can add or remove them before you send.
- You can edit a previous user message by clicking it. That restarts the thread from that point and drops later messages.
- While the assistant is working, a small logo animation shows activity. It pauses if the agent needs your approval for a tool.
- Permissions for things like file edits or reading outside the workspace can be set to always ask, allow once, or allow for similar actions, depending on settings.
- The thread list on the start screen is sorted by recent activity. You can delete a thread from the row when you point at it.
| Where |
Action |
| Explorer |
Add File to Ageneral Coder chat — open the pane and attach the file to the current thread |
| Explorer |
Add File to new Ageneral Coder chat — open the pane, start a new thread, attach the file |
| Editor title bar and editor |
Same two options |
Commands
In the Command Palette, filter by Ageneral to see:
- Sign in and sign out
- Change billing scope, project vs account, when you use that flow
- Open extension and Coder: Model Visibility settings
- Add a file to the current chat or to a new chat, as in the context menus
Models in the pane
Ageneral: Coder: Model Visibility opens a list where you turn individual Ageneral models on or off for the sidebar model dropdown. It does not use settings.json; your choices are stored with the extension.
Settings
| Name |
What it does |
| Ageneral: Coder: Ask for permissions |
When on, the pane asks before tools run or touch files outside the workspace. Off means tools can run without that prompt. |
| Ageneral: Chat pane: Show message timestamps |
Reserved; timestamps when supported in the UI. |
| Ageneral: Output: Verbose models |
Extra detail from the model provider in the Output channel. |
To change the JSON directly, look under User or Workspace in Settings and search for ageneral..
Troubleshooting
Logs — View → Output and choose Ageneral in the drop-down. Use this if something fails or behaves oddly.
Sign-in in remote or headless environments — OAuth expects a local browser and a working vscode:// return. If you use VS Code in a way that cannot complete that flow, try signing in from a full desktop client first.
No models — Complete sign-in, then check your network. The extension can fall back to another model list if the main catalog is temporarily unavailable.
A model is missing in the pane — Open Ageneral: Coder: Model Visibility and enable it.
Permission line stuck in the chat — Choose Allow or Deny, or turn off Ageneral: Coder: Ask for permissions if you want tools to run without asking.