Paco ACP Chat
VS Code extension that integrates an interactive chat with the Paco agent directly in your sidebar. Write your question, attach files, and watch in real time as Paco reads code, runs commands, edits files, and returns the result.
Visit paco-agent.com to manage your account, your AI tokens, and explore the full documentation.
Getting started
- Open the Paco sidebar (icon in the Activity Bar).
- Select Log in or Sign up and enter your email and password.
- The extension connects automatically to the ACP server.
- Once authenticated, the login panel disappears and you can start chatting.
Real-time chat
The chat runs over WebSocket: the extension opens a connection to /runs-socket, sends your message, and receives live progress events.
During execution you will see an activity indicator showing what Paco is doing at each moment:
| Indicator |
Meaning |
| Reading file |
Paco is inspecting a project file |
| Writing file |
Paco is creating or editing a file |
| Running command |
Paco is executing a terminal command |
| Searching code |
Paco is performing a text or semantic search |
| Searching the web |
Paco is querying an external source |
| Planning |
Paco is preparing its action plan |
While Paco is working you can press the Stop button to cancel execution at any time.
Chat history
The extension stores your recent conversations locally. You can select any of them from the Conversations dropdown at the top of the chat.
Each chat keeps its session_id, so you can resume context without starting over. You can create a new chat at any time with the New chat button.
Interactive log
During each execution, Paco shows a timeline grouped by phases: Planning, Delegation, Files, Terminal, Inspection.
Phases arrive via WebSocket as the runtime executes tools, so the chat reflects real progress — not just the final result.
Events include visual labels by type and clickable actions:
- Open path — opens the affected file or reveals the folder in the explorer.
- View diff — expands a short diff when Paco creates or modifies a file.
Attaching files to the chat
There are several ways to attach files to your message:
Drag from your operating system (outside VS Code)
- Open your system file explorer (Windows Explorer, Finder, etc.).
- Drag one or more files onto the chat area.
- An overlay reading "Drop files to attach" will appear.
- Drop the files and they will be added as attachments.
Drag from the VS Code Explorer
VS Code blocks direct dragging from its Explorer to webview panels. There are two alternatives:
Option A — "Drop files" panel (recommended)
- In the Paco sidebar, below the chat, you will see a tree called Drop files.
- Drag files from the VS Code Explorer and drop them on that panel.
- The files are automatically attached to the active chat.
Option B — Right-click in the Explorer
- Right-click a file (or multi-selection) in the Explorer.
- Select Attach to Paco Chat from the context menu.
Other ways to attach
- Ctrl+V (or Cmd+V) — paste files or images from the clipboard.
- Ctrl+Shift+A (or Cmd+Shift+A) — opens the system file picker.
- "Attach files" button in the composer area.
- Active file — if you have a file open in the editor, a bar appears with the + Attach button.
Text files are attached as textual context. Images are attached as references with a local preview.
Adding a new AI model
Paco supports multiple AI providers. To add or switch models:
- Open the chat and click the gear icon (⚙) in the top-right corner.
- In the Profile tab, select the active provider (Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, or Ollama).
- Choose the model from the models dropdown.
- If you need to configure an API token:
- Go to the Tokens tab to view stored tokens.
- Go to the Add token tab, select the provider, and enter your API key.
- Click Save to server — the token is stored encrypted on the backend linked to your account.
- For Ollama (local), no token is needed. Enter the Ollama base URL and click Detect model to see available models.
You can also manage your tokens from paco-agent.com.
Settings
pacoChat.baseUrl: optional override of the base URL if you don't want to use apps/acp-server/.env.pacoChat.agentName: optional override of the public agent.pacoChat.projectRoot: optional override of the target project relative to ACP_PROJECTS_ROOT.
