Grok AI / xAI for VS Code

GMDevCore · GMDevCore.gm-grok-vscode

Integrate xAI's Grok directly into VS Code — sidebar chat, inline completions, code actions, git integration, and more.

Changelog

🤖 v5.9.1 — Agent Mode

Agent Mode lets Grok act autonomously in your workspace — reading files, running commands, searching the codebase, and writing code, all without you having to copy-paste anything.

How to use:

1. Click the Agent button in the input toolbar (bottom-right of the chat)
2. Type your task in plain English — "add dark mode to the settings page", "write and run tests for auth.ts", "find all console.log calls and remove them"
3. For each action Grok wants to take, a dialog appears with Allow, Always allow [tool], and Block
4. Click Allow to let it proceed, Always allow to skip future dialogs for that tool type, or Block to make Grok try a different approach

Three modes — click the Agent button to cycle:

• Off — standard chat, no tool access
• 🤖 Agent (purple) — full tool access, every action needs your approval
• ⚡ Autonomous (red) — no approvals, Grok acts immediately. The chat turns red so you always know it's running unsupervised.

Tools available: read file, write file, run shell command, list directory, search files. All paths are workspace-sandboxed — Grok cannot touch anything outside your project folder.

First launch: New users see an intro banner explaining Agent Mode. It disappears after you dismiss it.

v5.8.4 — Agent tool use rewrite

• Fixed Agent ignored tools and responded as chat — switched to prompt-based tool parsing using XML tags in the streamed response
• Changed Approval is now a native VS Code modal with Allow / Block buttons
• Added Grok Agent output channel for debugging

v5.8.2 — Agent mode activation fix

• Fixed Agent mode button did nothing — was in the TypeScript type definition but missing from the runtime allowlist Set, so every click was silently dropped
• Added Blue agent mode banner appears in the chat panel when agent mode is active, with a "Turn off" link

v5.8.1 — Tooltip clipping fix

• Fixed Clear chat, Settings, and Theme tooltips were cut off on the right edge of the sidebar — now anchor to the right side of the button instead of centering

v5.8.0 — Persistent file context

• Added Attached files now persist across the entire conversation — previously context was only sent with the first message
• Added File list bar shows each attached file as a chip with its name, language, and size
• Added Remove individual files with the ✕ on each chip without clearing everything
• Fixed Context button now correctly shows all attached files and keeps them active through follow-up questions

v5.7.4 — API key banner fix

• Fixed No-key banner said "press 🔑" but there was no key icon anywhere — banner now has a prominent inline button that opens the key prompt directly
• Fixed Error messages referenced a non-existent 🔑 icon — now correctly direct users to the banner or Command Palette

v5.7.3 — Tooltip contrast fix

• Fixed Tooltips showed black text on black background on light VS Code themes — tooltip background and text are now fixed dark charcoal / near-white regardless of theme

v5.7.1 — VS Code Auto theme default

• Changed Default theme is now VS Code Auto — the chat panel adapts to your current VS Code theme automatically (Dark+, One Dark, GitHub Light, Solarized, etc.)
• Changed Dark teal theme moved to explicit opt-in via the 🎨 theme picker
• Changed All colours mapped to --vscode-* CSS tokens with hardcoded fallbacks

v5.7.0 — Theme system

• Added 🎨 Theme picker button in the chat header
• Added Five themes: VS Code Auto, Dark, Light, Midnight, Ocean, Warm
• Added Theme choice persisted across VS Code restarts
• Fixed "You" message bubble was too dark on grey/light VS Code themes — now uses the host theme's hover colour

Features

💬 Chat Panel

Full sidebar chat with streaming responses, session management, message editing, and export.

• Named, persistent chat sessions — switch, rename, delete from the All Chats panel
• Edit any sent message with ✏ — conversation rewinds and regenerates from that point
• Export chat as Markdown to clipboard or file (Ctrl+Shift+X)
• In-webview model switcher — click the model chip to change without leaving the sidebar
• Per-session custom system prompt — override Grok's persona for the current chat
• Token counter bar shows context usage toward the 128k limit

🤖 Auto File Context

The current open file is automatically included with every message — Grok always knows what you're looking at. A blue 📄 filename chip in the header shows when it's active.

✍️ Code Actions (right-click)

Select any code → right-click → Grok submenu:

⚡ Direct Editor Integration

Stream code directly into your file — no copy-paste:

👁 Code Lens

Clickable Explain / Tests / Docs buttons appear above every function and class. Supports TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, Rust, Go, C/C++, C#, Java, Swift, Kotlin, Ruby, PHP, Vue, Svelte.

🔴 Diagnostic Hover

Hover over any red squiggle to get Explain this error and Fix it links inline.

📝 Inline Completions

Copilot-style ghost-text suggestions as you type. Press Tab to accept, Escape to dismiss.

📋 Templates

13 built-in prompt templates (Security Audit, PR Review, Unit Tests, JSDoc, README, etc.) plus custom templates you can save and reuse.

🌿 Git Integration

• Generate Commit Message — reads your staged diff, writes a Conventional Commits message directly to the SCM input box
• Explain Diff — explain staged, working tree, or last commit changes
• Generate PR Description — structured PR template from diff + commits

🖥 Terminal Integration

Right-click in the terminal or use the Command Palette:

• Explain Terminal Output — what did that command do?
• Explain Terminal Error — why did it fail?
• Fix Terminal Error — get a corrected command

📊 Usage Statistics

Local token and cost estimates (no data sent anywhere). Hover the status bar chip or run Grok: Show Usage Statistics.

Setup

1. Install the extension from the VSIX file
2. Get your API key from console.x.ai
3. Press Ctrl+Shift+P → Grok: Set API Key
4. Click the Grok icon in the Activity Bar, or press Ctrl+Shift+G

Your API key is stored in VS Code's encrypted SecretStorage (OS keychain) — never in settings.json.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Settings

Requirements

• VS Code 1.85+
• xAI API key — console.x.ai

Build from Source

npm install
npm install -g typescript @vscode/vsce
npx tsc -p tsconfig.json
vsce package --no-dependencies