Kognyt Astra — Salesforce Org Context for VS Code

Kognyt Astra is the primary live Kognyt product today: a VS Code extension that gives your AI Salesforce Org Context inside VS Code, Cursor, and other VS Marketplace IDEs.

Your AI assistant knows Apex syntax. It does not know your org. It does not know about your existing triggers, your custom fields, your active flows, or the governor limit budget left in your transaction context. Astra fixes that.

Install once. Connect your org. Astra can then supply the context of your actual Salesforce environment to supported AI workflows. The built-in MCP server is the supporting path for compatible assistants you already use.

What You Get

Works with the tools you already use

GitHub Copilot — Astra registers as Language Model Tools. Copilot automatically calls them when you ask Salesforce questions.
Cursor — Astra runs as an MCP server. Cursor is auto-configured on install.
Claude Code, Cline, Kilo Code, Roo Code, Continue — Auto-configured. No manual setup required.
Any MCP-compatible assistant — Connect via the built-in MCP server.

Zero config after install

Install the extension, sign in, connect your org. Astra auto-detects Cursor, Cline, Kilo Code, Roo Code, Continue, and Claude Code and configures the MCP server for each of them automatically.

7 Salesforce tools

1 knowledge tool — available immediately, no org required:

Tool	What it does
Salesforce Knowledge	General Salesforce docs, rules, patterns, trade-offs, release guidance, and governed warnings

6 org and workspace tools — require a connected Salesforce org:

Tool	What it does
Salesforce Org Context	Existing triggers, active flows, schema context, tribal knowledge, and likely conflicts for your intent
Salesforce Object Schema	Full field list, types, relationships, validation rules, and record types for any object
Salesforce Impact Analysis	What depends on an Apex class, interface, enum, or trigger before you change it
Salesforce Metadata Retrieve	Pull Salesforce metadata from the active org into your local workspace
Salesforce Metadata Deploy	Validate or deploy local workspace metadata to the active org
Salesforce Metadata Drift	Compare local metadata with the active org and classify it as local-only, org-only, in-sync, or diverged

Local workspace intelligence

Astra uses tree-sitter parsing and PageRank-based ranking to scope context precisely to what you are working on. Fast, local, no data sent to external services.

Metadata workflow commands

Kognyt: Retrieve Metadata
Kognyt: Deploy Metadata
Kognyt: Validate Metadata Deployment
Kognyt: Inspect Metadata Drift

Metadata execution modes

Default: astra.metadataExecutionBackend = yantra
Optional fallback: astra.metadataExecutionBackend = localSfCli

Yantra remains the primary retrieve/deploy path. It keeps Astra's workspace sync state, org-aware tooling, and deployment diagnostics aligned with the active Kognyt org.

If you explicitly opt into localSfCli, set astra.sfCliTargetOrg to the Salesforce CLI alias or username you want Astra to use. Before every retrieve or deploy, Astra runs sf org display --target-org <value> --json and refuses local execution unless the CLI target's Salesforce org ID and instance URL both match the active Astra org.

Current limits of the local CLI fallback:

It is opt-in and off by default.
It applies to extension-side retrieve/deploy commands and VS Code LM tools, not the standalone MCP server.
Retrieve does not support single_package on the local backend.
Deploy does not support single_package, allow_missing_files, or auto_update_package on the local backend.
run_tests is only supported when test_level is RunSpecifiedTests.

Getting Started

1. Install Install Kognyt Astra from Open VSX or your VS Code-compatible extension registry.

2. Sign In

Open the Astra sidebar in the Explorer panel.
Under Account, click Sign In.
Complete the browser sign-in flow with your Kognyt account.
Return to VS Code after the sign-in succeeds.

You can also open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P) and run Kognyt: Log In.

3. Connect Your Org

In the Astra sidebar, open Salesforce Orgs.
Click Connect Salesforce Org or run Kognyt: Connect Salesforce Org from the Command Palette.
Choose your Salesforce environment and complete the OAuth flow.
Back in VS Code, select the org you want Astra to use.

Astra will sync the org metadata it needs for context, schema lookup, and impact analysis.

4. Done Your AI assistant now has org intelligence. Open Copilot Chat, Cursor, or your preferred AI tool and ask a Salesforce question. Astra handles the rest.

Salesforce project detected? Astra activates automatically when it finds sfdx-project.json or sf-project.json in your workspace.

Tools Reference

Tool	Requires Org	Tier
Salesforce Knowledge	No	Free
Salesforce Org Context	Yes	Free
Salesforce Object Schema	Yes	Free
Salesforce Impact Analysis	Yes	Free
Salesforce Metadata Retrieve	Yes	Free
Salesforce Metadata Deploy	Yes	Free
Salesforce Metadata Drift	Yes	Free

Requirements

VS Code 1.99 or later
A Kognyt account — free at kognyt.dev
A Salesforce org (Production or Sandbox) — required for org tools only

Pricing

Free during beta. Astra's current 7-tool surface is available during beta. Processing limits apply.

Security & Privacy

Local session access

Astra stores local session data so supported AI tools can use Astra's Salesforce intelligence features.

Recommendations:

Do not use Astra on shared or untrusted machines.
Run Kognyt: Log Out before handing your machine to someone else.

By default (astra.sendFileContent: false) Astra sends only the active file's path and detected Salesforce entity names to Kognyt's service. Raw source code is never sent without your consent.

To enable richer context analysis, set astra.sendFileContent: true in VS Code Settings. This allows Astra to send file content for better response quality. It is opt-in and off by default.

Local workspace analysis (tree-sitter parsing, PageRank ranking) always runs entirely on-device regardless of this setting.

What Astra does NOT send

Astra does not send your Salesforce credentials (username, password, or org OAuth tokens) to Kognyt's service. Org authentication is handled directly between VS Code and Salesforce via OAuth. Only the Kognyt session token is sent for account and entitlement checks.

Kognyt