Copilot Review Agent — AI Branch Review

Diff your branch against a base, get AI-powered review findings as inline comments with a task list sidebar.

Installing from GitHub

The extension is not yet published to the VS Code Marketplace. Use these steps to install it directly from the repository.

Prerequisites

• Node.js v18 or later (node -v to check)
• npm (bundled with Node.js)
• VS Code 1.90 or later
• The GitHub Copilot extension installed and signed in to VS Code

Steps

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/synth/copilot-review-agent.git
   cd copilot-review-agent
   

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install
   

3. Build and package the extension:

   npm run package
   

   This produces a file like copilot-review-agent-0.1.0.vsix in the project root.

4. Install the .vsix in VS Code:

   • Press Cmd+Shift+P → Extensions: Install from VSIX...
   • Select the generated .vsix file.
   • Press Cmd+Shift+P → Developer: Reload Window

5. Use the extension:

   • Open a Git repository in VS Code.
   • The Copilot Review Agent panel will appear in the Activity Bar (sidebar).
   • Select a base branch to diff against, then click Review Branch to start an AI-powered review.
   • Findings appear as inline comments and in the task list sidebar.

Development

Quick Reload (development mode)

Use this when you're actively developing and want to iterate quickly:

1. Compile the TypeScript source:

   npm run compile
   

   Or start the watcher for automatic recompilation on save:

   npm run watch
   

2. In VS Code, open the Run menu and choose Start Debugging (or press F5). This launches a new Extension Development Host window with the extension loaded from the workspace.
3. In the Extension Development Host window, open a Git repository to test the review workflow. If that repository is already open in another VS Code window, close it there first.
4. After making code changes, reload the Extension Development Host window with Cmd+Shift+P → Developer: Reload Window.

This works because VS Code loads the extension directly from the workspace's out/ folder.

Full Package Install

Use this when you want to test the fully packaged extension (e.g. in a window outside the development workspace):

1. Build the .vsix file:

   npm run package
   

   This compiles the source and produces a file like copilot-review-agent-0.1.0.vsix in the project root.
2. In VS Code, press Cmd+Shift+P → Extensions: Install from VSIX...
3. Select the generated .vsix file.
4. Press Cmd+Shift+P → Developer: Reload Window