Free Repo Agent — AI Coding Agent for VS Code
A free AI coding agent and a free GitHub Copilot, Cursor & Claude alternative for VS Code — repository-aware chat, autonomous code editing, terminal command running, and pre-commit code review, powered by DeepSeek.
Free Repo Agent is a free, open AI coding assistant that brings a Claude/Cursor-style agent experience into VS Code. It understands your whole repository, writes and edits code with inline Keep / Undo review, runs terminal commands with your approval, shows its thinking like Claude, supports @ file mentions and PDF uploads, keeps chat history/sessions, and reviews your staged git changes like a senior engineer — all on the affordable DeepSeek API.
Looking for a free Copilot alternative, free Cursor alternative, or free Claude/ChatGPT coding agent? This is a lightweight, bring-your-own-key option with no subscription.
🚀 Getting started
1. Get a DeepSeek API key
Repo Agent needs a DeepSeek API key to talk to the model.
- Go to https://platform.deepseek.com/api_keys
- Sign in (or create a free account).
- Click Create new API key, give it a name, and copy the key (starts with
sk-…). You won’t be able to see it again, so save it somewhere safe.
- DeepSeek is pay-as-you-go and very low cost — add a small amount of credit under Billing on the same dashboard. A few dollars goes a long way.
💡 Models: deepseek-chat (fast, general) and deepseek-reasoner (shows reasoning / “thinking”). You can switch in settings.
2. Add your key to VS Code
Open the Command Palette (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P) and run:
Agent: Set DeepSeek API Key
Paste your key and press Enter. It’s stored securely in VS Code SecretStorage — never written to your code or settings.
Alternative: set the DEEPSEEK_API_KEY environment variable before launching VS Code.
3. Start using it
Open the chat any of these ways:
- Click the Repo Agent
</> icon in the top-right of the editor toolbar (when a file is open) — this opens chat beside your code, on the right, like Cursor/Claude.
- Press
Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+A.
- Click the Repo Agent icon in the Activity Bar (left sidebar).
The status bar shows when indexing is done and the key is set.
💡 Prefer it docked on the right? Show the Secondary Side Bar (Cmd/Ctrl+Alt+B), then drag the Repo Agent icon from the left Activity Bar into the right side bar. VS Code remembers the position.
✨ Features
|
Feature |
What it does |
| 💬 |
Repo-aware chat |
Ask anything about your codebase. It indexes your project and injects the most relevant files into every answer. |
| ✍️ |
Code generation |
Describe what you want; it generates files that match your architecture, with a diff preview before writing. |
| 🤖 |
Autonomous agent |
Give it a task — it reads files, edits code, and runs commands step-by-step. Every change is reviewed inline with Keep / Undo. |
| 🔍 |
Pre-commit review |
Reviews staged changes / current file / branch and reports Critical · Quality · Architecture · Testing findings in the Problems panel and a sidebar. |
| 🧠 |
Visible thinking |
With the reasoning model, it streams its chain-of-thought in a collapsible Thinking block, like Claude. |
| 📎 |
@ mentions & uploads |
Type @ to reference any file, or attach files and PDFs (text is extracted automatically). |
| ⏹ |
Full control |
Inline command approval, a Stop button to interrupt, and per-change Keep/Undo or Keep-all/Undo-all. |
🧑💻 How to use
Chat & generate
Type a question and Send. Toggle Generate code to produce files (you’ll get an Apply button with a diff preview before anything is written). Keep Think on to see the model reason through the answer.
@ to reference files: type @ and pick a file from the dropdown — its contents are added to the context.- 📎 to attach: click the paperclip to attach text files or PDFs.
Agent mode (autonomous)
Check Agent (run & edit) and describe a task, e.g.:
“Add a /health route and a test for it, then run the tests.”
The agent will:
- Read relevant files, then propose edits — each shows inline in the file with green highlights and ✓ Keep / ✗ Undo buttons.
- Ask to Run any terminal command (inline, in the chat) — commands run in a visible Repo Agent terminal.
- When done, you get Keep all / Undo all to accept or revert the whole batch.
Use the Stop button anytime to interrupt.
Code review
Stage some changes (git add …), then run Agent: Review Staged Changes (also available from the Source Control title bar). Findings appear in the Problems panel, the Review Results sidebar, and inline — each with Fix with AI, Ignore, and Commit Anyway.
You can also review the current file or have it run automatically on save (see settings).
Project conventions
Drop a .agent.md or .claude.md file in your repo root with conventions, architecture notes, or rules — Repo Agent reads it and follows it.
⚙️ Commands
Open the Command Palette and type “Agent:” to see all of them:
| Command |
Description |
Agent: Chat |
Open the chat panel |
Agent: Generate Code |
Describe code to generate |
Agent: Run Agent (autonomous) |
Run a task that can edit files & run commands |
Agent: Review Staged Changes |
Pre-commit review of staged diff |
Agent: Review Current File |
Review the active file |
Agent: Reindex Repository |
Rebuild the code index |
Agent: Explain Architecture |
Generate an architecture overview |
Agent: Set DeepSeek API Key / Clear DeepSeek API Key |
Manage your key |
🔧 Settings
All under repoAgent.* (Settings → search “Repo Agent”):
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
deepseek.model |
deepseek-chat |
Model for generation & review |
deepseek.reasoningModel |
deepseek-reasoner |
Model used when Think is on |
deepseek.showThinking |
true |
Show reasoning by default |
deepseek.baseUrl |
https://api.deepseek.com |
API base URL (OpenAI-compatible) |
deepseek.temperature |
0.2 |
Sampling temperature |
deepseek.maxTokens |
4096 |
Max tokens per response |
indexing.include / exclude |
globs |
Which files to index |
indexing.maxFiles |
1500 |
Index size cap |
indexing.generateSummaries |
true |
AI per-file summaries (set false for zero API cost indexing) |
retrieval.maxFiles |
8 |
Relevant files injected per prompt |
review.autoOnSave |
false |
Auto-review files on save |
🔒 Privacy
- Your code is only sent to DeepSeek’s API when you make a request (chat, generate, review, or run the agent), using the base URL you configure.
- Your API key lives in VS Code SecretStorage, never in your repo.
- The local index is cached under
.agent-cache/ (add it to .gitignore).
- Review the DeepSeek privacy policy for how the API handles data.
❓ Troubleshooting
- “Set your DeepSeek API key first.” Run Agent: Set DeepSeek API Key (see step 3).
401 Unauthorized Your key is wrong/revoked, or you’re out of credit — check https://platform.deepseek.com/api_keys and Billing.- Agent says a command’s output “could not be captured.” That’s VS Code shell integration not being active — the command still ran in the terminal. It’s on by default for zsh/bash/pwsh in recent VS Code.
- No reasoning shown. “Thinking” requires
deepseek-reasoner; it doesn’t apply to autonomous Agent mode (which uses tools).
🆚 A free alternative to GitHub Copilot, Cursor & Claude
Free Repo Agent gives you the agentic coding workflow people love in GitHub Copilot Chat, Cursor, and Claude — autonomous multi-file edits, terminal commands, codebase-aware answers, and inline diff review — without a monthly subscription. You bring your own DeepSeek API key (pay-as-you-go, typically a few cents of usage), and everything runs inside VS Code. It’s ideal if you want a free AI pair programmer, a free Copilot alternative, or a cheaper Cursor/Claude alternative for everyday coding and code review.
❓ FAQ
Is Free Repo Agent really free?
Yes — the extension is free and open. You only pay DeepSeek’s low pay-as-you-go API usage (you bring your own key).
Is it a good GitHub Copilot / Cursor / Claude alternative?
Yes. You get repo-aware chat, an autonomous coding agent that edits files and runs commands, visible reasoning, and pre-commit code review — the same core workflow, with no subscription.
Do I need an API key?
Yes — a DeepSeek API key from https://platform.deepseek.com/api_keys. Set it via Agent: Set DeepSeek API Key. It’s stored securely in VS Code SecretStorage.
Which models does it use?
deepseek-chat for fast coding and deepseek-reasoner for visible step-by-step “thinking”.
Can it edit my code and run commands automatically?
It proposes edits inline with Keep / Undo and asks before running any terminal command — you stay in control.
Does it work like an AI code reviewer?
Yes — it reviews your staged git changes and reports Critical / Quality / Architecture / Testing findings, like a senior engineer.
Does my code leave my machine?
Only the context needed for a request is sent to the DeepSeek API when you ask. Your key never leaves SecretStorage. See Privacy above.
License
MIT — see the bundled LICENSE file.
Keywords: free AI coding agent, GitHub Copilot alternative, Cursor alternative, Claude alternative, ChatGPT for VS Code, AI code review, AI pair programming, DeepSeek VS Code extension, autonomous coding agent, repo-aware AI assistant.
