GenAI Project Insights

AI-powered project analysis directly inside VS Code. Understand any codebase in seconds.

Features

Project Scanner

Run GenAI: Scan & Summarize Project to get an AI-generated overview of your entire codebase — tech stack, architecture, key components, and entry points.

Code Explainer

Select any code, right-click, and choose GenAI: Explain Selected Code. Get a plain-English explanation with complexity rating and improvement suggestions.

Project Chat

Open GenAI: Open Project Chat to have a streaming conversation with AI that has full context of your project files. Ask questions, debug issues, or brainstorm ideas.

Git Insights

Run GenAI: Show Git Insights to see an AI-powered summary of recent commits, active contributors, and development patterns.

TODO Scanner

Run GenAI: Find & List TODOs to find every TODO, FIXME, BUG, and HACK across your workspace.

Sidebar Views

• File Activity — live feed of file changes in your workspace
• TODOs & FIXMEs — tree view of all markers found in the project

Supported AI Providers

Switch providers anytime with GenAI: Switch AI Provider from the Command Palette.

Getting Started

1. Install the extension

Search "GenAI Project Insights" in the VS Code Extensions view, or install from the Marketplace.

2. Set your API key

On first use, you'll be prompted to enter an API key for the active provider.

You can also set or rotate keys anytime: Ctrl+Shift+P → GenAI: Set / Rotate API Key

3. Open a project and start exploring

Open any workspace and run a command from the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P):

• GenAI: Scan & Summarize Project
• GenAI: Open Project Chat
• GenAI: Explain Selected Code (select code first)
• GenAI: Show Git Insights
• GenAI: Find & List TODOs

The Python backend starts automatically in the background. No manual setup required.

Requirements

• VS Code 1.85.0 or higher
• Python 3.10+ (auto-detected, or set genai.pythonPath in settings)

The extension automatically creates a virtual environment, installs dependencies, and starts the backend server on first activation.

Commands

Settings

How It Works

VS Code Extension (TypeScript)
        |
Python Backend (FastAPI — runs locally on your machine)
        |
AI Provider (Groq / Gemini / Pluralsight)
        |
Response rendered in VS Code webview panel

All processing happens locally. Your code is sent only to the AI provider you choose. API keys are stored in VS Code's SecretStorage (OS keychain) and never written to disk.

Troubleshooting

Backend not starting?

• Check View → Output → GenAI Insights Backend for logs
• Make sure Python 3.10+ is installed: python --version
• Try restarting: Ctrl+Shift+P → GenAI: Start Backend Server

AI response is blank or returns an error?

• Your API key may be missing or expired
• Run GenAI: Set / Rotate API Key to update it
• Restart the backend after updating keys

Port conflict?

• Change genai.backendPort in settings to a free port (e.g. 8766)
• Restart VS Code

Security

• Strict Content Security Policy on all webview panels
• Nonce-based script-src for the Chat panel
• HTML escaping on all AI-generated output before rendering
• API keys stored in OS keychain via VS Code SecretStorage — never in plaintext files
• SSE streams check for client disconnect to stop unnecessary token generation
• No telemetry — this extension does not collect or send any usage data

License

MIT