🔍 Error Explainer — Plain English Debugger
Stop googling cryptic error messages. Select any error → press Ctrl+Shift+E → get a simple explanation + fix instantly.
🎯 What it does
Turns this:
TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'map')
Into this:
What happened: You tried to use .map() on something that doesn't exist yet.
Why: The variable was empty (undefined) when your code ran — like trying to flip pages of a book that hasn't arrived yet.
Fix: Check that your data loaded before using it. Add if (data) { data.map(...) }
Setup (2 minutes)
Step 1 — Get a free Groq API key
- Go to console.groq.com
- Sign up free (Google login works)
- Click API Keys → Create API Key
- Copy the key — it starts with
gsk_...
✅ Groq is completely free — no credit card needed
Step 2 — Set your key in VS Code
Press Ctrl+Shift+P and type:
Error Explainer: Set API Key
Paste your gsk_... key and press Enter. You'll see ✅ when it's saved.
That's it — you're ready!
How to use
Fastest way — keyboard shortcut
- Select any error text in your editor or terminal
- Press
Ctrl+Shift+E (Mac: Cmd+Shift+E)
- See the plain English explanation in the panel on the right
Click Error Explainer in the bottom status bar — explains the error under your cursor automatically.
Explain a terminal error
- Copy the error from your terminal (
Ctrl+C)
- Press
Ctrl+Shift+E in the editor
- It detects the clipboard and explains it
Settings
Go to VS Code Settings → search Error Explainer
| Setting |
Options |
Default |
What it does |
errorExplainer.skillLevel |
beginner intermediate expert |
beginner |
How simple the explanation should be |
errorExplainer.autoExplain |
true false |
true |
Auto-explain new errors when panel is open |
Supported languages
Works with any error message — Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, React, Node.js, Django, and more.
Privacy
- Your API key is encrypted by VS Code — never stored in plain text
- Error text is sent to Groq's API (api.groq.com) for analysis only
- No data is stored by this extension anywhere
- See Groq's privacy policy
Coming soon
- [ ] Apply Fix button — inserts the suggested code automatically
- [ ] Error history — see all past explanations
- [ ] More languages — Rust, Go, Java, C++
- [ ] Local AI option — no API key needed (Ollama)
License
MIT — free to use, modify, and share.
Found a bug or have a suggestion? Open an issue
