OR-CLI for VS Code

AI coding assistant powered by OpenRouter — access 400+ models (GPT-4o, Claude, Gemini, Mistral, DeepSeek and more) directly in VS Code.

The CLI and VS Code extension are released together and share the same version. Current version: 1.0.24.

Built by Swatto.

Features

Built-in chat (@orcli)

OR-CLI registers as a participant in VS Code's built-in chat panel (VS Code 1.95+). Open VS Code Chat and type @orcli to talk to it alongside any other chat participants.

@orcli why is my build failing?
@orcli /fix the null check in utils.ts
@orcli /explain #file:src/auth.ts

Attach files with #file:filename or highlight code — OR-CLI reads them automatically. Slash commands /fix and /explain pre-populate the prompt.

Chat panel (sidebar)

A persistent sidebar chat with full streaming markdown rendering, syntax-highlighted code blocks, and collapsible tool-call cards so you can see exactly what the AI is doing.

Workspace-aware tools

The AI can read and act on your workspace without copy-pasting:

Standard tools are also available: read_file, write_file (with diff preview + undo-safe WorkspaceEdit), execute_shell_command, git_diff, git_commit, web_search, and more.

Diff preview for file writes

When the AI writes a file you see a native VS Code diff editor — Apply or Discard before anything touches disk. All applies go through WorkspaceEdit so they participate in the undo stack.

"Fix with OR-CLI" quick fix

Errors and warnings in the Problems panel get an OR-CLI quick-fix action. Click it to open a pre-populated chat with the diagnostic, file context, and surrounding code already loaded.

"Ask AI" code lens

Opt-in Ask AI actions above every function, method, and class definition. Enable with orcli.codeLens.enable.

Right-click menu

• Ask About This File — sends the full file content to chat
• Ask About Selection — sends highlighted code to chat

Session management

Sessions are saved automatically after each turn and listed in the Sessions sidebar. Rename, delete, or reload any previous conversation.

Manual model IDs

Use OR-CLI: Change Model to browse the live OpenRouter model list or type an exact model ID manually. The sidebar also accepts /model <model-id>, and the settings panel includes a manual model field for models that are not in the browser list yet.

MCP server support

If you have an ~/.openrouter/mcp-config.json, configured MCP servers connect automatically and their tools are available to the AI alongside the built-in tools.

Getting started

1. Install the extension
2. Open the OR-CLI panel from the activity bar (robot icon)
3. Run OR-CLI: Set API Key from the command palette and paste your OpenRouter API key
4. Start chatting

Configuration

Core

Model routing

Pareto Router

Provider routing

Commands

Build VSIX

npm install
npm run typecheck
npm run build
npm run package

The package command creates orcli-vscode-1.0.24.vsix.

Publish to Marketplace

Publishing is automated by .github/workflows/publish-vscode-extension.yml.

1. Create a Marketplace Personal Access Token for the Swatto publisher with Marketplace manage permission.
2. Add it to GitHub repository secrets as VSCE_PAT.
3. Push a release tag such as v1.0.24, or run the Publish VS Code Extension workflow manually from GitHub Actions.

The workflow runs typecheck, build, packages the VSIX, then publishes that VSIX to the Visual Studio Marketplace.

MCP server configuration

Create ~/.openrouter/mcp-config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "my-server": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@my-org/mcp-server"]
    },
    "remote-server": {
      "url": "https://my-server.example.com/sse"
    }
  }
}

MCP tools appear automatically in the next chat session.

Links

• OpenRouter — model provider
• OR-CLI GitHub — source and issue tracker
• OpenRouter API keys

Built by Swatto