Idea Builder VSCode Extension

Idea Builder turns VSCode into a control panel for building software with Claude Code. Its one-click buttons launch, isolate, and resume Claude Code sessions right inside the editor — and it can automatically turn new ideas and issues from the TrendingIdeas API into ready-to-go Claude Code sessions.

Develop with Claude Code — one click

The heart of the extension is a set of launcher buttons that drive the Claude Code CLI for you, no terminal commands to memorize. They live in the Idea Builder view in the activity bar, with a terminal toggle pinned to the status bar:

Button	What it does
Claude	Open a Claude Code session as an editor tab — it sits next to your files and can be split and dragged like any editor, so the agent works alongside your code.
Claude (Worktree)	Prompt for a name, then open Claude Code in a fresh, isolated git worktree — the agent works on its own branch without touching your current checkout.
Claude (Resume)	Reopen a previous Claude Code session as an editor tab and pick up exactly where you left off.
Terminal	Open a plain terminal as an editor tab.
Terminal (status bar)	Toggle the integrated terminal panel from the bottom bar.

Because every session opens as an editor tab (not buried in the panel), you can run several Claude Code agents side by side — one per worktree — and arrange them like panes. This is the fastest way to go from "I have an idea" to "Claude Code is writing it."

Automate it from TrendingIdeas

On top of the manual buttons, Idea Builder can watch the TrendingIdeas API and spawn a Claude Code session for every new issue automatically:

What it does

Connects to TrendingIdeas with a real OAuth consent flow — no API keys to paste.
Reads the workspace's .project_idea file to learn which idea it's working on, and polls that idea's idea_issues.
For each issue in backlog / todo state, transitions it to in_progress and spawns a Claude session running claude --worktree <name> --permission-mode plan <prompt>.
Tokens (access + refresh) are stored in VSCode SecretStorage and refreshed transparently.

The `.project_idea` file

The workspace must contain a .project_idea file at its root identifying which idea's issues to poll:

{ "ideaId": "<idea UUID>" }

A bare UUID (the file containing just the id) also works. This file is created automatically by the MCP initialize_project flow when scaffolding a project from an idea; you can also write it by hand.

Setup

Open the project folder (containing a .project_idea file) in VSCode.

In your workspace or user settings, set the API base:

{ "ideaBuilder.apiBase": "https://api.trendingideas.com/api" }

Run Idea Builder: Connect to TrendingIdeas from the command palette. A browser tab opens to the consent screen — review and click Approve.
Run Idea Builder: Start Polling.

OAuth flow

On first connect:

The extension fetches /.well-known/oauth-protected-resource/api from your configured apiBase, then follows the link to the authorization server's metadata.
It dynamically registers itself with the AS (RFC 7591) using a loopback redirect_uri like http://127.0.0.1:54322/callback. The client_id is cached in SecretStorage.
It generates a PKCE pair, opens the browser to the authorization endpoint with the openid scope, and starts a local HTTP server on the callback port.
After you approve, the AS redirects to the loopback. The extension exchanges the code for tokens at the token endpoint and stores them in SecretStorage.
Subsequent polls refresh the access token automatically when it's within 60s of expiry.

Use Idea Builder: Disconnect to clear all stored credentials (tokens and dynamic-client registration).

Settings

Setting	Purpose
`ideaBuilder.apiBase`	Base URL of the TrendingIdeas API (e.g. `https://api.trendingideas.com/api`). The idea to poll comes from the workspace's `.project_idea` file, not a setting.
`ideaBuilder.stateFilter`	Comma-separated issue statuses that trigger a session. Default `"backlog,todo"`.
`ideaBuilder.pollIntervalMs`	Poll interval. Default 30000ms.
`ideaBuilder.autoStart`	Start polling automatically on VSCode launch.
`ideaBuilder.claudeCommand`	Path to the `claude` binary. Default `claude`.
`ideaBuilder.terminalLocation`	`editor` (default) or `panel`.

Commands

Command	What it does
`Connect to TrendingIdeas`	Run the OAuth flow and store tokens.
`Disconnect`	Clear stored tokens and OAuth client registration.
`Start Polling`	Begin the polling loop. Prompts to connect if no tokens.
`Stop Polling`	Stop the timer (open terminals remain).
`Poll Now`	One-shot poll cycle.
`List Sessions`	Quick-pick of open Claude terminals.
`Open Claude in Editor`	Launch a Claude Code session as an editor tab.
`Open Claude in a Worktree`	Launch Claude Code in a fresh, isolated git worktree.
`Open Claude (Resume) in Editor`	Resume a previous Claude Code session as an editor tab.
`Open Terminal in Editor`	Open a plain terminal as an editor tab.
`Show Output`	Reveal the `Idea Builder` output channel.
`Spawn Test Session`	Open a dummy session in the current workspace (no API call).

Development

cd vscode-extension
npm install
npm run build      # bundles to dist/extension.cjs via esbuild
npm run typecheck  # tsc --noEmit

Open the vscode-extension/ folder in VSCode and press F5 to launch an Extension Development Host with the extension loaded.

Caveats

The callback server binds to one of ports 54322–54325 on 127.0.0.1. If all four are in use, the OAuth flow fails — close whatever else is bound and retry.
The dynamically registered OAuth client persists across VSCode sessions (in SecretStorage). Disconnect to force re-registration with a different redirect URI.
claude must be on PATH (or set ideaBuilder.claudeCommand).

Idea Builder

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