OAI Chat Persistence

Persistent, multi-session AI chat for Ollama, local LLMs, and any VS Code-compatible model.

Chat history survives restarts, sessions are stored as plain JSON files you own, and any VS Code-compatible model works — Ollama, GitHub Copilot, LM Studio, and more.

🚀 Why This Extension?

✅ Persistent Sessions — Chats saved to ~/.vscode/oai-chat-persistence/<session-name>.json, reload automatically
✅ Works with Any Model — Uses the standard vscode.lm API (same as GitHub Copilot Chat)
✅ Automatic Context Compaction — Summarises old messages when the token budget is exceeded; never destroys history on a failed response
✅ File Injection — Inject files, directories, or search results with @ syntax
✅ Offline-Friendly — No cloud dependency; works with local models like Ollama

🔥 How It Compares

📝 Features

Persistent Sessions

• Create unlimited sessions, switch between them instantly
• Export any session as JSON
• Sessions survive VS Code restarts and reloads

Multi-Model Support

Works with any extension that contributes language models via vscode.lm:

• Ollama — local models (llama3, devstral, qwen, etc.)
• GitHub Copilot — GPT-4o, Claude, and more
• LM Studio, Continue, and others

Automatic Context Compaction

• When a conversation exceeds the token budget, the extension summarises old messages using the model itself
• The most recent messages are always kept verbatim (configurable)
• Compaction only commits to disk after a successful response — failed requests never destroy history

File Injection with @ References

No tool calling required — works with every model.

System Prompts per Session

Set a persistent system prompt for each session. Survives context compaction.

Streaming with Cancellation

• Responses stream token-by-token with a stop button
• Partial responses are displayed; failed responses leave history intact

🛠️ Requirements

• VS Code 1.90+
• At least one extension that contributes language models:
  • GitHub Copilot
  • Ollama for VS Code
  • Continue or similar

📦 Installation

Search for OAI Chat Persistence in the VS Code Extensions view, or:

ext install bhlevca.oai-chat-persistence

🎯 Usage

1. Click the chat bubble icon in the Activity Bar (or press Ctrl+Shift+O / Cmd+Shift+O)
2. Click ＋ to create a new session and give it a name
3. Select a model from the dropdown
4. Start chatting — history is saved automatically

Keyboard Shortcuts

⚙️ Configuration

💾 Session Storage

Sessions are stored as plain JSON files at:

~/.vscode/oai-chat-persistence/<session-name>.json

Back them up, version-control them, or copy them between machines.

🔄 Side-by-Side with Copilot Chat

If the OAI Chat panel conflicts with Copilot Chat in the Activity Bar, right-click the OAI Chat icon → Move to Secondary Side Bar to have both visible simultaneously.

🐛 Feedback & Issues

Found a bug or have a feature request? Open an issue on GitHub.

📜 License

MIT — see LICENSE

Features

Persistent sessions

Conversations are saved to ~/.vscode/oai-chat-persistence/<session-name>.json and reloaded automatically. Create as many sessions as you like, switch between them instantly, export any session as JSON.

Works with any VS Code language model

Uses the standard vscode.lm API — it sees the same models as GitHub Copilot Chat: local Ollama models, Copilot models, or any other extension that contributes language models.

Automatic context compaction

When a conversation grows beyond the configured token budget, the extension summarises the oldest messages using the model itself, replacing them with a compact card. The most recent N messages are always kept verbatim. Compaction only commits to disk after a successful response — a failed request never destroys history.

File injection with @ references

Attach any file, directory listing, or search result directly into your message:

The model receives the actual content — no tool calling required, works with every model.

System prompts per session

Set a persistent system prompt for each session via the toolbar button. Survives compaction.

Streaming with cancellation

Responses stream token-by-token with a stop button. Partial responses are displayed; failed responses leave history intact.

Requirements

• VS Code 1.90+
• At least one extension that contributes language models:
  • GitHub Copilot — GPT-4o, Claude, etc.
  • Ollama for VS Code or similar — local models

Installation

Search for OAI Chat Persistence in the VS Code Extensions view, or:

ext install bhlevca.oai-chat-persistence

Usage

1. Click the chat bubble icon in the Activity Bar (or press Ctrl+Shift+O / Cmd+Shift+O)
2. Click ＋ to create a new session and give it a name
3. Select a model from the dropdown
4. Start chatting — history is saved automatically

Keyboard shortcut

Configuration

Session storage

Sessions are stored as plain JSON files at:

~/.vscode/oai-chat-persistence/<session-name>.json

You can back them up, version-control them, or copy them between machines.

Tip: Side-by-side with Copilot Chat

If the OAI Chat panel conflicts with Copilot Chat in the Activity Bar, right-click the OAI Chat icon → Move to Secondary Side Bar to have both visible simultaneously.

License

MIT — see LICENSE