Dext

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Dext is a Visual Studio Code extension for AI conversations and typed workflows. Ask questions, delegate code changes, and work through implementation plans. Turn repeated tasks into reusable workflows with APIs, Skills, and MCP tools.

What you can do

Add files and selections as context, revisit conversations in History, and record a conversation as a starting workflow. Code mode provides API completion, parameter hints, diagnostics, and typed result fields.

Dext supports Codex CLI, Claude CLI, and DeepSeek Harness. You can also configure an optional, separate model for inline code completion.

Installation

Requires VS Code 1.105 or newer. For AI tasks, install and authenticate one of the supported Agent CLIs; Dext uses that CLI's credentials.

Install from the Marketplace

1. Open the Extensions view in VS Code.
2. Search for blooddot.dext and select Dext by blooddot.
3. Click Install.

You can also open the Dext Marketplace page. Manage updates from the Extensions view.

Install from VSIX

1. Download dext-<version>.vsix from GitHub Releases.
2. Open the VS Code Command Palette and run Extensions: Install from VSIX....
3. Select the downloaded file and reload VS Code if prompted.

To update a manual installation, install the new VSIX. To build from source, see Development.

Quick start

1. Open your project folder in VS Code. Click Dext in the Activity Bar or run Dext: Focus Input.
2. Choose an Agent and model in the input area; expand More options if needed. Use Dext: Configure Agent to change the executable path.
3. Select Ask, enter “Explain the structure of this project,” and click Send. To ask about specific code, select it in the editor and use Add to Dext.
4. Select Agent when you want changes. Use Workspace write for edits within your project; Full access allows broader access.

For a larger task, select Plan to create and revise an implementation plan. Select the final plan and click Build in the same mode to execute it.

Ask in action: select code → Add to Dext → “Explain the selected code.”

Write a workflow

Select Code, enter the following, and click Run:

answer = ask(input="Explain the structure of this project")
print(text=answer.text)

Workflows use a small subset of Python syntax, parsed and validated by Dext. No Python interpreter is required. API parameters and result fields have completion and type checking.

Save reusable APIs as .dx files under .dext/api/. For example, create .dext/api/team/analyze.dx:

from common import ask

def main(input: str) -> ChatResult:
    return ask(input=input)

In Code mode, call team.analyze(input="...") directly, or import a shorter name:

from team import analyze

answer = analyze(input="Explain task filtering and its tests")
print(text=answer.text)

Project APIs require a trusted workspace. You can also right-click a History entry and choose Record Conversation as Dext Workflow to generate a starting point for editing. See the workflow and API reference for composition, Skills, rules, and UI confirmations.

Field completion while typing checked.. The playground.* APIs shown here come from Dext Playground.

Learn with Dext Playground

Dext Playground is a small Todo application with guided exercises. Start by running the app, asking Dext about its code, and making one visible change. Continue with planning, feature development, testing, reusable APIs, and MCP tools when you are ready.

Start the tutorial.

After completing the search exercise: the list matches the search query while global task counts stay unchanged.

Documentation

Feedback and license

Report bugs or request features in GitHub Issues. Include the Dext and VS Code versions, reproduction steps, and relevant logs with credentials removed.

Dext is source-available under the PolyForm Perimeter License 1.0.1, with separate commercial licensing available by agreement. Ordinary use, including internal business use, is permitted subject to the license. Using Dext to provide a competing product or service to others requires separate authorization, even if that offering is free.

See commercial licensing for the scope and how to request an agreement. This is a source-available license, not an OSI-approved open-source license. Third-party components retain their own licenses. See CHANGELOG.md for version notes.