DevMentor AI — AI Coding Assistant for VS Code

An AI-powered programming mentor that explains functions, reviews code, applies edits directly to your files, and answers questions — all from the VS Code sidebar.

Features

A persistent AI assistant in the sidebar. Ask questions, get code reviews, request refactors — the agent can read your files, apply changes, and run terminal commands, all with your confirmation before anything happens.

How to open: Click the 🎓 icon in the Activity Bar (left sidebar).

Agentic file editing

When DevMentor proposes a code change, a diff card appears inline in the chat:

✏️ Modifica — src/utils.ts
─ before ──────────────────
  if (x) { doSomething() }
─ after ───────────────────
  if (x !== null) { doSomething() }

  ✓ Applica     ✕ Rifiuta

Nothing is written until you click Applica. Rejected edits are discarded immediately.

Context modes

Mode	What gets sent
None	Your message only
📎 Active selection	Selected code from the editor
📄 Entire file	Full content of the open file

Using 📄 Entire file when editing a specific file saves API calls — the agent won't need to read it separately.

Available models

Model	Best for
Llama 3.3 70B (default)	Code edits, reviews, complex questions
Llama 3.1 8B	Quick answers, simple tasks

Conversation history is preserved across VS Code sessions.

💡 CodeLens — Explain Function

A "💡 Spiega Funzione" button appears above every function definition. Click it to get a step-by-step explanation in a side panel:

Purpose — what the function does
Parameters — what each argument represents
Step by Step — numbered walkthrough of the logic
Return Value — what comes back

🔍 Explain Call (Go to Definition + Explain)

Place the cursor on any function call and press Cmd+Shift+E (Mac) / Ctrl+Shift+E (Windows). The extension:

Finds the function definition automatically (even in other files or libraries)
Reads the source code
Opens a full explanation panel

Select any code block, right-click, and use:

Command	Description
🤖 Ask the AI Mentor	Open DevMentor with the selected code
🔍 Review Code with AI	Bug hunt, security issues, anti-patterns
✨ Improve Code with AI	Refactoring with explanations

Keyboard shortcut: Cmd+Shift+A / Ctrl+Shift+A → Ask Agent on selection

Supported Languages

Python · JavaScript · TypeScript · Java · PHP · Go · Rust · C · C++

Setup

1. Get a free Groq API Key

Go to console.groq.com
Create a free account (no credit card)
Go to API Keys → Create API Key
Copy the key (starts with gsk_)

2. Set the key in VS Code

Cmd+Shift+P → "Explain Function: Set API Key" → paste your key.

Or: Settings → Extensions → Explain Function AI → Groq Api Key.

Groq Free Tier


Requests / minute	30 RPM
Requests / day	14,400
Cost	Free · no credit card

Settings

Setting	Description	Default
`explainFunction.groqApiKey`	Your Groq API Key	—
`explainFunction.model`	AI model for DevMentor	`llama-3.3-70b-versatile`
`explainFunction.language`	Language for explanations	Auto (from VS Code locale)
`explainFunction.detailLevel`	`brief` · `detailed` · `very-detailed`	`detailed`

Requirements

VS Code 1.85 or later
A free Groq API Key

License

MIT · emignox

DevMentor AI — Explain & Edit Code

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