Stack Overflow AI
A VS Code extension that answers your coding questions in the format and spirit of a Stack Overflow thread — terse, multiple competing answers, one accepted — instead of a wall of chatbot prose.
The idea: the SO format is a forcing function for brevity. Make the AI perform that format and you get the discipline for free. Multiple answers restore the judgment step you lose with a single confident reply.
How it works
- Put your cursor (or select code) where you're stuck and run Stack Overflow AI: Ask about selection (
cmd+alt+a / ctrl+alt+a, or right-click).
- Type your question.
- A side panel opens, styled like a Stack Overflow thread. A live research log shows the agent reading your files, grepping types, and searching the web.
- You get a thread: the question, then several competing answers with vote counts and one accepted ✓. Hover any code block to Copy it.
Under the hood it runs the Claude Agent SDK with a read-only toolset (Read, Grep, Glob, WebSearch, WebFetch — any other tool is denied) and the SDK's native json_schema structured output, so the answers are grounded in your actual code and always parse cleanly.
Requirements
Claude Code must be installed. The extension ships only the Agent SDK's JavaScript and drives the claude executable you already have (rather than bundling a 225 MB per-platform binary). It's auto-discovered on your PATH and in common install locations; override with stackoverflowAI.claudeCodePath if needed. Authentication uses your existing Claude Code login.
Running the prototype
npm install
npm run compile
Then press F5 in VS Code to launch the Extension Development Host, open any project, and trigger the command.
Settings
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
stackoverflowAI.model |
claude-sonnet-4-6 |
Model used to generate answers. |
stackoverflowAI.answerCount |
3 |
How many competing answers per question. |
stackoverflowAI.anthropicApiKey |
"" |
Optional; falls back to your Claude Code login. |
stackoverflowAI.claudeCodePath |
"" |
Optional; path to the claude executable if auto-discovery fails. |
Iterating without launching VS Code
smoke.mjs runs the agent driver directly against a fake context and prints the thread to the terminal — fast way to tune the prompt:
node smoke.mjs
Project layout
src/agent.ts — drives the Agent SDK: SO-format system prompt, read-only tool gate, structured output, progress events.src/extension.ts — command, captures editor context, manages the webview, handles copy-to-clipboard.src/webview.ts — builds the webview HTML shell (CSP + resource URIs).media/styles.css — the Stack Overflow-styled, theme-aware UI.media/main.js — webview logic: message handling, tiny Markdown renderer, lightweight JS/TS syntax highlighter.
