ClarAIty — AI Coding Agent That Brings Visual Clarity to Your Codebase and Every AI Interaction
ClarAIty is an AI coding agent that doesn't just write code — it understands your codebase, shows you exactly what it's doing, and puts you in control of every decision. Powered by any LLM you choose.
Codebase Intelligence
ClarAIty autonomously scans your codebase and builds a queryable knowledge database — modules, components, dependencies, architectural decisions, and invariants. No manual documentation required.
- Autonomous scanning — the Knowledge Builder subagent explores your project and maps its architecture
- Queryable knowledge — ask about modules, trace dependencies, assess impact of changes
- Drift detection — detects when files change and scopes incremental updates
- Git-trackable — knowledge exports to JSONL, so your architecture documentation lives alongside your code and evolves with it
Live Architecture Visualization
See your codebase as an interactive D3.js dependency graph — right inside VS Code.
- Progressive disclosure — collapsed modules at L1, expand to see components at L2, full detail at L3
- Edge interaction — hover to reveal dependencies, click to lock, color-coded by relationship type
- Detail drawer — descriptions, risk levels, file paths, incoming/outgoing relationships
- Discuss with AI — click any node and ask the agent about it with full architectural context injected automatically
- Review workflow — approve or reject scanned knowledge with comments
AI Interaction Tracing
Watch the agent think in real time. The Trace Viewer animates every step of the agent's pipeline so you always know what's happening and why.
- 7-node pipeline diagram — User, Agent, LLM, Tools, Tool Gating, Store, Context Builder
- Animated execution flow — packets travel between nodes as the agent processes your request
- Context assembly breakdown — see exactly what context (system prompt, knowledge DB, memory, conversation history) is sent to the LLM
- Tool gating visualization — watch the 4-layer safety pipeline evaluate each tool call
- Subagent tracing — seamless scene swap when work is delegated to a subagent
- Expandable detail — click any step to inspect the full content, thinking, and tool parameters
Any LLM, Your Choice
Use OpenAI, Anthropic Claude, Ollama (local), DeepSeek, Kimi, or any OpenAI-compatible API. Switch models mid-session without restarting.
- Per-subagent model overrides — use a fast model for exploration, a powerful model for code review
- Auto-fetched model lists — models are fetched from your provider automatically
- Hot-swap configuration — change settings without restarting the agent
Custom Subagents
Create purpose-built agents tailored to your workflow, or fork and customize the built-ins.
- Built-in specialists — code-reviewer, test-writer, doc-writer, explore, planner, knowledge-builder, and more
- Create your own — define a name, system prompt, and tool restrictions
- Fork built-ins — clone any built-in subagent and customize it for your needs
- Per-agent tool access — restrict which tools each subagent can use
- Model overrides — assign different LLM models to different subagents from the Settings panel
Persistent Task Tracking
A built-in task management system inspired by the Beads methodology — tracks work across sessions and exports alongside your code.
- Status workflow — Ready, In Progress, Blocked, Deferred, Pinned, Closed
- Hierarchical tasks — epics with nested subtasks and progress tracking
- Priority levels — P0-P3 with visual indicators and filtering
- Rich metadata — descriptions, acceptance criteria, blockers, due dates, tags, external references
- Two views — Queue view (action-oriented) and Epics view (progress-oriented)
- Git-trackable — exports to JSONL so task state is versioned with your code
Safety and Control
ClarAIty's multi-layered safety system ensures the agent asks before acting.
- 4-layer tool gating — repeat detection, plan mode, director workflow, and approval
.claraityignore — protect sensitive files with gitignore-style patterns; blocked files cannot be read, written, or passed to commands
- Auto-approve categories — toggle approval for reads, edits, commands, browser, knowledge updates, and subagent delegation independently
- Iteration limits — configurable cap on agent iterations per turn
- Diff approval — review every proposed change in VS Code's diff editor before accepting
- Turn-level undo — revert all changes from any agent turn with one click
Persistent Memory
Every conversation is saved and resumable. The agent maintains context intelligently across turns.
- Session persistence — conversations saved to JSONL, browse and resume any time
- Working memory — the agent tracks what it's learned within a session
- Intelligent compaction — old messages are compacted when approaching context limits
- Multi-level context — system prompt, project instructions, knowledge DB, memory files, and conversation history assembled each turn
Parallel execution, intelligent error recovery, and configurable timeouts.
| Category |
Tools |
| File Operations |
read, write, edit, append, list directory |
| Search |
grep (regex), glob (patterns), web search, web fetch |
| Code Intelligence |
file outlines, symbol context via LSP |
| Execution |
shell commands, background tasks |
| Knowledge |
scan, query, update architecture DB |
| Tasks |
create, update, list Beads tasks |
| Planning |
plan mode, checkpoints, clarify questions |
| Delegation |
delegate to any subagent |
MCP Integration
Extend the agent with Model Context Protocol servers — connect to databases, APIs, and external tools.
- Marketplace — browse and install MCP servers from the registry and npm
- Per-tool toggles — enable or disable individual tools from each server
- Project or global — install servers at project level or system-wide
- Auto-reconnect — servers reconnect automatically on startup
Deep VS Code Integration
Not just a chat window — ClarAIty integrates deeply into the editor.
- CodeLens — inline Accept / Reject / View Diff buttons on modified files
- File decorations — "AI" badges on files the agent modified
- Diff editor — full VS Code diff view for proposed changes
- Context menu — right-click selected code to explain, fix, refactor, or send to chat
- @file mentions — type
@ in the chat input to reference files by name
- Image support — paste or drag images into chat for visual context
- Terminal echo — agent commands displayed in a dedicated terminal
- Cost tracking — token usage and estimated cost per response
Getting Started
1. Install
Install ClarAIty from the VS Code Marketplace. The extension bundles a self-contained agent binary — no Python installation required.
Click the gear icon in the sidebar to open Settings. Enter your API base URL, API key, and select a model. Supports OpenAI, Anthropic, Ollama, Azure OpenAI, Groq, Together.ai, DeepSeek, Kimi, and any OpenAI-compatible endpoint.
3. Start Chatting
Type a message in the chat input. The agent will analyze your workspace, read relevant files, and respond with context-aware assistance.
Try these first messages:
- "Explain the architecture of this project"
- "Find and fix bugs in src/auth.ts"
- "Write unit tests for the User model"
- "Scan this codebase and build the knowledge database"
4. Review and Approve
When the agent proposes file changes, you'll see a diff preview. Click Accept to apply or Reject to decline. Use the auto-approve toggle for trusted operations like file reads and searches.
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Action |
Windows/Linux |
Mac |
| New Chat |
Ctrl+Shift+L |
Cmd+Shift+L |
| Interrupt Agent |
Ctrl+Shift+. |
Cmd+Shift+. |
| Session History |
Ctrl+Shift+; |
Cmd+Shift+; |
| Add Selection to Chat |
Ctrl+' |
Cmd+' |
| New Line in Message |
Shift+Enter |
Shift+Enter |
| |