ClawAgents for VS Code
Coding agent for VS Code and Cursor. Chat in the right sidebar, edit your workspace with permission controls, and use OpenAI, Anthropic, Gemini, or local OpenAI-compatible models (including Ollama).
Requirements
- VS Code 1.85+ (or Cursor)
- Python 3.11+ on your PATH (or set
clawagents.pythonPath)
- clawagents ≥ 6.11.2 (auto-installed / upgraded by the extension)
- A provider credential for at least one model provider
Quick start
- Install this extension from the Marketplace (or a
.vsix).
- Open a folder / Remote SSH window. On first start the extension auto-installs Python packages into
clawagents.pythonPath:
clawagents[gemini,anthropic,mcp] fastapi uvicorn pydantic python-dotenv
You can also run ClawAgents: Install/Upgrade Python Dependencies from the Command Palette.
Add credentials: Command Palette → ClawAgents: Set Provider Credential (includes Tavily for web_search), or put keys in a workspace .env. For browser tools: Settings → Enable browser tools, then pip install 'clawagents[browser]' && playwright install chromium.
Open the Secondary Side Bar (right) and click the ClawAgents icon, or run ClawAgents: Open Chat (⌘⇧' / Ctrl+Shift+').
Start in Plan / ask mode if you want confirmations. Turn on Auto-approve → Edit / Execute only when you trust the agent for that workspace.
Features
- Multi-turn chats with history, regenerate, and live token usage
- Permission modes: ask · read-only · auto · full access
- Opt-in auto-approve for edits, shell, and web
- Checkpoints before writes (diff / restore)
- Skills folders, MCP servers (
.clawagents/mcp.json), optional Context Mode
- Local sidecar process (loopback only) with a per-session bearer token
Settings
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
clawagents.pythonPath |
python3 |
Interpreter for the sidecar |
clawagents.model |
(empty) |
Model override |
clawagents.provider |
auto |
Preferred provider for credential selection |
clawagents.defaultMode |
auto |
Default permission mode |
clawagents.includeContextByDefault |
true |
Attach active editor context |
clawagents.contextMode |
true |
Context Mode tools (needs npm install -g context-mode) |
Sidebar Settings also cover provider, model, base URL, skills, MCP, browser tools, and telemetry (stored under .clawagents/ in the workspace).
Security
- Sidecar binds to loopback only; every HTTP endpoint requires a session bearer token
- Provider credentials stay in VS Code SecretStorage or your workspace env file — not written to disk by the extension
- Workspace
.env only forwards API key / model vars (no PYTHONPATH / base-URL redirection)
- File restore, snapshots, and chat IDs are confined under the workspace /
.clawagents/
- Mutating tools are gated by mode + Auto-approve toggles (defaults: off)
- MCP is off by default; workspace
mcp.json requires an explicit trust toggle; only allowlisted launchers (npx, uvx, …) and loopback URLs
full_access mode requires Settings → Allow Full Access; stale permission IDs cannot create wildcard grants
Troubleshooting
- Sidecar health check timed out — open ClawAgents Sidecar output. Usually missing pip packages or a bad
clawagents.pythonPath.
- provider_auth — invalid credential; workspace env overrides SecretStorage when both are set.
- Gemini — set the Gemini/Google provider credential;
pip install 'clawagents[gemini]'.
- MCP — enable MCP in Settings, optionally trust workspace config, and check
~/.clawagents/mcp.json.
- Restart — Command Palette → ClawAgents: Restart Sidecar.
- Context Mode:
npm install -g context-mode (Node ≥ 22.5)
- Browser tools: Playwright Chromium via clawagents browser extras
Source & development
npm run install:all
npm run build
# F5 → Run ClawAgents Extension
npm run package
Attribution
UI/host patterns adapted from Cline (Apache-2.0). Agent runtime is clawagents (MIT). See NOTICE.
