ClawAgents for VS Code

Coding agent for VS Code and Cursor. Chat from the right Secondary Side Bar (same strip as Claude Code / Codex), 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 ≥ 6.20.48 (Context Observatory, artifact security, raw tool archival, workspace-scoped turns)
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,bedrock,mcp,media]>=6.20.8  fastapi  uvicorn  pydantic  python-dotenv

You can also run ClawAgents: Install/Upgrade Python Dependencies from the Command Palette.

Add credentials: Command Palette → ClawAgents: Set API Key (OpenAI / Anthropic / Gemini / Bedrock / Tavily), or put keys in a workspace .env. For browser tools: Settings → Enable browser tools, then pip install 'clawagents[browser]' && playwright install chromium.
Open the right Secondary Side Bar and click ClawAgents, 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.pythonRuntime`	`managed`	Isolated extension-owned virtualenv; choose `custom` to use `pythonPath` directly
`clawagents.pythonPath`	`python3`	Base interpreter for the managed environment, or the exact custom interpreter
`clawagents.model`	(empty)	Model override
`clawagents.provider`	`auto`	Preferred provider for credential selection
`clawagents.defaultMode`	`auto`	Default permission mode
`clawagents.includeContextByDefault`	`false`	Start with Context checked (editor snippets; not shown in history; secrets omitted)
`clawagents.contextMode`	`true`	Context Mode tools (`context-mode` ≥1.0.169)
`clawagents.graphify`	`false`	Graphify knowledge-graph MCP (`graphifyy[mcp]` ≥0.9.20 + workspace graph)
`clawagents.ensureCompanions`	`false`	Offer companion installs on sidecar start after confirmation (`context-mode`, `rtk`, `graphifyy`); default is probe-only
`clawagents.syncPathPythons`	`false`	Offer (with confirmation) to upgrade other PATH Pythons below the floor; default manages only `pythonPath`
`clawagents.advanced.enableContextObservatory`	`false`	Record context events during agent runs to `.clawagents/context-observatory/<chat_id>/`; import `session.json` into the standalone Observatory UI for analysis.

Sidebar Settings cover provider, model, base URL, skills, MCP, Graphify, browser tools, and telemetry (stored under .clawagents/ in the workspace). Use composer Goal for long-horizon autopilot (start_goal / verifier).

For multi-root workspaces, run ClawAgents: Select Workspace Root. Switching roots restarts the sidecar and opens a fresh chat so paths, .env, history, and trust approvals stay scoped to one folder.

Companions (lockstep with clawagents ≥6.20.32)

Companion	Floor	Auto-ensure	Manual
Context Mode	1.0.169	`npm install -g context-mode@latest`	Node ≥ 22.5
RTK	0.43.0	`brew install rtk` / `brew upgrade rtk`	PATH `rtk`
Graphify	0.9.20 (`graphifyy`)	`pip install 'graphifyy[mcp]'` into sidecar Python	Extract via ClawAgents: Graphify — Extract Workspace
Caveman	vendored skill	composer toggle	JuliusBrussee/caveman

Command Palette → ClawAgents: Ensure Companions forces a re-probe/upgrade.

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. Precedence: SecretStorage → workspace .env → shell. Path-like values (python.exe) are ignored/purged so a real key elsewhere can win.
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.

Optional tools

Companions above (optional; enable clawagents.ensureCompanions or run Ensure Companions)
Browser tools: Playwright Chromium via clawagents browser extras

Source & development

Source: github.com/x1jiang/clawagents-vscode
Runtime: github.com/x1jiang/clawagents_py

npm run install:all
npm run build
# F5 → Run ClawAgents Extension
npm run package