ClawAI Coding Agent for VS Code

ClawAI Coding Agent is the secure VS Code client for a ClawAI backend. It brings streaming chat, backend-owned AUTO routing, manual model selection, model comparison and judging, project-aware code workflows, explainable context receipts, and preview-before-apply edits into the editor.

The extension remains a thin client. Authentication, entitlements, quotas, thread history, provider credentials, routing, inference, and audit records stay in the ClawAI platform.

Runtime foundation

Version 0.64.4 delivers the model-neutral Runtime Protocol V2 studio. Bounded workspace, command, process, Git, container, database, quality, browser, planning, service, journal, and evidence capabilities share one ordered, policy-controlled execution loop. An unavailable or incompatible additive endpoint keeps the supported V1 chat and reviewed edit workflow active.

Highlights

• Stream responses from local or hosted ClawAI deployments.
• Keep multiple titled ClawAI chat tabs open, run two independent chats concurrently with different models, restore backend history in place, and preserve ordered follow-ups within each conversation.
• Use backend AUTO routing or reliably choose an entitled cloud, Ollama, or llama.cpp model manually.
• Chat from a workspace even when no editor tab is open.
• Paste, drop, or pick screenshots, images, videos, documents, and source files into the composer. Attachments stay visibly bound to the request that owns them and upload only when that queued request starts.
• Recall submitted prompts with Arrow Up and move forward again with Arrow Down.
• Switch between Auto execution and read-only Plan mode.
• Choose manual approvals, persistent per-workspace routine consent, or Full Access while immutable safety boundaries remain enforced.
• Compare two to five models in structured responsive result cards and optionally request a judge response.
• Ask about a selection, active file, or bounded workspace context.
• Generate, fix, review, test, document, plan, and audit code.
• Follow two request-owned run lanes and vivid reported/estimated token use for prompts, reasoning status, tools, files, responses, comparisons, and the current conversation.
• Approve changes inside the ClawAI workbench and open proposed VS Code diffs only when Review changes is selected.
• Run bounded development commands in visible VS Code task terminals after approved edits.
• Undo the most recent ClawAI edit made during the current extension session.
• Keep project rules in .clawai/ and profile-wide rules in extension storage.
• Use the interface in 13 locales, including RTL Arabic and Persian.

Requirements

• VS Code 1.98 or newer.
• A reachable ClawAI backend and a ClawAI account.
• Workspace Trust for workspace-wide collection or any file modification.

Node.js is only required when developing or packaging the extension.

Quick start

1. Install the VSIX or Marketplace release.
2. The focused connection screen offers Local (https://claw.local), Cloud (https://claw-ai.co), and Custom for the backend and the frontend separately. Keep Local, pick Cloud for the hosted deployment, or enter another ClawAI app origin such as https://localhost; /api/v1 is added automatically.
3. Choose Connect to ClawAI, then approve VS Code in the ClawAI web app. Credentials are entered only in the web app; the extension receives a one-time authorization code and stores the resulting tokens in VS Code SecretStorage. The full workbench appears only after this succeeds.
4. Keep Automatic routing selected or choose an entitled cloud/local model in the composer.
5. Choose Auto or Plan mode, then select the permission level appropriate for this workspace.
6. Ask a question, compare models, or run a ClawAI command from the Command Palette. Smart context works with a selection, file, workspace, or no files.

Use Ctrl+Shift+A (Cmd+Shift+A on macOS) to open chat and Ctrl+Shift+Enter (Cmd+Shift+Enter) to ask about a selection. You can also open VS Code Chat and address the stable @clawai participant.

Local and hosted backends

Backend and Frontend are chosen independently. Local resolves both to https://claw.local. Cloud resolves both to https://claw-ai.co, the hosted deployment that serves the API and the web app from one origin under a publicly trusted certificate. Custom takes any other ClawAI origin.

Sessions are stored per backend origin, so Local and Cloud each keep their own credentials. Switching lanes disconnects the current one and restores the other if it was already authorized; it never deletes the session you left.

The extension adds /api/v1 to the configured backend origin. A pasted trailing /api/v1 is removed automatically. Do not include credentials, tokens, query strings, or fragments in the URL.

Plain HTTP is accepted only for localhost, 127.0.0.1, ::1, or claw.local. Every non-local backend must use HTTPS. The extension validates every backend response at runtime and refreshes an expired session once before retrying the request.

Coding workflows

Read-only workflows return analysis in chat. Edit workflows require the backend to return a bounded, validated edit plan. The extension rejects absolute paths, parent traversal, .git, environment files, credential-like paths, malformed operations, and oversized plans.

For every valid plan, the extension:

1. freezes the selected workspace root and stages before/after diff previews from the live editor buffer without opening files;
2. offers an explicit Review changes action and requests approval inside the ClawAI workbench when required;
3. checks Workspace Trust, canonical path containment, and the reviewed before-state again;
4. rejects stale reviews or applies one atomic WorkspaceEdit;
5. runs validated development commands in a visible, cancellable task terminal;
6. offers a session-scoped undo.

In Manual mode, the first routine context/edit-generation prompt offers Always allow in this workspace. That consent survives reloads and restarts for the same trusted workspace. Full Access skips repeated routine context and proposal-generation prompts and applies validated file changes automatically. Development commands still require in-extension approval. Full Access never bypasses Workspace Trust, secret/path exclusions, command validation, or cancellation.

Context and .clawai

Workspace context is size- and file-bounded, excludes binary content, applies VS Code and .clawai/ignore patterns, and always denies common secret paths. The Context view shows exactly what was included, excluded, and truncated.

Run ClawAI: Initialize .clawai to create the documented project structure without overwriting existing files. Use Open Global Rules and Open Global Skills for profile-wide guidance. Global guidance is read before project rules.

See the .clawai specification for the complete layout.

Configuration

Secrets are deliberately not settings.

Development

npm ci --ignore-scripts
npm run check
npm run test:host
npm run test:playwright
npm run package

Press F5 to launch the Extension Development Host. CI runs formatting, lint, strict typechecking, unit/integration coverage, bundling, package security invariants, runtime dependency audit, VSIX creation, and a real VS Code activation test.

Architecture, API, security, test, publishing, UX, and UAT references live in docs/.

Status

Version 0.64.4 is current and implements the extension surface from the ClawAI VS Code coding-agent plan. See CHANGELOG.md and ROADMAP.md.

License

MIT