Cortex Agent
Docs: daniquir.github.io/cortex · ⭐ Star on GitHub
Cortex Agent is the OpenCode GUI for VS Code (and Cursor / Windsurf / VSCodium via Open VSX): Cursor-class agent chat in your editor, powered by your OpenCode subscription — no Cortex signup, no editor fork.
OpenCode is the agent runtime. Cortex is the IDE layer: local context, Plan → Build, diffs, autocomplete, and Connect.
Full demo on the landing →
Get started
- OpenCode account at opencode.ai — that subscription is your AI billing. Cortex has no separate account.
- Install OpenCode CLI ≥ 1.18.0 and keep it on your
PATH (or set cortex.opencodeBinary). On Windows, Cortex looks for opencode.exe.
- Install Cortex (below), open chat (Ctrl/Cmd+Alt+C or the status bar) — it opens as a right editor panel. A project folder is optional; without one, Cortex uses your home directory for general questions.
- Complete onboarding (or chat → Connect): Get API key → paste → Save. The key is written to OpenCode’s local
auth.json even if the local server is not up yet. Models (Go / paid Zen / BYOK) live under Models.
VS Code Marketplace
Install from the Marketplace or:
code --install-extension cortex-labs.cortex-agent
Open VSX (Cursor / Windsurf / VSCodium / forks)
Open VSX — cortex-labs.cortex-agent
ovsx install cortex-labs.cortex-agent
Requirements
- VS Code 1.100+ (or a compatible fork)
- OpenCode CLI ≥ 1.18.0 on
PATH (or cortex.opencodeBinary)
- An OpenCode account / plan (Zen, Go, etc.) — auth is stored in OpenCode’s local config
Features
- Session timeline (Parts→rows) — Desktop-parity transcript: tool cards, context groups, DiffSummary, retry, MessageNav, Load older (docs/TIMELINE.md)
- OpenCode themes in chat — official desktop themes from GitHub (cached) + custom
~/.config/opencode/themes; follow tui.json or pick under Models (docs/THEME_ENGINE.md)
- Servers — Settings → Servers manages Local + remote HTTP OpenCode connections (health, add/edit/delete, default/active)
- Notifications & sounds — optional VS Code notifications and Web Audio presets when the agent finishes, a permission prompt appears, or an error occurs; permissions auto-accept
- Auto Plan → Build — intent routing (explore / plan / code / debug…) picks model tier and Plan vs Build; explicit “create a plan” saves under
.cortex/plans/
- Your OpenCode models — free Zen unlocked; paid Zen and BYOK need an explicit unlock (no surprise charges); OpenCode Go guide in the picker + sharper Auto; model variants when the catalog exposes them
- Connect / Models — paste one OpenCode API key in onboarding or Connect; works without a project folder (home directory); Go auto-detect when subscribed; other providers via OpenCode + Recheck
- Smart context — lexical + embeddings (Perf hash offline, or Quality MiniLM semantic). Quality downloads a native runtime once to
~/.cache/cortex-minilm, unlocks send in ~≤30s on first index, persists vectors in .cortex/index, and re-embeds only files you change. Active file auto-attached; @-mentions when a folder is open.
- Policy Brain —
.cursor/rules, .cortex/rules, SKILL.md, user rules, memory, hooks
- Editor surface — ghost-text autocomplete, Inline Edit, parallel chat tabs, Cursor-like Keep/Undo diffs
- Terminal — send selection to chat (Ctrl/Cmd+Alt+T), streaming bash with risk-based approval and tool-hang watchdog
- Composer + — Images and files (Ctrl/Cmd+U), Commands (
/), Context (@), Shell (!); attachments respect model input modalities
- Chat UX — sessions history screen, context meter, 7 UI languages
Full docs: Installation · Configuration · Architecture
Keyboard shortcuts
| Shortcut |
Action |
Ctrl/Cmd+Alt+C |
Open chat (right editor panel) |
Ctrl+Alt+I / Cmd+Alt+Shift+I |
Inline Edit |
Ctrl/Cmd+Alt+\ |
Trigger ghost-text completion |
Ctrl/Cmd+Alt+T |
Send terminal selection to chat |
Cortex vs Cursor vs Windsurf
Lightweight VS Code extension with native OpenCode — same agentic power, keep your editor.
|
Cortex |
Cursor |
Windsurf |
| Editor |
Your VS Code or compatible fork |
Own editor (VS Code fork) |
Own editor (VS Code fork) |
| Footprint |
Lightweight extension |
Full fork editor |
Full fork editor |
| AI account |
OpenCode only (no Cortex signup) |
Cursor account |
Windsurf account |
| OpenCode |
Native OpenCode.ai integration |
Not OpenCode |
Not OpenCode |
| Model routing |
Auto intent + tier routing |
Cursor model picker |
Windsurf model picker |
| Rules / skills |
.cursor + .cortex rules & skills |
.cursor/rules & skills |
Windsurf rules / flows |
| Agentic workflow |
Auto Plan → Build with checklists |
Agent mode with tools |
Cascade with tools |
| Cortex license |
Free in early access; later one-time purchase |
Subscription |
Subscription |
More detail: daniquir.github.io/cortex
Settings
Defaults work out of the box. Change these only if you need to:
| Setting |
Default |
When to change |
cortex.opencodeBinary |
opencode |
OpenCode CLI is not on your PATH |
cortex.autocomplete.enabled |
true |
Turn off ghost-text suggestions |
cortex.locale |
en |
UI language (en / es / pt / fr / de / ja / zh) |
cortex.chat.pinEditorTab |
true |
Unpin the Cortex chat tab |
cortex.ui.showHeaderVersion |
true |
Hide the muted v… badge in the chat header (e.g. demos) |
Full list: configuration docs (VS Code Settings → search Cortex).
Session history is rendered as OpenCode-style Parts→rows (tool cards, diffs, retry, turn rail). See docs/TIMELINE.md.
Early access / build expiration
v1.0.0 is the final release. Packaged builds expire ~6 months after the release date (183 days; stamped into cortex.beta.expirationDate). Near the end you get a warning; after expiration the agent stops until you install a newer VSIX from GitHub Releases (or set cortex.beta.enabled to false). No further feature development is planned.
Support
License
Cortex Agent is proprietary software. Source code is not open source and is not licensed for public redistribution. Use of the packaged extension is subject to the terms of the VS Code Marketplace / Open VSX listing and the LICENSE file.
OpenCode is a separate project under its own license. Cortex Agent is an independent product.
