Nova AI for Visual Studio Code
Use Nova AI models directly in the Visual Studio Code Chat experience.
Nova AI connects VS Code to the Nova model catalog, stores your API key in VS Code Secret Storage, and lets you use available Nova chat models from the editor.
Requirements
- Visual Studio Code with Chat support.
- A Nova AI API key.
Need access or setup details? See the Nova AI documentation.
Getting Started
- Install the Nova AI extension.
- Open the Nova AI view from the Activity Bar.
- Select Get Started.
- Enter your Nova AI API key.
- Open VS Code Chat and choose a Nova model.
After connecting, Nova AI will confirm that the extension is ready.
Using Nova AI
Open the Nova AI sidebar to manage your connection and models:
- Open Chat opens the VS Code Chat view.
- Refresh Models reloads the available Nova model list.
- Settings opens the Nova AI extension settings.
- Sign Out removes the stored API key from VS Code Secret Storage.
You can also use these commands from the Command Palette:
Nova AI: Manage AccountNova AI: Sign InNova AI: Sign OutNova AI: Refresh ModelsNova AI: Open ChatNova AI: Open Settings
Settings
nova.defaultModel: Optional model ID to prefer when showing Nova account state.nova.enableDiagnostics: Enable verbose Nova AI diagnostics in the output panel.
Privacy and Security
Your API key is stored using VS Code Secret Storage. It is not written to workspace files or extension settings.
AI can make mistakes. Review important output before relying on it.
Development
Local Development
Install dependencies:
npm install
Run the full local verification chain:
npm run verify
Useful scripts:
npm run compile: Build the webview, typecheck the extension, and bundle the extension entrypoint.npm test: Run the Vitest suite.npm run package:vsix: Build a pre-release VSIX in dist/.npm run verify: Run tests and package the VSIX.
The extension entrypoint is bundled with esbuild, with vscode kept external. Runtime SDK code is bundled into out/extension.js, so the published VSIX does not need node_modules.
Release Flow
CI runs test -> verify -> publish.
- Pushes and pull requests run tests and packaging checks.
- Alpha releases publish from the
alpha branch.
- Semantic Release creates GitHub prereleases.
- The same VSIX is published to the VS Code Marketplace and Open VSX.
Required GitHub Actions secrets:
AZURE_DEVOPS_TOKENOVSX_PAT
