Forge
Your coding agent needs a second opinion.
Forge is the engineering reasoning companion beside your coding agent.
It independently investigates your repository, challenges plans and fixes,
preserves engineering context, and can produce better implementation
instructions for Cursor, Claude, Codex, or another coding agent.
Forge is not another coding agent. It does not replace those tools or
write application source.
Early Preview 0.1.2. A product of DevFoundry.
Product site: forgedev.tools
What Forge is
- An engineering reasoning companion beside your coding agent
- Ask — questions about architecture, debugging, risk, and implementation
- Review — a second opinion on a proposal from another agent
- Independent repository investigation with read-only tools
- Project Memory under
.forge/memory.json
- Copy as Instructions for coding-agent handoff
- Local conversation history per workspace in editor storage (not
.forge/)
- Local usage information in Help
- Your own OpenAI API key (BYOK), stored in VS Code Secret Storage
What Forge is not
- Not a replacement for Cursor, Claude Code, Codex, or other coding agents
- Not an editor that writes application source
- Not hosted Forge AI (no DevFoundry-billed model in this release)
- Not telemetry, cloud sync, or a Forge account
Requirements
- Visual Studio Code 1.85+ or a compatible Cursor build
- An open project folder
- An OpenAI API key whose account can call the configured model
(default
forge.reasoning.model, currently gpt-5)
A ChatGPT subscription does not provide OpenAI API usage for Forge.
OpenAI bills API usage to your OpenAI API account.
Install
Forge 0.1.2 is the same extension (devfoundry.forge-extension) across
official DevFoundry-authorized channels. Those channels may include:
- a direct VSIX from forgedev.tools
- Visual Studio Marketplace
- Open VSX Registry
Look for Forge by DevFoundry from publisher DevFoundry. In the
editor, the product still appears as Forge.
Getting started: forgedev.tools/docs/getting-started
From the Extensions view
When a gallery listing is available for your editor, open the Extensions
view, search for Forge by DevFoundry, and install
devfoundry.forge-extension.
From a VSIX (VS Code or Cursor)
- Download
forge-extension-0.1.2.vsix from forgedev.tools.
- Command Palette → Extensions: Install from VSIX…
(or Extensions view →
… → Install from VSIX…).
- Select the downloaded file.
- Reload the window if prompted.
- Open a project folder. Forge appears in the activity bar.
CLI (optional):
code --install-extension forge-extension-0.1.2.vsix
If you already installed Forge 0.1.0 or 0.1.1, installing 0.1.2 in place keeps
the same extension ID, API key, settings, and Project Memory.
OpenAI API key
- Create an API key in your OpenAI account (not a ChatGPT password).
- In the Forge header, click the key icon, or run Forge: Set OpenAI API Key.
- Paste the key. It is stored in VS Code Secret Storage, not in
.forge/
or settings.json. Forge never displays the stored key.
Remove it with Forge: Clear OpenAI API Key.
If OpenAI rejects the model, change forge.reasoning.model in Settings to a
model your API account allows.
Ask and Review
- Ask — questions about the repo. Enter sends; Shift+Enter inserts a newline.
While Forge is processing, Stop cancels the current turn.
- Review — paste a proposal, or use Choose source… (editor, clipboard, file).
After review starts, the composer returns to Ask for follow-up.
Copy as Instructions copies the ## Instructions for the coding agent block
when Forge produced one. Save Finding writes a durable note to
.forge/memory.json. Previous threads stay in local workspace history; use
the header history control to reopen, rename, or delete them. Help in the
Forge sidebar covers these workflows and shows local usage counts.
Project Memory
Save Finding and related workflows write under the project’s .forge/
directory. That folder is local project data. Uninstalling Forge does not
delete it.
Privacy
When you Ask or Review, Forge may send chat plus repository-derived context
(overview, memory, instruction files, and read-only tool results) to
OpenAI using your key. .env* contents are not read.
Forge does not send telemetry, prompts, or source to DevFoundry. Usage
counts in Help stay in local editor storage.
See forgedev.tools/privacy.
Early Preview limitations
- First workspace folder only
- Conversation history is local to this workspace in editor storage (not
.forge/ or the repository)
- Each OpenAI request can time out; the API account must allow the configured model
- Uninstall leaves
.forge/ on disk and local usage counts in the editor profile
Support
