gogen-ai

Sidebar chat for GoGen, a local coding agent. The open folder is the working directory. GoGen explores that project, edits files, runs commands, and checks the result. Sessions, settings, and the project board stay in that folder's .gogen directory, the same state the terminal and the browser use.

The chat is the GoGen sidebar. GoGen: Settings and GoGen: Board open as editor tabs. GoGen: Choose Model, GoGen: Workspace, and GoGen: Restart sidecar are in the command palette. The header menu in the chat opens Settings, Board, and the working folder.

Requirements

• Visual Studio Code 1.99 or newer
• A gogen program, or a network connection to download one

First launch

If gogen is already on your PATH, or GoGen: Executable points at a program that exists, the sidebar starts it.

Otherwise it asks you to pick an existing program, or a folder to download into. The download is the latest gompa/Gogen release for this computer, and it is kept only when it matches checksums.txt from that same release. That match catches a damaged download. It does not prove the release itself is the one the project published. The path is saved in your user settings.

The chat then asks for three things, and skips any that are already saved:

1. An OpenAI-compatible endpoint
2. A model
3. MCP, so the agent can open files in the editor. Turning it on restarts gogen.

Chat

You describe the change in the composer. Replies, thinking, and tool calls are separate blocks. Hide tools collapses the tool cards.

Act lets the agent edit and run commands. Plan keeps the turn read-only. The model pill opens GoGen: Choose Model. The thinking control sets the reasoning level for this session. The ring beside them is how full the context window is. Cancel stops the turn that is running.

A delete, and a command the safety rules block, asks in an editor dialog. Closing that dialog denies the request.

When the folder has no config of its own yet, the sidebar copies one that sits beside the gogen program into .gogen/gogen.conf. A folder that already has a config keeps it. Saving settings writes that folder's file and leaves the file beside the program unchanged. A global config under ~/.config/gogen is used only when gogen itself is started in global mode.

Board

GoGen: Board is the project's kanban board, stored in .gogen/board. The columns are backlog, ready, in progress, in review, blocked, and done. Drag a card from any column to any other.

Add a ticket from the board. Open a card for its description, context, and activity. You can comment, edit, block it with a reason, mark it done, or remove it. Start runs an agent on that ticket. Open in chat resumes the session that agent already has.

If the board is switched off, the tab says so and can turn it on. With the review agent on, moving a ticket to in review starts a review session. That session then marks the ticket done, or comments and sends it back to in progress.

Settings

GoGen: Settings edits the settings gogen stores for this folder. The pages are Agent, Subagents, Automations, Tools, Context, Security, Sessions, Providers, MCP, and Server.

That includes the endpoint and model, the project board, subagents, scheduled automations, web fetch and search, tree-sitter, context and compaction, the command guard, delete approval, and saved-session limits. A blank secret leaves the stored secret in place. MCP and the server options apply the next time gogen starts.

Optional features stay off until you turn them on. The command guard still blocks what it is set to block, and a delete still asks unless delete approval is off.

Files in the editor

With MCP on, the agent can open a file, reveal it in the explorer, and read the tab you already have open. A path outside the VS Code workspace, and outside the folder gogen is running in, asks you once for that call.

Working folder

One window runs one gogen process, in the folder VS Code has open. GoGen: Workspace points that process at another folder and restarts it there. The chat resumes that folder's latest session, and the board is that folder's board. Opening the folder again later picks up the same .gogen directory.

gogen.executable is the program the sidebar launches. Leave it as gogen to use PATH.

License

GNU Affero General Public License v3.0. Source: https://github.com/gompa/Gogen