Your AI pair-programmer, right inside VS Code. Explain, refactor, generate, and summarize code — or just chat — powered by Qwen3 through the Instinct AI backend. No data ever touches third-party AI vendors.
Features
Explain selection — select any code, get a clear explanation (lightbulb action included).
Refactor selection — get a behavior-preserving refactor with a changelog; replace, copy, or review.
Generate code… — describe what you need; insert it at the cursor or copy it.
Summarize active file — a compact overview of any file's purpose and key symbols.
Ask Instinct AI — a sidebar chat with history (Pro+), code-block rendering, and one-click copy.
Status bar — always shows your plan and remaining monthly calls; click for plan & usage.
Freemius licensing — license keys stored securely in VS Code SecretStorage; quotas enforced server-side.
Setup
Install the extension.
Set instinctAi.backendUrl to your Instinct AI backend URL (Settings → Extensions → Instinct AI).
Run Instinct AI: Set product API key… from the command palette and paste the VS Code product key.
(Optional) Run Instinct AI: Set license key… to activate a paid Freemius plan. Without a key you get the Free plan.
Plans
Plan
Price
Monthly calls
Features
Free
$0
50
Explain, Summarize
Starter
$5/mo
500
+ Refactor, Generate
Pro
$19/mo
5,000
+ Chat history, RAG-lite file context
Team
$134/mo
50,000
Everything, shared pool
Enterprise
$200/mo
Unlimited fair use
Everything
Quota is enforced by the backend (POST /v1/usage); the extension also keeps a local monthly counter as an offline fallback.
Commands
Command
Palette title
instinctAi.explainSelection
Instinct AI: Explain selection
instinctAi.refactorSelection
Instinct AI: Refactor selection
instinctAi.generateCode
Instinct AI: Generate code…
instinctAi.summarizeFile
Instinct AI: Summarize active file
instinctAi.askInstinct
Instinct AI: Ask Instinct AI
instinctAi.setLicenseKey
Instinct AI: Set license key…
instinctAi.removeLicenseKey
Instinct AI: Remove license key
instinctAi.setApiKey
Instinct AI: Set product API key…
instinctAi.showPlan
Instinct AI: View plan & usage
instinctAi.clearChatHistory
Instinct AI: Clear chat history
Settings
Setting
Default
Description
instinctAi.backendUrl
""
Base URL of the Instinct AI backend (required)
instinctAi.model
qwen3
Preferred model identifier sent to the backend
instinctAi.maxTokens
2000
Max tokens per AI response
instinctAi.upgradeUrl
""
Freemius checkout URL (empty until the Freemius product exists)
instinctAi.licenseRevalidateHours
24
How often the cached license verdict is re-checked
instinctAi.offlineMonthlyQuota
50
Local monthly quota used only if the backend usage endpoint is unreachable
Privacy
See PRIVACY.md. In short: your code and prompts go only to the Instinct AI backend you configure. License keys and API keys live in VS Code SecretStorage and are never written to files.
