Open VS Code's chat interface, click the model picker, and click "Manage Models..."
Select "Lemonade" provider and choose a model (Qwen3-Coder-30B is a great start!)
You can now start chatting with your local LLM models! 🥳
NOTE: If needed, configure a custom server URL using the "Manage Lemonade Provider" command
🌟 Why Choose Lemonade for Copilot?
🔒 Complete Privacy: Your code never leaves your machine. Everything stays local and secure
💰 Zero API Costs: No usage fees, no tokens to buy - just pure local AI power
⚡ Lightning Fast: Direct connection to your local server means instant responses
🌐 Works Offline: No internet? No problem! Code assistance anytime, anywhere
🛠️ Advanced Tool Support: Full function calling capabilities for complex tasks
Requirements
VS Code 1.104.0 or higher
Lemonade server 8.1.10 or higher
🔧 Configuration
The extension connects to http://localhost:8000/api/v1 by default. You can change this by:
Opening VS Code Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)
Running "Manage Lemonade Provider" command
Entering your custom Lemonade server URL
Optionally, entering your API key (if your server has LEMONADE_API_KEY configured)
Environment Variables
Variable
Default
Description
LEMONADE_CTX_SIZE
128000
Context window size (in tokens) reported to VS Code. Set this to match the --ctx-size value used when starting Lemonade so the model picker displays the correct context limits. For example, LEMONADE_CTX_SIZE=262144 for a 256 k context window.
Tip: Launch VS Code from a terminal where LEMONADE_CTX_SIZE is already set, or add it to your system/user environment variables so it is always picked up.
