ARCWRIGHT Agent

ARCWRIGHT Agent is the official VS Code companion for the local ARCWRIGHT Desktop app. It connects VS Code to the ARCWRIGHT gateway so you can chat with the agent, follow live progress, send editor context, and control autonomous missions without leaving the editor.

Download ARCWRIGHT Desktop

This extension requires the ARCWRIGHT Desktop app.

Download the latest ARCWRIGHT Desktop release

The releases page also provides the matching VS Code companion package and integrity checksums.

ARCWRIGHT is currently distributed without a paid code-signing certificate. Windows SmartScreen may display Unknown publisher or Windows protected your PC. Download only from the official releases page, verify the published SHA-256 checksum, and use More info → Run anyway only if you trust the file.

Features

• Sidebar chat with conversation history and current workspace context
• Live workflow, tool, and autonomous-mission progress
• Model selection from the active ARCWRIGHT catalog
• Build and Plan modes
• Selection-aware actions to explain, fix, document, test, or optimize code
• Autonomous mission controls: start, pause, resume, and stop
• Status bar indicators for connection, model, token usage, and mission state
• Local-first connection to ARCWRIGHT Desktop

Requirements

1. Install and start ARCWRIGHT Desktop.
2. In ARCWRIGHT Desktop, open Settings → Remote and enable the Remote Gateway.
3. Keep the default gateway URL, http://127.0.0.1:8765, or configure the URL used by your desktop instance.
4. For passwordless localhost access, enable Trust local IDE companions in ARCWRIGHT Desktop. Otherwise, configure a bearer token in VS Code.

Setup

Open VS Code Settings and search for ARCWRIGHT, or configure these values directly:

Example settings.json configuration:

{
  "arcwright.gatewayUrl": "http://127.0.0.1:8765",
  "arcwright.defaultMode": "build",
  "arcwright.attachSelectionByDefault": true,
  "arcwright.showStatusBar": true
}

Commands

Open the Command Palette with Ctrl+Shift+P (Cmd+Shift+P on macOS) and search for ARCWRIGHT.

• ARCWRIGHT: Open agent
• ARCWRIGHT: New chat
• ARCWRIGHT: Ask agent…
• ARCWRIGHT: Ask about selection…
• ARCWRIGHT: Explain this code
• ARCWRIGHT: Fix this code
• ARCWRIGHT: Document this code
• ARCWRIGHT: Generate tests for selection
• ARCWRIGHT: Optimize this code
• ARCWRIGHT: Start autonomous mission…
• ARCWRIGHT: Pause mission
• ARCWRIGHT: Resume mission
• ARCWRIGHT: Stop run
• ARCWRIGHT: Connection status
• ARCWRIGHT: Select model…
• ARCWRIGHT: Switch mode (Build / Plan)…
• ARCWRIGHT: Clear chat
• ARCWRIGHT: Open settings

Keyboard shortcuts

Build and Plan modes

• Build allows ARCWRIGHT to edit files, run commands, and validate changes according to the desktop app's permission policy.
• Plan is read-only and is intended for investigation, architecture, and implementation planning.

You can change modes from the sidebar or with ARCWRIGHT: Switch mode (Build / Plan)….

Development

To run the extension locally:

1. Open the vscode-extension folder in VS Code.
2. Press F5 to launch an Extension Development Host.
3. Open a project in the new window.
4. Make sure ARCWRIGHT Desktop and its Remote Gateway are running.

To package the extension for release:

npx @vscode/vsce package

Security

• Local loopback trust is opt-in and applies only to localhost connections.
• Remote hosts always require explicit authentication.
• Editor attachments are size-limited and sent as plain-text context.
• ARCWRIGHT Desktop remains the final authorization boundary for workspace operations.
• Mutating operations use the desktop app's validation and checkpoint protections.

Troubleshooting

If the extension cannot connect:

1. Confirm that ARCWRIGHT Desktop is running.
2. Confirm that the Remote Gateway is enabled.
3. Check that arcwright.gatewayUrl matches the gateway URL shown by ARCWRIGHT Desktop.
4. If localhost trust is disabled, set arcwright.token to the configured bearer token.
5. Run ARCWRIGHT: Connection status for the current connection state.

ARCWRIGHT Agent is a lightweight IDE bridge. Models, credentials, permissions, checkpoints, and autonomous execution remain managed by ARCWRIGHT Desktop.