Lumyst VS Code Extension
Turn Codebases into Understandable Visual Stories
Lumyst is an AI-powered VS Code extension that helps developers quickly understand complex codebases through intelligent, interactive visualizations and guided Code Tours. By combining static analysis with LLMs, it generates a hierarchical graph of your code, highlighting key components, dependencies, and architectural patterns, while filtering out noise to reduce cognitive load. With a single click, you can explore a narrative tour that explains the system from high-level structure down to critical implementation details, making it easier to onboard, review AI-generated code, or navigate unfamiliar projects.
Visualize Your Codebase Like Never Before
Explore high-level architecture with interactive C1/C2 semantic nodes: understand the system’s structure at a glance and navigate connected components seamlessly.
Drill down from C2 overviews to actual code, click a C2 semantic node to see an overview of the component, then follow its relationships to dive into the underlying code nodes.
See a detailed breakdown of each function, view the code alongside clear explanations to quickly grasp its purpose and logic.
Prerequisites
⚠️ Important: Before using Lumyst, please ensure you have Node.js installed on your laptop.
- Download and install Node.js from here
- Lumyst requires Node.js to function properly
- After installation, restart VS Code to ensure the extension recognizes Node.js
Getting Started
- Install: Install the Lumyst extension from the VS Code Marketplace.
- Authenticate: Open the command palette (
Ctrl+Shift+P or Cmd+Shift+P) and run Lumyst: Login. This will connect you to the Lumyst AI cloud service that powers our advanced LLM features.
- Analyze Your Project: Run the command
Lumyst: Analyze Current Workspace. Lumyst will begin analyzing your code and will open a new view with the interactive graph once it's ready!
Graph Interaction Guide
Master the graph with these intuitive interactions:
| Action |
How to Use |
What It Does |
| Right Click |
Right click on any node |
Highlights all connected edges and relationships |
| Left Click (C1/C2) |
Left click on C1 or C2 nodes |
Displays detailed information in the sidebar |
| Left Click (Code) |
Left click on code nodes |
Opens and views the actual code in your editor |
| Hover |
Hover over any node |
Shows quick information tooltip with node details |
| Generate Explanation |
Hover over code nodes and click "Generate Explanation" |
Provides detailed breakdown of the function's purpose and logic |
The Problem Lumyst Solves
Ever felt lost in a new codebase? The struggle is real:
- Slow Onboarding to a project: New developers can take weeks to become productive.
- Code Complexity: Monoliths, microservices, and legacy systems create a maze of dependencies that is hard to navigate.
- Contribution Barriers: Understanding a large open-source project is often the biggest hurdle to making your first contribution.
- Cognitive Overload: Manually tracing logic and dependencies is tedious, time-consuming, and mentally draining.
Lumyst cuts through the noise, providing the context and clarity you need to be confident and productive from day one.
Features
Lumyst combines deep code analysis with intuitive visualization to help you understand your codebase faster:
- Smart Graph Generation: Only the most important components are surfaced — no noise, just insight.
- Hierarchical Navigation: Start at the architecture level (C1/C2), then drill down to functions and files.
- Seamless Code Integration: Click any node to jump to the code, or hover to see contextual details.
- Dual-Layer Understanding: See both code structure (functions, classes) and semantic meaning (services, pipelines, gateways).
Coming Soon:
- AI-Powered Code Tours: Let an AI senior developer guide you. Our LLM-powered Code Tour will explain the codebase's purpose, structure, logic, and dependencies in a clear, narrative format, taking you from the big picture to the finer details.
- Smart Code Diffs: Visualize pull requests as architectural changes on the graph, not just line-by-line text diffs. Understand the impact of a change instantly.
- Living Documentation: Automatically keep your architectural knowledge base in sync with your code.
Common Use Cases
- Accelerate Onboarding: Give new team members a guided tour of the codebase so they can start contributing in hours, not weeks.
- Simplify Open Source Contributions: Quickly grasp the architecture of a new project and find the right place to make your contribution.
- Master Legacy Systems: Demystify complex, poorly documented codebases by visualizing their core structure and logic.
- Review AI-Generated Code: Get a high-level view of what AI-generated code actually does and how it impacts your application's architecture before merging it.
Security & Privacy by Design
We believe your code is your most valuable asset, and it should never leave your control.
- Local-First Analysis: All static analysis and graph construction happen 100% locally on your machine.
- Minimal Data Exposure: Only small, relevant code snippets are sent to the cloud for AI processing.
- Zero-Retention AI: Our LLM provider operates under a strict zero-data retention policy.
- Bring Your Own Key (Coming Soon): Use your own OpenAI/Gemini API key for full transparency and control.
No codebase uploads. No hidden tracking. Just clarity — on your terms.
Read our Privacy Policy to learn more.
License
EULA 1.0, See LICENSE for more information.
We are building Lumyst for you! We'd love to hear your feedback, bug reports, and feature requests.
Made with ❤️ by the team at Lumyst.
