Abbenay Provider

Use any LLM with any VS Code extension — OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, Ollama & more.

Overview

This VS Code extension connects to the Abbenay daemon and registers configured LLM models with VS Code's Language Model API. Other extensions can then use these models through the standard vscode.lm API.

How It Works

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Other VS Code Extensions (e.g., Ansible, custom tools)        │
│                                                                 │
│  const models = await vscode.lm.selectChatModels({             │
│    vendor: 'abbenay'                                            │
│  });                                                            │
│  const response = await models[0].sendRequest(messages, ...);  │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                              │
                              ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Abbenay Extension (this extension)                            │
│                                                                 │
│  • Connects to daemon on activation                            │
│  • Registers models with VS Code Language Model API            │
│  • Provides workspace path via backchannel                     │
│  • Starts daemon if not running                                │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                              │ gRPC (Unix socket)
                              ▼
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Abbenay Daemon (TypeScript/Node.js)                             │
│                                                                 │
│  • Handles all LLM provider communication                      │
│  • Manages configuration and secrets                           │
│  • Provides streaming chat responses                           │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Installation

From VS Code Marketplace (Recommended)

Search for "Abbenay" in the Extensions view (Ctrl+Shift+X / Cmd+Shift+X) and click Install. Platform-specific builds are provided for Linux x64, Linux arm64, and macOS arm64.

Or install from the command line:

code --install-extension redhat.abbenay-provider

From VSIX (Manual)

Download the platform-specific .vsix from GitHub Releases and install manually:

code --install-extension abbenay-provider-linux-x64-*.vsix

Prerequisites

The Abbenay daemon must be running. If installed via npm:

aby daemon        # Start the daemon
aby start         # Or start everything (daemon + web + API + MCP)

If using the standalone SEA binary, use ./abbenay-daemon daemon (or rename/symlink to aby).

Configuration

Provider and model configuration is managed through the web dashboard, not VS Code settings. The extension contributes only abbenay.logLevel as a VS Code setting.

Start the Web Dashboard

aby web           # Start web dashboard
aby start         # Or start everything at once

Open http://localhost:8787 to:

• Add API keys (stored in system keychain or referenced from environment variables)
• Enable/disable providers
• Select which models to expose

Config Files

Configuration is stored in YAML files:

Example config:

providers:
  openai:
    engine: openai
    api_key_keychain_name: "OPENAI_API_KEY"
    models:
      gpt-4o: {}
      gpt-4o-mini: {}
  anthropic:
    engine: anthropic
    api_key_env_var_name: "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY"
    models:
      claude-sonnet-4-20250514: {}

Commands

Supported Providers

Using Abbenay Models from Other Extensions

Other extensions can use Abbenay models through the standard VS Code Language Model API:

import * as vscode from 'vscode';

// Get Abbenay models
const models = await vscode.lm.selectChatModels({
  vendor: 'abbenay'
});

if (models.length > 0) {
  const messages = [
    vscode.LanguageModelChatMessage.User('Hello!')
  ];
  
  const response = await models[0].sendRequest(messages, {}, token);
  
  for await (const chunk of response.text) {
    console.log(chunk);
  }
}

Extension Architecture

The extension is a thin gRPC client with these responsibilities:

The extension does not:

• Store secrets (secrets are in system keychain)
• Store configuration (config is in YAML files)
• Make direct HTTP calls to LLM providers (daemon handles this)
• Provide a chat UI (use the web dashboard or other extensions)

Development

cd packages/vscode

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Compile TypeScript
npm run compile

# Watch mode
npm run watch

# Package to VSIX
npm run package

# Press F5 in VS Code to debug

Troubleshooting

Extension Not Connecting

1. Check if daemon is running:

   pgrep -f "abbenay daemon"
   

2. Check socket exists:

   ls -la /run/user/$(id -u)/abbenay/daemon.sock
   

3. Restart daemon:

   aby stop
   aby daemon
   

4. Check Output panel: View → Output → "Abbenay Provider"

Models Not Appearing

1. Open web dashboard (http://localhost:8787)
2. Ensure provider has valid API key
3. Enable the models you want
4. Reload VS Code window

License

MIT