Code Web Chat

Code Web Chat (CWC) is an AI coding toolkit for VS Code designed for the best token efficiency.

free and open-source
built independently
zero telemetry

Select context files, type instructions...

Send API call or paste in chatbot...

Review edits in the editor...

Introduction

In the world of AI coding, agents like Codex or Claude Code rely on "function calling" (where the AI asks "the harness" to read a file, waits for the tool to respond, then reads another). CWC flips this by letting you pick files directly from the file explorer, so that the model has everything it needs from the start.

Even if you're not sure about which files to select, CWC helps select them intelligently (by composing a special prompt with rough selection) or statically (using LSP).

Generated prompts are XML-formatted:

Edit context

<files>[current file selection]</files>
<system>[edit format instructions]</system>
[user-typed prompt]

Ask about context

<files>[current file selection]</files>
[user-typed prompt]

Code at cursor

<files>
[rough file selection]
<file path="[active file]">
[code before cursor]<missing_text>[user-typed prompt]</missing_text>[code after cursor]
</file>
</files>
[instructions for the missing text]

Find relevant files

<files>[current file tree selection]</files>
<system>[response format instructions]</system>
Find all files building modules of the following task's scope:
[user-typed prompt]

Prompt caching

When coding with CWC, it's natural to start new chats (send fresh messages) instead of continuing a hallucination-prone long conversation. With context files ordered based on edit and selection recency, prompt caching is effectively utilized across tasks.

Enabling autofill

Install the browser extension and never copy and paste again.

Elevate your workflow with smart workspaces (called projects, gems, or spaces).

Supported chatbots:

AI Studio
Arena
ChatGPT
Claude
Copilot
DeepSeek
Doubao
Gemini
GitHub Copilot
Grok
HuggingChat
Kimi
Meta
Mistral
Open WebUI
OpenRouter
Qwen
Together
Yuanbao
Z

The Apply response button placed under responses is not a means of automatic output extraction, it's an alias for the original copy to clipboard button. Review the content script to learn about implementation details.

Use forwarding of port 55155 when using remote machine via SSH.

Calling APIs

All the essential API tools to get the job done. Bring Your Own Key (BYOK) for a model provider of choice. Use self-hosted model provider like Ollama or LM Studio.

Intelligent Update—Integrate changes from malformed responses.
Edit Context—Pair-programming using natural language instructions.
Code at Cursor—Accurate inline code from reasoning models.
Find Relevant Files—Find files using natural language description.
Commit Messages—Meaningful summaries of changes in your style.
Voice Input—Transcribe speech to text in the prompt field.

Privacy

The extension doesn’t communicate with any server for so-called telemetry.

The editor-browser communication for chatbot autofill runs on local Websockets.
When calling APIs, requests are sent directly to the configured model providers.

Commands

Code at Cursor

Code at Cursor - Get an inline snippet while using the current context.
Code at Cursor using... - Inline snippet with configuration selection.
Code at Cursor with Instructions - Inline snippet with instructions.
Code at Cursor with Instructions using... - Inline snippet with instructions and configuration selection.

Checkpoints

Checkpoints - Restore the overall workspace state to the saved checkpoint.
Create New Checkpoint - Save the current state of the workspace.

Context

Apply Context - Apply a saved context or save the current file selection.
Add File to Context - Search and add file (or parent folder via file action) to the context.
Remove File from Context - Search and remove file (or parent folder via file action) from the context.
Search Files for Context - Search and add files containing specific keywords to the context.
Copy Context - Copy XML-formatted checked files from the Workspace view to the clipboard.
Copy Context of Open Editors - Copy XML-formatted checked files from the Open Editors view to the clipboard.

Commit messages

Commit Changes - Generate commit message and commit.

Build from source

Prerequisites

Node.js (v20.x recommended)
pnpm

Steps

Clone the repository: git clone https://github.com/robertpiosik/CodeWebChat.git && cd CodeWebChat
Install workspace dependencies: pnpm install
Navigate to the editor app and build the package: cd apps/editor && pnpm run build
Install the generated .vsix file in VS Code: Open the Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P / Cmd+Shift+P), run Extensions: Install from VSIX..., and select the newly created file.

Robert Piosik