AI Sidebar Terminal

This project is archived and no longer maintained. Development has moved to Opencode CLI Sidebar, the OpenCode-only successor. Install it from the VS Code Marketplace.

中文文档

Embed multiple AI coding agents (OpenCode, Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Kimi Code, Qwen Code, Mimo Code, or any custom AI tool) in the VS Code sidebar with full terminal management.

Features

• Auto-launch AI Tools: Automatically start your chosen AI coding agent when the sidebar is activated
• Full TUI Support: Complete terminal emulation with xterm.js and WebGL rendering
• Multi-AI Tool Support: Built-in support for OpenCode, Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI, Kimi Code, Qwen Code, Mimo Code with custom tool configuration
• Single-Terminal: Focused single-terminal experience with session/instance switching
• Pill Dropdown Toolbar: Unified pill-style dropdowns for quick AI tool switching
• OpenCode v2 Keymap: View and edit OpenCode TUI shortcuts from the sidebar toolbar (OpenCode v2 only)
• HTTP API Integration: Bidirectional communication with OpenCode CLI via HTTP API (OpenCode v1 and v2 supported)
• Auto-Context Sharing: Automatically shares editor context when terminal opens
• File References with Line Numbers: Send file references with @filename#L10-L20 syntax
• Code Actions: Diagnostic-triggered code actions for errors and warnings
• Keyboard Shortcuts: Alt+A to send file reference, Cmd+Alt+A to send all open files
• Image Paste Support: Paste images from clipboard directly into the terminal
• Drag & Drop Support: Hold Shift and drag files/folders to send as references
• Context Menu Integration: Right-click files in Explorer, text in Editor, or editor tabs to send to AI terminal
• Secondary Sidebar: Dock the terminal in the secondary sidebar for split-screen workflows
• Configurable: Customize command, font, terminal settings, HTTP API behavior, and AI tool preferences

Architecture

This extension provides a sidebar-only terminal experience. AI tools run embedded in the VS Code sidebar Activity Bar, not in the native VS Code terminal panel.

Communication Architecture

The extension uses a hybrid communication approach:

1. HTTP API: Primary communication channel with OpenCode CLI

   • OpenCode v1 and v2 supported (detected automatically via opencode --version)
   • v1: ephemeral port range 16384-65535, launched with --port=N
   • v2: connects to the OpenCode background service (discovered from its service state file) with Basic authentication

2. WebView Messaging: Terminal I/O between extension host and sidebar WebView

   • xterm.js for terminal rendering
   • Bidirectional message passing for input/output

Usage

1. Click the AI Sidebar Terminal icon in the Activity Bar (sidebar)
2. The terminal automatically starts when the view is activated
3. Interact with your AI tool directly in the sidebar

Commands

Basic Commands

• AI Sidebar Terminal: Start OpenCode - Manually start the AI tool
• AI Sidebar Terminal: Paste - Paste text into the terminal
• AI Sidebar Terminal: Focus Terminal - Focus the sidebar terminal

File Reference Commands

• Send File Reference (@file) (Alt+A) - Send current file with line numbers
  • No selection: @filename
  • Single line: @filename#L10
  • Multiple lines: @filename#L10-L20
• Send All Open File References (Cmd+Alt+A / Ctrl+Alt+A) - Send all open file references
• Send to AI Terminal - Send selected text or file from context menu to the active AI agent
• Send to Active Terminal - Send selected text to the active terminal

Keyboard Shortcuts

Context Menu Options

• Explorer: Right-click any file or folder → "Send to AI Terminal"
• Editor: Right-click anywhere → "Send to AI Terminal" (still sends @file with selection line numbers via the sendAtMention command, identical to Alt+A)
• Editor Tab: Right-click any editor tab → "Send to AI Terminal" (sends the active editor's @file reference)

All three menus appear at the top of their respective context menus with the same label. The Editor menu and Alt+A shortcut preserve selection line numbers (@file#L10-L20); the Explorer and Tab menus send plain @file references.

Drag & Drop

• Hold Shift and drag files/folders to the terminal to send as @file references

OpenCode v2 Keymap

When the active tool is OpenCode v2 (CLI major version ≥ 2), a keymap icon appears in the sidebar toolbar (between font size and settings).

• Lists all OpenCode TUI shortcuts with search, status filter (bound / modified / unbound), and category navigation
• Shows custom bindings from ~/.config/opencode/cli.json (keybinds); modified entries display the default value
• Click a key chip (or double-click a row) to open the editor and record a new binding
• A command can have multiple shortcuts; add, replace, or delete individual bindings
• Leader sequences (for example Ctrl+X then N) are recorded by pressing Leader then the follow-up key
• Saves back to cli.json immediately; empty bindings write none, and restoring defaults removes the override key
• Reset requires confirmation

The Keymap button is hidden for other AI tools and for OpenCode v1.

OpenCode Updates

Under OpenCode v2, the extension can update the OpenCode CLI from the sidebar.

• Auto check: checks the official npm registry (falling back to the npmmirror and Tencent npm mirrors) in the background shortly after activation and then every update.checkIntervalHours hours; silent unless an update is found
• Manual check: run the AI Sidebar Terminal: Check for OpenCode Updates command from the Command Palette, or use the check item in the settings menu
• Version badge: when an update is available, the toolbar version pill becomes the update entry; clicking it opens a method popover (curl/npm/pnpm/bun/yarn/vp/brew, detected and last-used methods are marked)
• Progress and restart: updates run without stopping your session; after success the card offers restarting the terminal onto the new version
• nvm handling: on nvm-windows the required reshim runs automatically, and nvm firewall blocks are trusted and retried automatically; if the automatic fix fails, the commands to run manually are shown
• Settings: update.autoCheck (default true) enables the background check; update.checkIntervalHours (default 24, minimum 1) sets the interval

The update feature requires OpenCode v2 or newer; the pill is hidden for OpenCode v1 and other AI tools.

OpenCode CLI Settings

Also under OpenCode v2, an OpenCode CLI Settings button appears next to the keymap button (between keymap and extension settings) for editing TUI options in cli.json.

• Grouped views: appearance, input & scroll, session, tabs, diff, terminal, notifications & sound, Mini mode, debug & experimental, plugins
• The side nav only jumps to a group; the content area stacks all settings
• Theme name is a dropdown with built-in themes plus themes/*.json custom themes
• Toggles/dropdowns save immediately; text and number fields save on blur; sliders save on release
• The Keybindings group is a jump link that opens the Keymap modal
• Writes preserve other cli.json fields; restoring a default removes that key

Like the keymap button, this button is shown only for OpenCode v2.

HTTP API Integration

The extension communicates with OpenCode CLI via an HTTP API for reliable bidirectional communication:

Features

• Version Detection: Detects OpenCode v1/v2 automatically via opencode --version (major version >= 2 is treated as v2)
• Auto-Discovery: Discovers the HTTP server for v1 (ephemeral ports) and the background service for v2 (service state file, or opencode service status as fallback)
• Health Checks: GET /global/health (v1) or GET /api/info (v2) validates availability before sending commands
• Retry Logic: Exponential backoff for reliable communication
• Context Sharing: Automatically shares editor context on terminal open

How It Works

OpenCode v1:

1. The extension launches OpenCode with --port=N, where N is an ephemeral port (16384-65535)
2. File references and context are sent via HTTP POST to /tui/append-prompt (routed per workspace via the x-opencode-directory header)
3. Health checks use GET /global/health

OpenCode v2:

1. The v2 TUI no longer accepts --port; it attaches to the OpenCode background service
2. The extension reads the service URL and credentials from the service state file (~/.local/state/opencode/service.json; on Windows AppData\Local\opencode\service.json or AppData\Roaming\opencode\service.json), falling back to opencode service status
3. All requests use HTTP Basic auth (user opencode, password from the service state file)
4. Health checks use GET /api/info; workspace directories are resolved via GET /api/location
5. /tui/append-prompt was removed in v2, so file references and context are typed directly into the terminal instead

Configuration

{
  "ai-sidebar-terminal.enableHttpApi": true,
  "ai-sidebar-terminal.httpTimeout": 5000,
  "ai-sidebar-terminal.autoShareContext": true
}

Auto-Context Sharing

When enabled, the extension automatically shares editor context with the AI tool when the terminal opens:

• Open Files: Lists all currently open files
• Active Selection: Includes line numbers for selected text
• Format: @path/to/file#L10-L20

This feature eliminates the need to manually share context when starting a new session.

Note on line numbers: The extension shares 1-based line numbers (matching VS Code's displayed line numbers). However, OpenCode internally uses 0-based line numbers, so auto-context references like #L52 may appear as #51 inside OpenCode's context display. This is expected behavior, not a bug.

Configuration

Available settings in VS Code settings (Cmd+, / Ctrl+,):

Terminal Settings

* Default: 'JetBrainsMono Nerd Font', 'FiraCode Nerd Font', 'CascadiaCode NF', Menlo, monospace

HTTP API Settings

AI Tool Settings

For each tool in aiTools, omitting args uses the built-in default arguments (OpenCode defaults to opencode -c); setting args to [] launches the tool without arguments.

Advanced Settings

Example Configuration

{
  "ai-sidebar-terminal.fontSize": 12,
  "ai-sidebar-terminal.fontFamily": "'JetBrainsMono Nerd Font', monospace",
  "ai-sidebar-terminal.cursorBlink": true,
  "ai-sidebar-terminal.cursorStyle": "block",
  "ai-sidebar-terminal.scrollback": 10000,
  "ai-sidebar-terminal.enableHttpApi": true,
  "ai-sidebar-terminal.httpTimeout": 5000,
  "ai-sidebar-terminal.autoShareContext": true,
  "ai-sidebar-terminal.defaultAiTool": "opencode"
}

Installation

From Source

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/sage-z-cn/ai-sidebar-terminal.git
cd ai-sidebar-terminal

2. Install dependencies:

npm install

3. Build the extension:

npm run compile

4. Package the extension:

npx @vscode/vsce package

5. Install in VS Code:

• Open VS Code
• Go to Extensions (Cmd+Shift+X / Ctrl+Shift+X)
• Click "..." menu → "Install from VSIX"
• Select the generated .vsix file

License

MIT — see LICENSE for details.