Sidecar for VS Code
Plays the Sidecar ad video in a panel beside Claude Code when you run Claude Code in VS Code's integrated terminal. Sidecar shows sponsored ads while Claude works and pays you 50% of every qualified impression. VS Code's terminal cannot show video to a Claude Code plugin, so without this extension the ad is drawn in coarse text blocks.
The extension is only a screen. The Sidecar plugin chooses the ad, counts watch time and handles earnings. The extension opens no panel until the plugin connects.
Requirements
The Sidecar Claude Code plugin, version 0.4.0 or later:
claude plugin marketplace add sidecarlol/sidecar && claude plugin install sidecar@sidecar
After installing the extension, run Developer: Reload Window once. Then start claude in the integrated terminal and send a prompt. The panel opens beside the editor with the ad.
Use
- Sidecar: Panel status in the Command Palette lists the Claude Code sessions connected to this window.
- Watch time counts only while the panel is visible and the video is playing.
- Close the panel at any time. Only the one-line spinner ad stays until you run
/sidecar in Claude Code.
Settings
| Setting |
Default |
What it does |
sidecar.panel.enabled |
true |
Runs the panel's local server. Set to false to stop the extension opening a port. Takes effect after a window reload. |
sidecar.panel.extraMediaHosts |
[] |
Extra https hosts the panel may download ad videos from, for a self-hosted or preview ad server. sidecar.lol is always allowed. |
Both are machine settings, so a workspace's settings cannot change them.
Privacy and security
- The plugin sends the panel the ad's text and links, your earnings figures, the claim link and the play state. It never sends your prompt, your working directory or any file path.
- The extension listens on
127.0.0.1 only and answers only requests that carry a random token stored in a file only you can read (~/.sidecar/panel/).
- Its only network request is downloading the ad's video file from sidecar.lol. It reads no files from your projects and runs no commands.
- The panel opens a link only if it is the ad's own link or your claim link.
Full details: sidecar.lol/privacy
