SoterAI IDE Guard

Local-first AI security guard for VS Code. SoterAI IDE Guard scans your code, selections, terminal commands, git changes, and AI prompts for secrets, PII, prompt-injection, and insecure AI-generated code — entirely on your machine. Nothing leaves your computer unless you explicitly connect to SoterAI Cloud.

Security Dashboard

Scan Results

Command Palette

Settings Panel

Demo: Watch the extension scan a file for secrets and display findings in the Security Dashboard:

SoterAI IDE Guard Demo

Features

Scan Current File / Selection / Workspace — detect leaked secrets, PII, and risky patterns with a redacted, evidence-minimized report.
Redact Selection for AI — copy a safe, redacted version of your selection to the clipboard before pasting it into an AI assistant. Raw secrets are never copied — a fail-closed safety net masks anything the detectors miss.
Scan Before AI Prompt — paste a prompt, scan it locally, and get an allow / redact / block verdict plus a safe prompt to copy.
Scan Git Changes — scan your staged + unstaged diff for secrets and flag sensitive files (.env, *.pem, *.key, credentials) before you commit.
Check Terminal Command — flag destructive or remote-exec shell commands.
Review Selected AI Code — surface likely vulnerabilities (SQL injection, etc.) in AI-generated code in a hardened webview.
Configure Policy — pick local / team / enterprise mode, thresholds, cloud, and telemetry level from a QuickPick.
Security Dashboard — risk score, latest findings, and cloud sync status.

Additional v0.2 local controls:

Local AI Broker — authenticated loopback-only OpenAI/Anthropic-compatible routing with request/response scanning, redaction, and canary blocking.
AI Safe Mode — Developer, Strict, and Enterprise protection overlays for SoterAI-routed workflows.
AI Memory Inspector — hashes, decisions, redacted evidence, and file metadata showing what SoterAI brokered or built for AI.

Privacy & Security

Local-first. All detection and redaction runs locally in the extension host.
No raw secrets leave the extension. redactedText, clipboard output, the local hash cache, telemetry events, logs, webviews, and exported reports are all guaranteed free of raw secret material (canary-tested — see docs/ide-guard-privacy-canary-report.md).
Redacted, opt-in telemetry only. Off by default; when enabled, only minimized, redacted event metadata is queued — never content or tokens.
Cloud tokens are stored in VS Code SecretStorage, never logged.

Workspace Trust

The extension declares limited untrusted-workspace support:

Capability	Trusted workspace	Restricted (untrusted)
Local scanning & redaction	✅	✅
Cloud connect / token storage	✅	🚫 disabled
Remote scan escalation	✅	🚫 disabled

Local scanning always works; cloud/token/remote features are gated behind a trusted workspace and surfaced clearly in the dashboard.

Commands

Command	Purpose
`SoterAI: Quick Start`	Choose privacy mode, policy pack, and first scan flow.
`SoterAI: Check Extension Health`	Show version, privacy mode, token configured yes/no, workspace trust, policy status, and last scan without secrets.
`SoterAI: Open Settings`	Open VS Code settings filtered to SoterAI.
`SoterAI: Run Demo Scan`	Run a safe local demo against fake risky text.
`SoterAI: Scan Selected Text`	Scan selected prompt/text before sending it to an AI assistant.
`SoterAI: Scan Current File`	Scan the active file for secrets, PII, prompt injection, unsafe instructions, and insecure patterns.
`SoterAI: Scan Git Diff`	Scan staged and unstaged git changes locally.
`SoterAI: Scan MCP / Agent Tools`	Review MCP and agent tool configuration for broad or dangerous permissions.
`SoterAI: Review Terminal Command`	Review a command before running it; SoterAI never executes it.
`SoterAI: Open AI Activity Ledger`	View privacy-preserving local scan/share metadata.
`SoterAI: Generate Canary Token`	Create a fake canary token for leak detection tests.
`SoterAI: Choose Policy Pack`	Apply a built-in policy profile.
`SoterAI: Open Security Panel`	Open the local security dashboard.

Settings

Setting	Default	Description
`soterai.privacyMode`	`local`	`local`, `cloud`, or `hybrid`. Local mode uses local detectors only.
`soterai.cloud.enabled`	`false`	Enables configured cloud features in trusted workspaces only.
`soterai.cloud.baseUrl`	`https://api.soterai.in`	Cloud API base URL.
`soterai.policy.mode`	`local`	Local/team/enterprise policy mode.
`soterai.scan.remoteEscalation`	`never`	Remote escalation mode for redacted/minimized high-risk scans.
`soterai.scan.maxFileSizeKb`	`256`	Maximum file size for local scans.
`soterai.scan.maxWorkspaceFiles`	`1000`	Maximum files checked during workspace scans.
`soterai.scan.excludeGlobs`	common build/binary folders	Patterns excluded from workspace scans.

Supported Files

SoterAI focuses on developer text formats: JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, Markdown, MDX, text, JSON, YAML, .env-style files, MCP configuration, and agent prompt/config files. Binary files and oversized files are skipped.

API Key Setup

Cloud and broker provider tokens are stored with VS Code SecretStorage. Use SoterAI: Connect to SoterAI Cloud or the broker configuration commands only in trusted workspaces. Local privacy mode does not require an API key and does not make network calls.

Troubleshooting

If commands do not appear, run SoterAI: Quick Start from the Command Palette.
If a file is skipped, check soterai.scan.maxFileSizeKb and exclude globs.
If cloud setup is disabled, verify VS Code Workspace Trust is enabled.
If the VSIX was installed manually, reload VS Code after installation.

Known Limitations

Detection is defense-in-depth, not a guarantee that every issue will be found.
MCP and extension risk analysis is heuristic and based on available local metadata/configuration.
Full cloud telemetry submission is disabled until a reviewed endpoint client is added.
SoterAI Guard is not a replacement for professional security review, secure SDLC, or incident response.

Development

npm run typecheck   # tsc --noEmit
npm run lint        # eslint
npm run test        # node --test (static manifest/contract tests)
npm run bundle      # extension + standalone local broker bundles
npm run package     # bundle + vsce package -> .vsix

The extension is bundled with esbuild into a single dist/extension.js (with @soterai/guard-core inlined) so the packaged VSIX stays small and never follows the symlinked monorepo.

SoterAI IDE Guard — Local AI Security

SoterAI