Understand Tech for VS Code

Chat with your Understand Tech AI assistants without leaving your editor. Sidebar chat with streaming responses, file attachments (PDF, DOCX, XLSX, source code, images via OCR), slash commands, @file mentions, and right-click "Ask about this" on any code selection.

Install

VS Code Extensions panel: search Understand Tech → click Install.
CLI: code --install-extension understand-tech.ut-vscode

Reload VS Code if it doesn't pick the extension up automatically.

Make sure you have an Understand Tech account at https://app.understand.tech and that an admin (or you) has created a VS Code integration there with an assistant attached — see First-time setup below.
In VS Code: Cmd+Shift+P → Understand Tech: Sign in.
Your browser opens at app.understand.tech and signs you in. If you weren't already authenticated, log in and re-run the Sign in command — the second attempt completes instantly.
The page redirects back to VS Code automatically. You'll see a "signed in" notification and the Understand Tech icon in the Activity Bar will light up.

Use

Click the Understand Tech icon in the Activity Bar to open the chat.

Send: type in the composer, press Enter. Shift+Enter for newline.
Attach files: click the 📎 button — PDF, DOCX, XLSX, plain text, source code, and images (English OCR) are supported.
Include current file: tick the checkbox above the composer before sending to auto-attach whatever's in your active editor.
Slash commands: start a prompt with /explain, /refactor, /test, /fix, /optimize, or /docs — they operate on your current editor selection (or the whole file if nothing is selected).
@-file mentions: type @filename.ts anywhere in your prompt to attach a workspace file by name.
Ask about a selection: highlight code in any editor, right-click → Ask Understand Tech about this. The chat sidebar opens with the snippet prefilled.
Apply code: when the assistant returns a code block, hover it → click Apply to insert at the caret (or replace your selection).
Conversations: the dropdown above the message list keeps a per-assistant thread history. Use + New to start a fresh chat, pick from the dropdown to switch, Delete to remove.
Feedback: 👍 / 👎 below any assistant response, with an optional comment.

First-time setup (creating an integration)

If you haven't done this yet:

Sign up at https://app.understand.tech/register (email/password or Google/GitHub OAuth).
Open Apps in the left sidebar and create at least one Assistant — the integration wizard needs one to attach to.
Open Integrations in the left sidebar → click + Add integration (top-right).
On Choose a provider, pick the VS Code tile and click Next.
On Assistant, pick the assistant from step 2 and click Create integration.

Now run the Understand Tech: Sign in command in VS Code (see Sign in above).

Settings

Open VS Code Settings → search "Understand Tech":

Setting	What it controls
`understandTech.apiBaseUrl`	Where the OAuth sign-in bridge lives. Default: `https://app.understand.tech`.
`understandTech.customerApiBaseUrl`	Where chat + discovery requests go. Default: `https://developer.understand.tech`.

Reporting feedback

Please report anything — bugs, confusion, missing features, "this felt weird" — to support@understand.tech, or open an issue at https://github.com/understand-tech/ut-vscode/issues. Include:

VS Code version (Code → About Visual Studio Code)
Your operating system
A short reproduction if it's a bug
A screenshot or screen recording if relevant

Privacy & data handling

This extension reads files only when you explicitly attach them (paperclip / @file mention / Include current file / Ask about selection). Attached content is sent to your Understand Tech assistant as part of the chat prompt. No telemetry beyond what the assistant itself logs. Sign out at any time via Understand Tech: Sign out — this revokes the per-extension API key from your account.

License

Proprietary. See LICENSE.txt.

Changelog

See CHANGELOG.md.