Amplify — Architectural Prompt Engineer

Transform shorthand instructions into production-grade AI prompts with deep workspace awareness.

Amplify is a VS Code extension that uses AI to expand quick, shorthand instructions into highly detailed, structured prompts — complete with workspace context, tech stack detection, git-aware state, and proper architectural requirements.

Built by Kumar Kislay (@whykislayy)

Install

Get it from the VS Code Marketplace →

Or search for Amplify by Kislay in the Extensions panel (Ctrl+Shift+X).

Features

⚡ Expand Prompt (Command)

Select text in your editor, or invoke the command manually
Keybinding: Ctrl+Alt+C (Mac: Cmd+Alt+C)
Expanded prompt replaces selection or copies to clipboard

💬 Chat Participant (`@amplify`)

Use in the VS Code Chat panel:

Command	Description
`@amplify <shorthand>`	Expand into a detailed, structured prompt
`@amplify /consult <shorthand>`	Ask clarifying questions before generating the prompt
`@amplify /breakdown <shorthand>`	Break task into ordered steps with per-step prompts
`@amplify /refine <feedback>`	Iteratively refine a previously expanded prompt
`@amplify /score <prompt>`	Score a prompt on specificity, clarity, completeness

🧠 Deep Workspace Context

Amplify gathers rich context automatically:

Tech stack detection — languages, frameworks, test runners, linters, package managers
Active editor content — includes what you're currently working on
Open editors — awareness of related files
Monorepo detection — pnpm workspaces, Lerna, Nx

🔀 Git-Aware Prompts

Automatically includes:

Current branch name
Recent commits (last 5)
Staged and unstaged changes
Current diff (truncated for safety)

📋 Prompt Template Library

Sidebar panel with built-in templates organized by category:

API Design, Refactoring, Testing, Debugging, Migration, Documentation, Architecture
Click a template, fill in your task, then copy or expand with AI

🔍 CodeLens Integration

Shows actionable buttons above functions and classes:

⚡ Amplify: Expand — generate improvement prompts for the symbol
🧪 Test — generate test-writing prompts scoped to that function
📝 Document — generate documentation prompts

Supported languages: TypeScript, JavaScript, Python, Go, Rust

📊 Prompt Quality Scoring

Rate any prompt on:

Specificity (1-10)
Clarity (1-10)
Completeness (1-10)
Actionability (1-10)

Get specific suggestions and a rewritten version.

Save expanded prompts as .md or .prompt.md files
Copy as formatted markdown with timestamps

⚡ Status Bar Quick-Access

One-click prompt expansion from the status bar.

🔄 Fallback AI Providers

If GitHub Copilot is unavailable:

Groq — fast inference with Llama models
Google Gemini — Gemini 2.0 Flash

Configuration

Setting	Description	Default
`amplify.systemPrompt`	System prompt for expansion	(built-in architect prompt)
`amplify.fallbackProvider`	`none`, `groq`, or `gemini`	`none`
`amplify.groqApiKey`	API Key for Groq	—
`amplify.groqModel`	Groq model name	`llama-3.3-70b-versatile`
`amplify.geminiApiKey`	API Key for Gemini	—
`amplify.geminiModel`	Gemini model name	`gemini-2.0-flash`
`amplify.enableCodeLens`	Show CodeLens above functions/classes	`true`
`amplify.enableStatusBar`	Show status bar button	`true`

Usage Examples

Expand from editor selection

Select text: add user authentication with JWT
Press Ctrl+Alt+C
The shorthand is replaced with a full architectural prompt

Chat-based expansion

@amplify build a rate-limited REST API for image uploads with S3 storage

Score an existing prompt

@amplify /score Design a user authentication system using JWT tokens with refresh token rotation, rate limiting on login attempts, and secure password hashing with bcrypt.

Refine a result

@amplify /refine make the error handling section more specific about HTTP status codes

Project Structure

src/
├── extension.ts          # Entry point — registers all features
├── config.ts             # Configuration reader
├── constants.ts          # Shared constants
├── types/                # TypeScript interfaces and types
├── providers/            # AI model providers (Copilot, Groq, Gemini)
├── context/              # Workspace and Git context gathering
├── commands/             # Command handlers (expand prompt)
├── chat/                 # Chat participant logic
├── templates/            # Prompt template library + TreeView
├── codelens/             # CodeLens provider and commands
├── views/                # Status bar and UI components
└── export/               # Export/share utilities

Requirements

VS Code 1.90+
GitHub Copilot extension (recommended), or a configured fallback provider

Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Compile
npm run compile

# Watch mode
npm run watch

# Lint
npm run lint

# Package VSIX
npm run package

Contributing

git clone https://github.com/iKislay/amplify.git
cd amplify
npm install
npm run compile

Submit pull requests for bug fixes and feature improvements.

Contact

Kumar Kislay
Website: forg.to/@kislay
Twitter: @whykislayy
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/kislayy

License

MIT

Amplify by Kislay

Kumar Kislay