CLI Code

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Open your favourite AI coding assistant in a terminal next to your code — and send the file you're looking at straight into it, with one shortcut.

What it does

Many AI coding tools run in the terminal: Claude Code, Codex, Antigravity, opencode, and more. If you use more than one, switching between them is a chore.

CLI Code puts all of them one shortcut away:

• Press a key → pick an assistant → it opens in a terminal beside your editor.
• Press another key → the file you're viewing (and the lines you selected) is dropped into the assistant's prompt. No copy-paste.

Getting started

1. Install

Open the Extensions view in VS Code (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + X), search for CLI Code, and click Install.

2. Install the assistants you want

CLI Code launches the assistants — it doesn't install them. Make sure the ones you want are installed and runnable from your terminal. Out of the box it knows about:

⚠️ Install and sign in first. Most assistants need to be authenticated before they'll run — claude (log in to your Anthropic account), codex (OpenAI login / API key), and so on. Run each tool once in a normal terminal, complete its login flow, and confirm it starts.

💡 Tip: if a command works when you type it in a normal terminal, it'll work here.

How to use it

Open an assistant

Press Cmd + Esc (macOS) or Ctrl + Esc (Windows / Linux).

A menu pops up listing every assistant. Pick one — it opens in a terminal to the side and starts running. If that assistant is already open, the shortcut just jumps back to it.

Want a fresh session instead of reusing the open one? Use Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + Esc.

You can also open it from the editor toolbar — look for the CLI Code icon (circled):

Send the file you're working on

1. Click into a file (optionally select a few lines).
2. Click the assistant's terminal to focus it.
3. Press Cmd + Alt + K (macOS) or Ctrl + Alt + K (Windows / Linux).

CLI Code drops a reference to your file into the prompt:

Now just type your question — the assistant already knows which file (and lines) you mean.

Keyboard shortcuts

All three are also in the Command Palette (Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + P) as Open CLI, Open CLI in new tab, and CLI: Insert At-Mentioned.

FAQ

The menu opens but the terminal says "command not found". The assistant isn't installed or isn't on your PATH. Open a normal terminal and check that the command (e.g. claude) runs. If it doesn't, install that tool first.

The assistant opens but asks me to log in. That's expected — CLI Code only launches the tool, it doesn't handle authentication. Complete the assistant's own login flow once (in any terminal); it will remember you afterwards.

Nothing happens when I press Cmd + Alt + K. Make sure (1) a file is open in the editor, and (2) the assistant's terminal is focused. The file reference goes into whichever CLI terminal is active.

The shortcut conflicts with something else. Rebind it in VS Code: Preferences → Keyboard Shortcuts, search for "CLI", and set your own keys.

License

MIT © 2026 Thanh Luan