ZettCode for VS Code

ZettCode: the mascot riding a sword past the moon

A coding agent next to your code.

ZettCode reads your project, edits files and runs commands, and asks you before it does anything risky. This extension puts the same agent as the ZettCode terminal app in VS Code's side bar, so you can ask for a change and watch it happen without leaving the editor.

What you can do

Ask, and watch it work. Answers appear as they are written, with highlighted code, tables and formulas. Every file it reads, every edit and every command is a row you can open to see exactly what happened.
Jump to the code. A file name in an answer is a link: it opens in the editor at the right line.
Review what changed. After each request a card lists the files it changed with the lines added and removed. Open any of them as a normal VS Code diff.
Stay in control. Approve or refuse a shell command, answer its questions, steer it while it works, or stop it with Esc.
Choose the model and how hard it thinks. Switch the model, the reasoning effort and the shell permission from the box you type in. The conversation marks each change.
Find your way back. A strip of small bars on the left edge marks each message you sent. Hover over it and the bars near the pointer swell and show the message; click one to jump there.
Pick up where you left off. Conversations are saved per workspace. Reopen one, rename it, fork it, compact a long one to free up room, or export it as a web page.
Attach images and files. Paste or drop a picture for a model that can see it; type @ to mention a file.
See where your tokens go. /usage shows spending by model, by session and by day, in a calendar like GitHub's.

Getting started

Install the server that runs the agent (needs Python 3.10 or newer):
```
uv tool install zettcode-server
```
Open a folder in VS Code and click the ZettCode icon in the side bar on the right, or run ZettCode: Focus Chat from the Command Palette. Prefer the left? Drag the icon there.
Add a model from the welcome card: the model name, and an API key. If you already use the ZettCode terminal app, the models you set up there are used as they are.
Ask something, for example Explain this codebase or Fix the failing tests.

The agent runs tools and shell commands inside your workspace, so VS Code will ask you to trust the folder first.

Using the chat

You want to	Do this
Send a message	`Enter` (`Shift+Enter` for a new line)
Say something while it is working	Type it and press `Enter` to queue it, or `Ctrl/Cmd+Enter` to steer the current request
Stop	`Esc`, or the stop button
Find in the conversation	`Ctrl/Cmd+F` while the chat view has the cursor (or ZettCode: Find in Conversation), then `Enter` / `Shift+Enter` for the next and previous match, `Esc` to close
Mention a file	Type `@` and pick one
Run a command	Type `/`: `new`, `resume`, `continue`, `compact`, `fork`, `rename`, `export`, `model`, `effort`, `permission`, `usage`, `context`, `doctor`, `btw` and more
Ask a quick question without adding to the conversation	`/btw your question`
See what fills the context window	The ring beside the send button, or `/context`

Shell permission

The agent can run commands in your workspace. You decide how freely:

Level	What happens
`deny`	No shell commands at all.
`ask`	Every command waits for your approval.
`safe`	Read-only commands run; anything else asks.
`auto`	Every command runs without asking.

Settings

Open Settings and search for ZettCode. The ones you are most likely to want:

Setting	Default	Meaning
`zettcode.permission`	`ask`	The shell permission a session starts with when you have not chosen one. A level you pick in the chat is remembered for that session, and starts the next new session in the workspace.
`zettcode.restoreSession`	`true`	Reopen the conversation this folder had last.
`zettcode.autoTitle`	`true`	Let the model name an untitled conversation after its first answer.
`zettcode.answerTimeout`	`300`	Seconds an approval or question waits before the safe answer is used.
`zettcode.server.command`	`zettcode-server`	Where the server is, if it is not on your `PATH` or in the workspace's `.venv`.
`zettcode.server.externalUrl`	empty	Connect to a server you started yourself instead of launching one.

Your code and your keys

The agent runs on your machine. The server it talks to listens only on your own computer and is protected by a token made for each window. Your code goes to the model provider you configure, and nowhere else.

Good to know

One folder per window: in a multi-root workspace the first folder is used.
Terminal-only features such as /theme and /pet are not part of the extension.
Something wrong? Run ZettCode: Show Server Log, or open an issue.

ZettCode

Chang-LeHung