Visual Studio Code

Visual Studio Code

What is Visual Studio Code about?

Visual Studio Code is a lightweight, extensible development environment that embeds AI models for code understanding, generation, and task automation. It indexes your local and remote codebases, offers real‑time suggestions, and can run multi‑step agent workflows directly inside the editor.

How to use Visual Studio Code?

1. Install VS Code from the official website.
2. Enable the GitHub Copilot extension (or any MCP‑compatible extension) to activate AI features.
3. Select an AI model from the Copilot chat dropdown or configure your own API key.
4. Use #codebase or #file:<path> tags in the chat to provide context.
5. Accept next‑edit suggestions with the Tab key or invoke Agent mode to execute complex refactors, run terminal commands, and iterate on failures.

Key features of Visual Studio Code

• Model selection: Switch between Claude, GPT, and other providers instantly.
• Context‑aware chat: Leverages indexed codebase (local + GitHub) for precise answers.
• Custom instructions: Store reusable prompt files and JSON settings for team‑specific workflows.
• Agent mode: Automated multi‑step tasks, file edits, command execution, and test loops.
• Next‑edit suggestions: Inline AI completions triggered by the Tab key.
• Extension ecosystem: Install AI‑powered extensions via the Marketplace or build MCP servers.
• Language support: Out‑of‑the‑box for JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, C#, C++, HTML, Java, JSON, PHP, Markdown, PowerShell, YAML, and more.
• UI customization: Themes, Settings Sync, profiles, and layout adjustments.
• Anywhere development: Local, remote, or browser‑based via vscode.dev and GitHub Codespaces.

Use cases of Visual Studio Code

• Rapid prototyping: Generate boilerplate code and refactor snippets instantly.
• Bug fixing: Describe an issue in chat; the model suggests precise patches.
• Learning & onboarding: New team members ask contextual questions about the repository.
• CI/CD automation: Agent mode runs builds, tests, and applies fixes in a loop.
• Cross‑language projects: Switch seamlessly between languages with AI assistance.
• Custom tooling: Build MCP servers to expose internal APIs or domain‑specific models.

FAQ from Visual Studio Code

• Do I need an API key for AI models? Only when using your own provider; the built‑in models like Claude Sonnet work out‑of‑the‑box.
• Can I run AI features offline? Yes, by hosting a local MCP server (e.g., Ollama) and pointing VS Code to it.
• How does Agent mode handle failures? It reads compile/test errors, updates the plan, and retries until the task succeeds or reaches a stop condition.
• Is my code sent to external services? When using hosted models, code snippets are transmitted to the provider; self‑hosted MCP servers keep data local.
• What extensions are recommended for AI workflows? GitHub Copilot, Copilot Chat, and any MCP‑compatible extensions listed in the Marketplace.

Title: Visual Studio Code - Code Editing. Redefined

URL Source: https://code.visualstudio.com/

Markdown Content: Any model for any team

Use AI models like Claude Sonnet out of the box, or bring your own key to access models from Azure, Anthropic, Google, Ollama, OpenAI, and OpenRouter.

An expert on your codebase

Your codebase is indexed locally and remotely (on GitHub) to understand what's relevant, enabling fast, context-aware interactions.

AI that works the way your team does

Personalize interactions using custom instructions and reusable prompt files tailored to your workflows, tools, and projects.

Agent mode

Tackle complex, multi-step tasks. Agent mode reads your codebase, suggests edits across files, runs terminal commands, and responds to compile or test failures — all in a loop until the job is done. Further refine agent mode to fit your team's workflows with VS Code extensions and Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers.

Build with agent mode

Next edit suggestions

VS Code predicts your next move as you code. Use the Tab key to accept AI-powered suggestions right in your editor. It intelligently recommends what to change — and where — based on the edits you're already making.

Code with AI-powered suggestions

Code with extensions

Customize VS Code with AI-powered functionality from extensions and Model Context Protocol servers to use in Chat. Or, build your own extension to power your team's unique scenarios.

Code in any language

VS Code supports almost every major programming language. Several ship in the box, like JavaScript, TypeScript, CSS, and HTML, but extensions for others can be found in the VS Code Marketplace.

JavaScript

TypeScript

Python

C#

C++

HTML

Java

JSON

PHP

Markdown

Powershell

YAML

Fully customizable

Customize your VS Code UI and layout so that it fits your coding style.

Color themes let you modify the colors in VS Code's user interface to suit your preferences and work environment.

Settings Sync enables you to share your user settings across your VS Code instances with the Settings Sync feature.

Profiles let you create sets of customizations and quickly switch between them or share them with others.

Code anywhere

Code wherever you're most productive, whether you're connected to the cloud, a remote repository, or in the browser with VS Code for the Web (vscode.dev).

Built-in Source Control empowers you with Git support out-of-the-box. Many other source control providers are available through extensions.

GitHub Codespaces provides cloud-powered development environments for any activity - whether it's a long-term project, or a short-term task like reviewing a pull request.

Code with rich features

There's a lot more to an editor. Whether it's using built-in features or rich extensions, there's something for everyone.