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AI is transforming software development, and Visual Studio Code now boasts dozens of extensions to supercharge your workflow. These tools can help you write code faster, debug smarter, generate tests, explain complex code, and even review code changes. In this roundup, we highlight ten of the best AI-powered VS Code extensions – spanning AI-assisted coding, AI-enhanced debugging, automated test generation, code explanation, and AI-driven code reviews – with a mix of free and paid options. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned developer, these extensions can boost your productivity and make coding more enjoyable.
GitHub Copilot: AI pair programmer
GitHub Copilot is an AI pair programming extension that helps you write code faster and smarter. It uses OpenAI's Codex model to suggest code completions ranging from single lines to entire functions based on the context in your editor. Copilot can even generate code from natural language comments and offer real-time suggestions as you type. It integrates deeply with VS Code – you get inline autocompletions and an optional Copilot Chat companion for conversational Q&A, debugging help, and code explanation within the editor. While Copilot requires a subscription after a free trial (free for some student and OSS developers), its context-aware suggestions and multi-language support have made it a go-to AI coding assistant for millions of developers.
AWS CodeWhisperer: AI code completion with security
AWS CodeWhisperer is Amazon's AI coding companion that provides real-time, context-aware code suggestions in VS Code. Like Copilot, it can auto-complete lines of code or even entire functions based on your current context, with support for multiple languages (15 languages as of GA). CodeWhisperer's standout feature is its focus on secure coding: it includes built-in security scanning that can detect vulnerabilities (e.g. OWASP Top 10 issues) in generated code and suggest fixes. It's especially handy for cloud and AWS-focused developers, as it's trained on both open-source and Amazon's own code, making it adept at AWS APIs and workflows. Notably, CodeWhisperer is free for individual developers (with an AWS account), making it an accessible alternative to Copilot, while an optional paid professional tier offers advanced features for teams.
Tabnine: Local AI autocomplete
Tabnine is a popular AI auto-completion tool that supports over 20 programming languages. It uses deep learning models to predict and suggest your next bits of code, whether it's a single line or a full code block. Tabnine emphasizes privacy and speed – it offers a local model option that runs on your machine (no cloud required), so your code stays private while still getting smart suggestions. It learns from your project's context and even from your coding patterns over time, tailoring the completions to your style. Core features include intelligent code completions, inline code documentation suggestions, and even some refactoring assistance. Tabnine has a free plan (with basic completions) and paid pro plans for more advanced AI models and team features, making it suitable for both individual devs and enterprises.
CodeGPT Extension: In-editor AI chat and debugging
CodeGPT brings the power of OpenAI's GPT-3.5/GPT-4 models directly into VS Code. Developed by Daniel San, this extension opens a chat interface in your editor where you can ask questions about your code, get explanations for a code snippet, generate boilerplate code, or even have the AI help debug an error. It's like having ChatGPT as your coding assistant at your fingertips. Key features include a chat-style Q&A interface, the ability to select code and ask for explanation or refactoring, and commands to perform tasks like generating unit tests or documentation from selected code. For example, you can highlight a function and ask the AI to document it or write test cases, and it will produce suggestions right in the editor. This extension supports multiple AI models (you can use OpenAI's API, Anthropic's Claude, etc.) and even allows model selection (GPT-3.5 vs GPT-4) for different needs.
Sourcegraph Cody: AI code search and explanation
Cody by Sourcegraph is an AI-powered coding assistant that specializes in understanding and navigating large codebases. It uses advanced LLMs along with Sourcegraph's code indexing to help you search, write, and fix code faster with full project context. Cody can explain a code snippet or even an entire repository in plain English, which is great for onboarding to a new codebase or unraveling a tricky legacy module. It can also generate code – for instance, you can ask Cody to write a function and it will consider relevant files in your repo to craft its suggestion. You can also customize prompts and instruct Cody to follow specific guidelines or coding styles. Sourcegraph Cody supports multiple models (including GPT-4 and others) and requires a Sourcegraph account. There is a free tier (suitable for individual use on smaller repositories) and paid options for bigger teams or larger codebases. If you often find yourself searching through code or need AI help with large projects, Cody is a valuable extension for improving your productivity.
Graphite: Streamlined PRs with AI feedback
Graphite has a VS Code extension that streamlines the pull request workflow and integrates AI into code reviews. Graphite is known for introducing stacked pull requests to your Git workflow – allowing you to create and manage smaller, incremental PRs right from VS Code, which makes code reviews easier and faster. The extension adds a sidebar to visualize your branches and stacks, and lets you submit PRs without leaving your editor. What makes Graphite especially powerful is its AI code review assistant, Diamond. When you create a pull request with Graphite, Diamond automatically analyzes the code changes and provides immediate feedback and review comments. This means you get an instant "second set of eyes" on your code before human reviewers even look at it. Graphite's extension is free, though Diamond's advanced AI features might be part of Graphite's paid plans for teams. If you're looking to make code reviews more efficient, Graphite offers a unique blend of workflow automation and AI-powered review that can save your team time and improve code quality.
Continue: Open-source GPT assistant
Continue is an open-source VS Code extension that lets you use AI models of your choice for a ChatGPT-like experience in your editor. Think of it as a framework to bring your own AI – whether it's OpenAI's GPT-4, Anthropic's Claude, or other models – into VS Code. Continue opens a chat panel where you can converse with the AI about your code, ask for help, get explanations, or generate code. It supports inline conversations and follows file-specific context, meaning the AI can take into account the open file or even your entire project if configured, to give more relevant responses. This extension is highly flexible: you can configure which API or model it uses, and since it's open-source, the community can extend it with new integrations. A major benefit of Continue is that it's free to use – you only pay for the API calls to your chosen AI provider (or none at all if you use a local model).
Visual Studio IntelliCode: Smart IntelliSense by Microsoft
IntelliCode is Microsoft's own AI-driven development aid built into VS Code and Visual Studio. It enhances the standard IntelliSense auto-completions by using machine learning trained on thousands of open-source projects to predict the most likely and useful suggestions for your code. Instead of just alphabetically listing methods or properties, IntelliCode will put the most relevant ones at the top of the suggestion list (indicated by a ★ symbol). For example, if you're working with a JavaScript array, IntelliCode might suggest .filter and .map before other methods, knowing those are commonly used in context. It supports multiple languages (Python, JavaScript/TypeScript, Java, C#, C++ and more) and can even infer patterns – like repetitive edits – and offer to apply them across your code. IntelliCode operates locally, ensuring privacy, and it's completely free. While it's not as flashy as a code-generating chat bot, it's a subtle AI that can noticeably boost your coding efficiency by reducing the time spent scrolling through completion lists or hunting down the right API usage. IntelliCode comes as an extension (often pre-installed in VS Code) and is a must-enable for anyone who wants smarter code completions with minimal setup.
Sourcery: AI-powered code refactoring
Sourcery is an AI code review and refactoring tool that integrates into VS Code to help you improve your code quality automatically. It acts like an AI pair reviewer: as you write code or open a pull request, Sourcery will analyze it and suggest refactorings, optimizations, and even catch potential bugs. For example, Sourcery might detect a chunk of code that can be simplified or a bug-prone pattern, and prompt you with an alternative implementation. Its AI has been trained on lots of code to identify best practices and common mistakes, aiming to make your code more readable and concise. Sourcery supports over 30 languages, giving instant feedback and fixes across a wide range of projects. It can also generate summaries of changes and explain the reasoning behind a refactor, which is great for learning. The extension has a free tier that offers basic refactoring suggestions (useful for individual developers), and a pro plan with more advanced features and team collaboration insights. If you want to continuously improve your codebase and learn from AI feedback, Sourcery is a valuable companion that goes beyond just autocomplete – it actually helps you clean up and polish your code.
Qodo Gen: AI coding agent and test generation
Qodo Gen is an AI-powered coding platform that brings a comprehensive suite of generative AI tools directly into VS Code. Qodo Gen helps developers write, understand, test, and review code with the help of advanced AI models and agentic tools (MCPs). Qodo Gen is free to use and designed to streamline your development workflow, improve code quality, and reduce bugs.
Emerging AI tools worth exploring
Beyond the established extensions above, several newer AI-powered VS Code tools are gaining traction:
Sixth AI: An all-in-one AI coding assistant that combines code completion, chat, codebase indexing, and inline editing features. It supports multiple AI models and offers a comprehensive suite of AI-powered development tools.
Vortex: A GPT-powered extension for code editing and review that allows you to generate, edit, or review code through natural language prompts.
VS Code Commander: Microsoft's official extension that lets you configure VS Code using conversational chat, making it easier to discover settings and commands.
Conclusion
From writing code and squashing bugs to generating tests and reviewing pull requests, these VS Code tools bring cutting-edge AI assistance right into your editor. Many of them can be combined – for instance, you might use Copilot, or Qodo Gen for suggestions and test generation, ChatGPT/Continue for explanations, and Graphite for code review improvements. As AI models evolve, expect even deeper integration into development workflows, with more automation and smarter support. For now, give some of these extensions a try and discover which ones fit your style and needs.