I Cannot Believe How Good This VS Code AI Coding Assistant Is!

codeSTACKr
14 Dec 202320:03

TLDRIn this video, the creator explores an AI coding assistant named Cody, which stands out for its context-aware capabilities. It integrates with your codebase, allowing for more accurate and helpful assistance. The video demonstrates Cody's features, such as AI-powered chat, custom commands, and the ability to explain code or entire repositories. The creator uses Cody to build a gamified to-do app, showcasing its utility in suggesting tech stacks, generating unit tests, and providing quick fixes. Cody's free tier and compatibility with various IDEs make it an accessible tool for developers looking to enhance their coding experience.

Takeaways

  • 🤖 Cody is an AI coding assistant designed to be context-aware, understanding the entire codebase for more accurate assistance.
  • 🔍 Cody can answer technical questions, write code, and run custom and pre-built commands within your IDE.
  • 📝 It offers AI-powered chat for code, explaining code or entire repositories, and generating unit tests.
  • 📈 Cody uses a code graph for context and accuracy, enhancing its helpfulness in coding tasks.
  • 🆓 There is a free tier available with a generous rate limit, which is not common for all AI tools.
  • 🔗 Cody integrates with various IDEs, including Visual Studio Code, and works with GitHub for authorization.
  • 📋 It can help in creating documentation, editing, explaining code smells, and defining custom commands.
  • 🛠️ Cody can assist in implementing changes to files, such as modifying a .tsx file for a Next.js app.
  • 🎲 The AI can suggest features and themes for app development, like a gamified to-do app with a fantasy adventure theme.
  • 🔧 Cody can provide quick fixes and suggestions for code, improving the development process.
  • 📚 It can also help in creating and styling new components, such as a quest card for a gamified application.
  • 📅 Cody became generally available on December 14th, and the user plans to continue using it for app development.

Q & A

  • What is the main difference between Cody and other AI coding assistants?

    -Cody is more context-aware as it knows the entire codebase, allowing it to make recommendations based on specific context, making it more helpful.

  • What features does Cody offer for code assistance?

    -Cody offers AI-powered chat for code questions, the ability to run custom and pre-built commands, explain code or entire repositories, generate unit tests, describe code smells for best practices, and define custom commands.

  • Is there a free tier for using Cody?

    -Yes, there is a free tier with a generous rate limit available for Cody.

  • Which IDEs does Cody support?

    -Cody works with a few different IDEs, including Visual Studio Code (VSCode).

  • How does Cody help with understanding a new repository?

    -Cody can analyze the context from files like the README and provide explanations about the repository's purpose and structure.

  • What kind of app does the user want to build with Cody's help?

    -The user wants to build an elevated, gamified to-do app that transforms everyday tasks into exciting quests.

  • What does Cody suggest for the tech stack of the gamified to-do app?

    -Cody suggests using a tech stack with Next.js, hooks, and possibly a CMS for deployment, along with features like authentication, dynamic quest data, and a pixel art theme.

  • How does Cody assist in implementing changes to a .tsx file?

    -Cody provides code suggestions, helps with imports, and offers quick fixes for issues encountered during implementation.

  • What functionality does Cody help implement for the quest card component?

    -Cody helps implement the quest card component with styles, a way to mark quests as completed, and adds an input for adding new quests.

  • How does Cody assist with adding padding to an H1 element?

    -Cody can suggest adding padding to the H1 element, and the user can apply the suggested styles directly to the code.

  • What is the availability status of Cody?

    -Cody is generally available as of December 14th, and users can try it out at sourcegraph.com/docodo.

Outlines

00:00

🤖 Introduction to AI Coding Assistant Cody

The video begins with the user introducing an AI coding assistant named Cody, which is context-aware and can understand the entire codebase. Cody offers features like AI-powered chat, custom and pre-built commands, code explanation, unit test generation, and code smell detection. The user highlights the free tier with a generous rate limit and demonstrates how to log in and authorize Cody with GitHub, setting up the integration with Visual Studio Code (VSCode).

05:04

🔍 Exploring Cody's Functionality

The user explores Cody's capabilities by asking it to explain a repository and suggesting improvements. Cody provides a detailed overview of the repository's purpose and structure, and offers suggestions for features like a CMS, a homepage with a hero section, and quest details. The user then asks Cody to help build a gamified to-do app, and Cody provides a suggested tech stack and features like authentication, dynamic quest data, and a pixel art theme. The user proceeds to implement changes to a .TSX file with Cody's assistance, facing and resolving issues related to missing utilities and components.

10:05

📝 Implementing Quest Card Component

The user focuses on implementing a quest card component for the to-do app. They ask Cody to help with the implementation, which results in the creation of a Quest Card module with CSS and TSX files. The user makes adjustments to the code, such as adding a checkbox to mark quests as completed and editing the styles. Cody assists in refining the styles and adding functionality for adding new quests. The user also addresses issues with state management and component structure, integrating Cody's suggestions into the project.

15:06

🎨 Styling and Completing Quest Functionality

In the final part, the user works on the styling of the new quest input section and adds padding between elements for better aesthetics. They also implement the functionality to complete quests, with Cody providing code snippets for the completeQuest function. The user makes minor corrections to the code to ensure it works as intended. They express satisfaction with the progress made using Cody and mention that Cody is generally available as of December 14th, inviting viewers to try it out. The user plans to continue developing the app with Cody's assistance.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡AI coding assistant

An AI coding assistant is an artificial intelligence tool designed to aid in software development by providing automated code suggestions, answering technical questions, and automating repetitive tasks. In the video, the AI assistant Cody is introduced as a context-aware tool that understands the entire codebase to offer more accurate and helpful recommendations.

💡Context awareness

Context awareness refers to the ability of a system or tool to understand and adapt to the specific context in which it is being used. In the context of the video, Cody's context awareness allows it to make recommendations based on the user's existing codebase, making it more helpful and relevant.

💡IDE integration

IDE (Integrated Development Environment) integration refers to the ability of a tool or service to be seamlessly incorporated into a development environment, enhancing the developer's workflow. Cody's integration with various IDEs like Visual Studio Code (VS Code) allows developers to interact with the AI assistant directly within their coding environment.

💡Autocomplete

Autocomplete is a feature that predicts and suggests the next part of a user's input, typically used in coding to speed up the development process by reducing the amount of typing required. Cody offers AI-powered autocomplete, which goes beyond traditional autocomplete by understanding the context of the code.

💡Custom commands

Custom commands allow users to define specific actions or tasks that the AI assistant can perform. This provides a level of personalization and efficiency, as the user can tailor the AI's functionality to their specific needs.

💡Unit tests

Unit tests are a method of testing individual components or units of a software application to ensure they function correctly. Cody's ability to generate unit tests suggests that it can assist in maintaining code quality and reliability by automating the testing process.

💡Code smells

Code smells are indicators of potential issues in the code that may not necessarily cause errors but suggest that there might be a problem that should be addressed. They often relate to poor design or structure. Cody can describe code smells, helping developers identify and improve their codebase.

💡Gamified to-do app

A gamified to-do app is a task management application that incorporates game design elements to make the process of managing tasks more engaging and motivating. The video describes the user's idea to build such an app, where mundane tasks are transformed into exciting quests.

💡Next.js

Next.js is a popular React-based framework for building server-rendered or statically exported React applications. It is known for its ease of use and features that simplify the development of web applications. In the video, the user uses Next.js to create a basic application structure for their gamified to-do app.

💡Quest Card

In the context of the video, a Quest Card is a user interface component that represents a task or quest in the gamified to-do app. It typically includes information about the task, such as its name, description, and completion status.

Highlights

Cody is a context-aware AI coding assistant that understands your entire codebase.

Cody can answer technical questions, write code directly in your IDE, and use your code graph for context and accuracy.

It offers AI-powered chat for your codes, allowing you to ask questions about your codebase.

Cody can run custom and pre-built commands to explain code, generate unit tests, and describe code smells for best practices.

Users can define their own custom commands for Cody.

Cody has a free tier with a generous rate limit.

Cody integrates with various IDEs, such as Visual Studio Code.

It supports different AI models like Claud 2.0, 2.1, Instant GPT 3.5, and 4.

Cody can be used to create documentation, edit, explain, smell, test, and execute custom commands.

It can explain a repository's purpose and structure by analyzing files like the README.

Cody can help build applications by suggesting technologies, features, and even gamification elements.

The AI can assist in implementing changes to specific files, like the pages in a Next.js app.

Cody can generate code for components, such as a Quest Card for a gamified to-do app.

It can provide quick fixes for code issues, like implementing interfaces or handling state management.

Cody can suggest and apply styles to improve the appearance of components.

The AI can help add functionality to complete tasks within the app, like marking quests as complete.

Cody can assist in adding new features, such as an input for adding more quests.

The AI can help with styling new sections of the page, like the new quest input area.

Cody can identify and suggest improvements for the user interface, like adding padding for better layout.

Cody is generally available as of December 14th and can be tried at sourcegraph.com/cody.

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