Chat inside the IDE
Ask questions from a sidebar while FreeAI includes the active file, selection, nearby code, and diagnostics.
Local-first AI coding assistant
FreeAI IDE
A VS Code extension that brings AI chat, workspace inspection, secure code search, patch proposals, and user-approved edits into the editor.
What it does
AI help with strict workspace boundaries
Ollama by default
Local models are the default path. OpenAI-compatible providers are optional and BYOK only.
Controlled tools
The agent can list files, read safe files, search code, and propose edits through a restricted tool layer.
Approval workflow
Edits are proposed first and applied only after the user approves them in the editor.
Security model
Designed to avoid silent access and silent changes
FreeAI IDE rejects path traversal, blocks sensitive files by default, excludes generated folders, and stores cloud API keys only in VS Code SecretStorage.
- Workspace-relative paths only
- Blocked files: .env, keys, credentials, secret files
- Excluded folders: node_modules, .git, dist, build, coverage
- No scraping or automation of AI web UIs
- No telemetry by default
Quick start
Run it locally with Ollama
brew install ollama
ollama serve
ollama pull qwen2.5-coder:7b
npm install
npm run compile
Roadmap
Extension first, standalone IDE later
- 1VS Code extension MVP
Chat sidebar, Ollama streaming, context, secure tools, and patch approval.
- 2Provider and UX hardening
Cloud warning, provider tests, security tests, and packaging polish.
- 3Future Code - OSS fork
Bundle the extension into a rebranded standalone editor without Microsoft VS Code branding.