I am absolutely floored with how good the claude code vs code extension works versus what it used to be. I've been using the terminal application for a long time because, frankly, it sucked before in the editor. It's now so good, I don't think I'll go back to the terminal anymore. Great job, team.

I can't find the official extension in VSCode, does anyone know if it's availabel or not, or how to install it?
Cheers

Has Anthropic considered developing a programming assistant for VSCode, similar to GitHub Copilot? I'm looking for an alternative that doesn't rely on their API due to cost concerns.

For those who’ve used Claude Code in both the CLI and VS Code extension, which is better?

I’m primarily referring to output quality. Which writes higher quality code? Which fixes bugs more accurately?

I’m assuming they are fairly similar, but curious what everyone’s experience is.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvtPBaaykdo

BEFORE YOU DOWNVOTE THIS IS ABOUT VSCODIUM NOT VSCODE

You might have seen this presentation. They mention the new Claude Code Extension. Ok in the demo there was just Claude code running in the vscode Terminal. Marketplace does not show any official Anthropic Extension.

If you run Claude Code there is the posibility to configure ide wiht /ide.

But it says there is no extension installed?! OK i have VScodium but I cant find any official Anthropic Ext anywhere.

Thoughts on this?

Edit: update - i have just installed official vscode instead of vscoidum and ran the claude code. it promted this:
https://imgur.com/a/Fhob8Hp

edit2: Extension id is Anthropic.claude-code

edit3: official source repo according to the extension metadata

https://github.com/anthropic-labs/vscode-mcp.githttps://github.com/anthropic-labs/vscode-mcp.git

but dead

I'm trying to talk to a private endpoint instead of the default, when I run claude in terminal it works just fine, but my VS code extension doesn't seem to respect my settings.

I've tried setting "claude-code.environmentVariables" in VScode extensions, and still nothing

Hi,

I am new to Claude, so forgive me if this seems like a bad question. Is there an VScode extension for claude like github copilot?

Claude Code CLI 2.0.70 changelog:

• Added Enter key to accept and submit prompt suggestions immediately (tab still accepts for editing)

• Added wildcard syntax mcp__server__* for MCP tool permissions to allow or deny all tools from a server.

• Added auto-update toggle for plugin marketplaces, allowing per-marketplace control over automatic updates.

• Added plan_mode_required spawn parameter for teammates to require plan approval before implementing changes.

• Added current_usage field to status line input, enabling accurate context window percentage calculations.

• Fixed input being cleared when processing queued commands while the user was typing.

• Fixed prompt suggestions replacing typed input when pressing Tab.

• Fixed diff view not updating when terminal is resized.

• Improved memory usage by 3x for large conversations.

• Improved resolution of stats screenshots copied to clipboard (Ctrl+S) for crisper images.

• Removed # shortcut for quick memory entry (tell Claude to edit your CLAUDE.md instead).

• Fix thinking mode toggle in /config not persisting correctly.

• Improve UI for file creation permission dialog.

Source: Anthropics (GitHub)

🔗: https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md

🔗: https://code.claude.com/docs/

Also compatible with Claude! Links in the comments.

In the following, I’ll explain what this is, why I built it, and who it’s for:

BringYourAI is the essential bridge between your IDE and the web, finally making it practical to use any AI chat website as your primary coding assistant.

Forget tedious copy-pasting. A simple "@"-command lets you instantly inject any codebase context directly into the conversation, transforming any AI website into a seamless extension of your IDE.

Hand-pick only the most relevant context and get the best possible answer. Attach your local codebase (files, folders, snippets, file trees, problems), external knowledge (browser tabs, GitHub repos, library docs), and your own custom rules.

Why not just use IDE agents (like Cursor, Copilot, or Windsurf)?

IDE agents promote "vibe-coding." They are heavyweight, black-box tools that try to do everything for you, but this approach inevitably collapses. On any complex project, agents get lost. In a desperate attempt to understand your codebase, they start making endless, slow and expensive tool calls to read your files. Armed with this incomplete picture, they then try to change too much at once, introducing difficult-to-debug bugs and making your own codebase feel increasingly unfamiliar.

BringYourAI is different by design. It's a lightweight, non-agentic, non-invasive tool built on a simple principle: You are the expert on your code.

You know exactly what context the AI needs and you are the best person to verify its suggestions. Therefore, BringYourAI doesn't guess at context, and it never makes unsupervised changes to your code.

This tool isn't for everyone. If your AI agent already works great on your projects, or you prefer a hands-off, "vibe-coding" approach where you don't need to understand the code, then you've already found your workflow.

AI will likely be capable of full autonomy on any project someday, but it’s definitely not there yet.

Since this workflow doesn't rely on agentic features inside the IDE, the only tool it requires is a chat. This means you're free to use any AI chat on the web.

Then why not just use the built-in IDE chat (like Cursor, Copilot or Windsurf)?

There's a simple reason developers stick to IDE chats: sharing codebase context with a website has always been a nightmare. BringYourAI solves this fundamental problem. Now that AI chat websites can finally be considered a primary coding assistant, we can look at their powerful, often-overlooked advantages:

1. Dramatically better usage limits

Dedicated IDE subscriptions are often far more restrictive. With web chats, you get dramatically more for your money from the plans you might already have. Let's compare the total messages you get in a month with top-tier models on different subscriptions:

• Cursor Pro ($20): 500 o3 messages (based on the old Pro plan, as the rate limits for the new one are somewhat unclear).

• Windsurf Pro ($15): 500 o3 messages.

• GitHub Copilot Pro ($10): 900 o4-mini messages (Pro plan does not include o3).

Now, compare that to a single ChatGPT Plus subscription:

• ChatGPT Plus ($20): A massive, flexible pool including 600 o3 + 3000 o4-mini-high + 9000 o4-mini-medium + 25 deep research + essentially unlimited 4.1 or 4o messages.

The value is clear. This isn't just about getting slightly more. It's a fundamentally different tier of access. You can code with the best models without constantly worrying about restrictive limits, all while maximizing a subscription you likely already pay for.

2. Don't pay for what's free

Some models locked behind a paywall in your IDE are available for free on the web. The best current example is Gemini 2.5 Pro: while IDEs bundle it into their paid plans, Google AI Studio provides essentially unlimited access for free. BringYourAI lets you take advantage of these incredible offers.

3. Continue using the web features you love

With BringYourAI, you can continue using the polished, powerful features of the web interfaces that embedded IDE chats often lack or poorly imitate, such as: web search, chat histories, memory, projects, canvas, attachments, voice input, rules, code execution, thinking tools, thinking budgets, deep research and more.

4. The user interface

While UI ultimately comes down to personal taste, many find the official web platforms offer a cleaner, more intuitive experience than the custom IDE chat windows.

Then why not just use MCP?

First, not every AI chat website supports MCP. And even when one does, it still requires a chain of slow and expensive tool calls to first find the appropriate files and then read them. As the expert on your code, you already know what context the AI needs for any given question and can provide it directly, using BringYourAI, in a matter of seconds. In this type of workflow, getting context with MCP is actually a detour and not a shortcut.

Claude Code CLI 2.0.73 changelog:

• Added clickable [Image #N] links that open attached images in the default viewer.

• Added alt-y yank-pop to cycle through kill ring history after ctrl-y yank.

• Added search filtering to the plugin discover screen (type to filter by name, description, or marketplace).

• Added support for custom session IDs when forking sessions with --session-id combined with --resume or --continue and --fork-session

• Fixed slow input history cycling and race condition that could overwrite text after message submission.

• Improved /theme command to open theme picker directly.

• Improved theme picker UI.

• Improved search UX across resume session, permissions, and plugins screens with a unified SearchBox component.

• [VSCode] Added tab icon badges showing pending permissions (blue) and unread completions (orange).

Source: Anthropics Claude Code(GitHub)

I currently use Claude Desktop with official MCP filesystem and I have a fairly fluid experience. Ideally, I would like to use an extension directly into VSCode or Zed, avoiding the back and forward between editor and Claude Desktop. Not sure if Roo Code would allow me to do this with a Max subscription, I’m using a Mac. Using an API is definitely not cost effective.

Looks like they haven’t integrated checkpoints yet but I’m sure it’s coming soon. With the new Claude Code extension it’s hard to reason why anyone would stay with Cursor’s pricing model. VSCode + Cursor feels so much lighter and let’s be real, all we really want is Sonnet. There’s also some really amazing features that Claude Code brings to the table.

Immediately canceled my $200 Cursor Ultra sub (which usage runs out in days) for the much better pricing model of $100 Claude Code Max which keeps replenishing your usage in a number of hours not every month

https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=anthropic.claude-code

I have a Claude Pro membership and an Anthropic API key for using through Cline in VS Code. I am impressed with the IDE-based Copilot experience, but it is turning out to be costly! What are the ways to optimize Cline or VS Code settings to minimize the API costs?

As part of our release of Claude Sonnet 4.5, we're also updating how you can access Claude Code.

A native VS Code extension brings Claude Code directly into your IDE. You can now see Claude's changes in real-time through a dedicated sidebar panel with inline diffs. The extension provides a richer, graphical Claude Code experience for users who prefer to work in IDEs over terminals.

Get it here.

The code execution tool allows Claude to execute Python code in a secure, sandboxed environment. Claude can analyze data, create visualizations, perform complex calculations, and process uploaded files directly within the API conversation. We just released a few major updates to the code execution tool in the Anthropic API.

• bash: Run bash commands in the container

• str_replace: Replace a unique string in a file with another string (the string must appear exactly once)

• view: View text files, images, and directory listings

  • Supports viewing directories (lists files up to 2 levels deep)

  • Can display images (.jpg, .jpeg, .png, .gif, .webp) visually

  • Shows numbered lines for text files with optional line ranges

• create: Create a new file with content in the container

We've also added some highly requested libraries:

• Seaborn for data viz (see attached example generated by the code execution tool from an uploaded data set)

• OpenCV for image processing

• Several command-line utilities, including bc, sqlite, unzip, rg, and fd

And extended the container lifetime from 1 hour to 30 days.

Together, these updates unlock new capabilities and make the code execution tool more efficient, requiring fewer tokens on average

See all the details in the docs: https://docs.anthropic.com/en/docs/agents-and-tools/tool-use/code-execution-tool

Noticed in last claude code there is now a vsix extension shipping in Vendor, Also there is a claude code jetbrain folder with multiple jar files. It seem it's a hidden feature coming. The vscode extension seem in early stages and mainly a wrapper and adds a nice Code icon to invoque it directly.