I've tried TabNine but has this sin of refactoring my code even when I ask only to suggest a documentation for it. Yet for now I think it's still the most useful free one on the market. I've tried others but still none has been proven as satisfying. Any suggestions?
EDIT: Also, do you have any open source suggestions? Pls specify it when you comment
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Hello everyone,
I'm looking for recommendations for a solid AI coding assistant/extension to use with Visual Studio Code (VS Code).
My most important constraint is that the tool must be completely free to use, with no paid tiers, no subscription, or generous free tiers with daily/monthly limits. I'm ideally looking for an open-source solution, an officially free tool, or a method that leverages a free API/local setup without incurring any costs.
Here is what I am looking for:
Platform/IDE: Visual Studio Code (VS Code) extension.
Cost: Absolutely Free (No trial, no credit card required, no paid features that are essential)
Primary Use Case:
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Code generation from natural language/comments
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Debugging/error explanation
Need:
I'm looking for an assistant that is good at planning, context awareness across multiple files, and generating clean, integrated solutions, not just isolated snippets.
Programming Language:
Mainly Python and maybe some html.
Staff React dev here, my day job don't allow the use of any AI coding tools, so I haven’t really haven't gotten the reps in.
Starting next week I'll be going on a sabatical for the next 3 months, I’m building a journal app for my new born daughter. I've got the rough architecture filled out and I want to use this project to really try out vibe coding and get comfortable with agents and the new coding workflow.
I'm now debating which way to go.
I’m aware of AI native IDEs like Cursor, Kiro and now Antigravity, which looks like at least is partially built on vs code.
I also see CLI options like Claude code and OpenAI's codex, do you all have the terminal open and go back and forth between the two?
Lastly what about VS code extensions like kilo code, cline or kombai? I've never heard of any of these, i'm willing to switch IDE or terminal in the future but for now I prefer to stay in plain VS Code with an addon extension.
Basically, if you want least changes to the VS Code environment, how would you set up a coding agents and which ones are best with frontend React work?