Quickstart

Qodo Gen is an IDE plugin that deeply understands your code structure, logic, and context.

Using this knowledge, you can use Qodo Gen to write code, make changes quickly and generate tests.

How does it work?

Behind the scenes, Qodo Gen uses both advanced AI models and external tools to gain broad context on your project.

1. Install Qodo Gen on your IDE

For Visual Studio Code (VSCode):

1. Open VSCode.

2. Go to the Extensions view (Ctrl+Shift+X on Windows, cmd+Shift+X on Mac).

3. Search for Qodo Gen.

4. Click Install.

After installation, restart your extensions to activate Qodo Gen.

For JetBrains IDEs (IntelliJ IDEA, PyCharm, etc.):

1. Open your JetBrains IDE.

2. Go to Settings > Plugins.

3. Search for Qodo Gen in the marketplace.

4. Click Install.

Sign in to Qodo Gen

After installation, restart your IDE to activate Qodo Gen.

You'll then be prompted to sign in or create a Qodo account. Follow the on-screen instructions to authenticate.

Learn more about installation and setup in our documentation.

Open Qodo Gen

To open Qodo Gen click the Qodo Gen logo in the sidebar or extensions bar.

You'll see a chat input box where you can type commands and ask for help.

2. Use Qodo Gen Chat

Qodo Gen Chat is where you'll interact with AI models to gain help with your code.

Use the chat in different modes

Qodo Gen supports two modes: Standard mode and Agentic mode.

Standard Mode: A manual, command-driven experience where you control exactly what Qodo Gen focuses on and what context it uses. You select the code area (Focus) and the scope (Context) yourself, making it ideal for precise, predictable responses. Standard Mode does not automatically use external tools.

Agentic Mode: Qodo Gen’s intelligent mode where autonomous AI agents plan, decide, and carry out complex coding tasks on your behalf. Agents have full access to your project context and can use Agentic Tools (MCPs) like Git, Jira, and shell to interact with your code and environment dynamically. This enables more powerful workflows such as writing tests, refactoring, fixing bugs, and managing project tasks.

How to Switch Modes

Switch modes using the agent dropdown menu in the bottom-left corner of Qodo Gen.

Choose the mode that best fits your task, whether it’s precise manual commands or smart autonomous assistance.

Agentic Mode

With Agentic Mode Qodo Gen uses agents and Agentic Tools behind the scenes.

This enables more powerful workflows such as writing tests, refactoring, fixing bugs, and managing project tasks.

How to Use Qodo Gen Chat with Agentic Mode

No special setup is required. On the bottom left of Qodo Gen, find the agent dropdown menu and click it. Choose Agents. The look of Qodo Gen will change to indicate you're now using Qodo Gen in Agentic Mode.

You can open the agent dropdown menu to select, switch, or manage the active agent.

Add an Agent or an Agentic Tool

Discover how to create and maintain agents and add new agentic tools.

Example Usage

There are countless things you can do:

Git & Code Management

Summarize all local changes and suggest improvements before I commit.

Generate a commit message based on my changes and follow conventional commit guidelines.

Coding

Sum up what @functionName does.

Across the "auth" directory, find all occurrences where save() gets called,
and add save.full_clean() before saving.

Issue & Project Tracking

List all Jira tickets assigned to me that are in progress and not yet
linked to a branch.

Find all Jira tickets assigned to me that are marked as ‘In Progress’ but have no
recent Git commits linked. Suggest actions based on their status.

Standard Mode

Standard mode offers a manual Qodo Gen experience, letting you choose exactly what the AI models focus on and what context they have.

Select Focus and Context

Choose what part of your code Qodo Gen will focus on and use as context in your query.

Use Qodo Gen in Standard Mode

Now that you're set with Context and Focus, go ahead and ask Qodo Gen to help with various coding tasks.

You can call a command or ask any free-style questions.

There are countless things you can do:

Explain Code

Select some code and type:

/explain

or ask: “What does this function do?”

Get help on Git-diff and Local Changes:

Choosing Git Diff Focus enables you to get help with your local changes.

You can:

• Generate a commit message:

/commit

• Identify potential issues, such as security vulnerabilities or bugs:

/issues

• Get a comprehensive pull request review of the current changes:

/review

Ask any free-style question

Select some code and type any query you have:

How do I convert this list into a dictionary?

Can you rewrite this SQL query to be more efficient?

Can you suggest a better data structure for this use case?

3. Generate tests

You can use Qodo Gen to generate tests for your code.

Use Test Generation

In the chatbox, type:

/test

and hit the send key or click the arrow button.

Qodo Gen will start leading you through the test generation process.

4. Use Code Completion and Generation

You can use Qodo Gen's AI models for generating code straight from the IDE editor.

Enable Code Completion

To enable Code Completion:

1. Go to Qodo Gen's Chat Preferences.

2. Find the checkbox next to Code Completion.

3. Click the checkbox so that a tick ✅ appears in it. Code Completion is now on.

What does Code Completion do?

As you type, Qodo Gen analyzes your code in real-time to grasp your intention, and then presents code completions in a grayed-out format directly in your editor.

To accept a suggestion press the Tab key.

You can learn more about Code Completion in our Code Completion documentation.