VS Code Extensions
Cobuilder: AI Coding Tutor

Cobuilder: AI Coding Tutor

by MatthewUsuquen

Cobuilder is an AI programming tutor for VS Code that teaches through Socratic mentoring and project-based learning, offering staged hints, code and image attachments, web-sourced documentation, streaming responses, and persistent learning sessions.

Downloads

16

Rating

— (0)

Version

0.1.5

Last updated

Apr 09, 2026

A VS Code extension that uses the Claude API to teach programming through guided, project-based learning. Instead of giving you answers, Cobuilder acts as a Socratic tutor — asking questions, dropping hints, and guiding you to discover solutions yourself.

Features

  • Socratic mentoring — hints in stages (concept → pseudocode → minimal snippet), never full solutions upfront
  • Project-based curriculum — generates a concrete, creative project matched to your language and level, then breaks it into milestones
  • Streaming responses — see the mentor's reply as it types
  • Session persistence — conversations are saved locally and can be resumed later
  • File attachment — share code files directly in the chat for review
  • Image support — paste or attach screenshots of code/errors
  • Web search — mentor cites official docs when introducing new concepts

Requirements

Getting Started

  1. Install the extension
  2. Open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P) and run Cobuilder: Set Claude API Key
  3. Open the Cobuilder panel with Cmd+Shift+M (Mac) or Ctrl+Shift+M (Windows/Linux), or click the Cobuilder icon in the Activity Bar
  4. Choose your language, experience level, and an optional goal — then start learning

Commands

Command Description
Cobuilder: Open Chat Focus the Cobuilder panel
Cobuilder: Set Claude API Key Store your Anthropic API key (saved securely in VS Code's secret storage)
Cobuilder: New Session Start a fresh learning session
Cobuilder: Browse Past Sessions Load a previous conversation
Cobuilder: Attach File to Message Attach a code file to your next message

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut Action
Cmd+Shift+M / Ctrl+Shift+M Open Cobuilder
Cmd+Shift+A / Ctrl+Shift+A Attach a file

Development

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Compile TypeScript
npm run compile

# Watch for changes
npm run watch

Then press F5 in VS Code to launch the Extension Development Host.

Tech Stack

  • TypeScript + VS Code Extension API
  • @anthropic-ai/sdk for Claude API streaming
  • Model: claude-sonnet-4-6

License

MIT — see LICENSE