Play chess inside VS Code against your own UCI engine, running fully local — no HTTP server, no API keys, no network calls.
Your engine binary (chess.exe or any UCI-compatible engine) is spawned
directly by the extension host and controlled over stdin/stdout, exactly the
way a GUI like Arena or Cute Chess talks to an engine.
Features
- Drag-and-drop or click-to-move board, legal-move hints, check highlighting
- Full move history with branching + keyboard navigation (← → ↑ Home/End)
- FEN / PGN import and export
- Independent White-bot / Black-bot toggles — watch the engine play itself, or play against it as either color
- Per-side search-depth selector and live depth/nodes/time stats
- Board flip, sound effects, promotion picker
Requirements
You need your own UCI-compatible chess engine executable. This extension does not ship one. See Setup below.
Getting started
- Install the extension.
- Copy your engine binary into the extension's
engine/folder (see the Setup Guide for exact steps), or setchanakya.enginePathin Settings to point at it. - Open the Command Palette → Chess: Open Chess Board.
- Toggle the bot switch on either player panel to have the engine play that side.
Extension Settings
| Setting | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
chanakya.enginePath |
Absolute path to your engine executable | "" (uses bundled engine/chess.exe) |
chanakya.defaultMovetimeMs |
Default thinking time per move (ms) | 1000 |
chanakya.defaultDepth |
Fixed search depth (0 = use movetime instead) | 0 |
chanakya.maxEngineInstances |
Warm engine processes kept in the pool | 2 |
Commands
Chess: Open Chess BoardChanakya: New GameChanakya: Flip Board
Privacy
Nothing in this extension makes a network request. All engine communication happens over local stdin/stdout between the extension host and your binary.
License
MIT — see LICENSE.