It implements the same protocol the official plugins use, so the Claude CLI connects to it automatically. You don't configure anything, just install the extension and click Launch.
The main thing it adds over running Claude in a terminal is that edits open in Visual Studio's native diff viewer instead of auto-applying or prompting you in the terminal. You click Accept or Reject right there. You can also reject with a reason, and Claude will take another pass.
It also shares your compiler errors (C# and C++) and your current selection with the CLI automatically, so Claude has context without you having to copy-paste anything.
A few other things: - There's a dockable panel with connection status and token/cost stats for the session - A "run wild" toggle to auto-accept edits without opening the diff Works with the existing claude CLI, no model calls of its own
Marketplace: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=firish.b...
Discussion (3 Comments)Read Original on HackerNews
The Claude IDE protocol is undocumented. I reverse-engineered it from the official plugins' WebSocket traffic. For anyone who's built on an undocumented protocol like this, is there a reliable way to handle contract drift when there's no guaranteed spec to code against?