AI Studio

AI Studio is a Visual Studio 2022 extension that adds AI-assisted code generation, refactoring, documentation, testing, and security analysis to the IDE directly from the context menu.

• Download from Visual Studio Marketplace
• Report an issue or request a feature

Table of Contents

• Highlights
• Requirements
• Installation
• Quick Start
• Command Cheat Sheet
• Feature Walkthrough
• Configuration
• Advanced Customization
• Troubleshooting and Feedback
• License

Highlights

• Seamless right-click workflow across C#, XAML, and most text-based files inside Visual Studio.
• Supports OpenAI, Anthropic (Claude), and Ollama (local or cloud) — switch provider from the Options page.
• Generates or updates code while preserving formatting, documentation, and project conventions.
• Built-in commands for documentation, explanations, security review, and unit test creation keep teams in flow.
• Integrated Output tool window now supports follow-up chat with a VS-themed input bar and smooth streaming updates without focus jumps.

Requirements

• Visual Studio 2022 17.6 or later with the VSIX extension workload installed.
• An API key for your chosen provider (not required for local Ollama) with network access from the IDE.
• .NET Framework 4.8 SDK (installed with Visual Studio) for local builds.

Installation

Marketplace (recommended)

1. Open Visual Studio and choose Extensions > Manage Extensions.
2. Search for AI Studio.
3. Click Download and restart Visual Studio to complete the installation.

Build from source

1. Clone or fork this repository.
2. Open AI Studio.sln in Visual Studio 2022.
3. Build the solution in Release mode.
4. Double-click the generated .vsix under bin\Release to install it into your local instance.

Quick Start

1. Choose a provider and obtain an API key if required (see the Provider Setup section below).
2. Configure AI Studio via Tools > Options > AI Studio > General: set the AI Provider, paste the key, and enter the model name.
3. Pick a feature (for example, Code It) by selecting code, right-clicking, and choosing the desired AI Studio command.

Provider Setup

AI Studio supports three providers out of the box. Switch between them at any time under Tools > Options > AI Studio > General.

OpenAI

Setting	Value
AI Provider	OpenAI
API Key	Your key from platform.openai.com/account/api-keys
Language Model	e.g. gpt-4o-mini, gpt-4o, o4-mini
API Endpoint	https://api.openai.com/v1/ (default)

Anthropic (Claude)

Setting	Value
AI Provider	Anthropic
API Key	Your key from console.anthropic.com/settings/keys
Language Model	e.g. claude-sonnet-4-6, claude-opus-4-6, claude-haiku-4-5
API Endpoint	(not used — hardcoded to https://api.anthropic.com/v1/messages)

Ollama

Ollama can run models locally on your machine or via the Ollama cloud.

Local

Setting	Value
AI Provider	Ollama
API Key	(leave empty)
Language Model	e.g. llama3.2, mistral, codestral
API Endpoint	http://localhost:11434

Pull a model first with ollama pull llama3.2, then start Ollama before using AI Studio commands.

Cloud

Setting	Value
AI Provider	Ollama
API Key	Your key from ollama.com (if required)
Language Model	e.g. mistral, llama3.2
API Endpoint	https://ollama.com

AI Studio uses Ollama's native /api/chat endpoint. The endpoint field should be the base URL only — do not include /api or any path suffix.

Using Any Other OpenAI-Compatible Endpoint

Select OpenAI as the provider and change the API Endpoint to your private or self-hosted URL (e.g. https://llm.internal/api/v1). Enter the API key issued by that gateway and set the appropriate model name.

Command Cheat Sheet

Command	When to use	Output
Code It	Turn TODOs or signatures into working code.	Inserts generated implementation inline.
Add Comments	Document existing logic without manual XML comments.	Adds inline comments or summaries.
Add Summary	Produce XML doc comments for public APIs.	Generates <summary> and related tags.
Refactor	Improve readability or performance of selected code.	Replaces the selection with an optimized version.
Explain	Understand unfamiliar code quickly.	Displays a plain-language explanation.
Security Check	Inspect code for risky patterns and mitigations.	Lists potential vulnerabilities plus suggestions.
Add Unit Tests	Generate unit tests tailored to the selected method.	Creates a new test class or method snippet.

Feature Walkthrough

Code It

1. Place the caret on an empty method or select a stub.
2. Right-click and choose AI Studio > Code It.
3. Review the generated implementation and accept or adjust as needed.

Add Comments

1. Highlight the code you want documented.
2. Run AI Studio > Add Comments.
3. AI Studio adds concise inline comments without disturbing formatting.

Refactor

1. Select a method or block.
2. Choose AI Studio > Refactor.
3. Compare the result with the original and apply the pieces you want to keep.

Add Summary

1. Select a method header or type declaration.
2. Run AI Studio > Add Summary.
3. Automatically generates XML documentation that matches the signature.

Explain

1. Highlight unfamiliar code.
2. Choose AI Studio > Explain.
3. A popup summarizes what the code does and why.

Security Check

1. Select code that handles I/O, crypto, or user data.
2. Run AI Studio > Security Check.
3. Review the flagged issues and suggested mitigations.

Unit Test Generation

1. Highlight a method to test.
2. Run AI Studio > Add Unit Tests.
3. AI Studio generates arrange/act/assert scaffolding tailored to the method.

Test Configuration

Configure test generation under Tools > Options > AI Studio > Unit Test.

• Custom instructions let you specify frameworks (xUnit, NUnit, MSTest), naming rules, or mocking preferences.
• Response behavior controls how aggressively tests are regenerated versus appended.

Configuration

All configuration lives under Tools > Options > AI Studio:

• General
  • Paste your API key, pick the default model, and decide whether to format AI changes automatically.
  • Toggle telemetry/diagnostics and adjust temperature or response size if needed.
• Commands
  • Override the system prompt for each command, enforce coding guidelines, or switch to a custom model per command.
• Unit Test
  • Choose the target test framework, namespace, class name template, and add reusable instructions for deterministic tests.

Advanced Customization

• Custom prompts per command: Tailor Refactor to focus on performance while Configure Comments to prioritize XML docs using Tools > Options > AI Studio > Commands.
• Bring your own endpoint: Point the extension at Azure OpenAI, a private/self-hosted LLM gateway, or any OpenAI-compatible proxy by entering the base URL and model ID in the General page.
• Formatting control: Enable Format changed text to run Visual Studio formatting on every AI edit to keep diffs clean.
• Response behavior: Decide whether AI should insert results inline, append to the Output window first, or prompt for confirmation.

Troubleshooting and Feedback

• Verify your API key and quota if requests fail; the Output tool window surfaces errors returned by the provider.
• Ensure Visual Studio can reach the OpenAI endpoint (corporate proxies may need to allowlist it).
• Capture screenshots/logs and open an issue for bugs or ideas.
• Contributions are welcome via pull requests; please include before/after screenshots for UI tweaks.

License

AI Studio is released under the MIT License. Use it in personal or commercial projects with attribution.