Welcome! 👋 This is a guide on how to contribute to LineMage. We want to make it as easy as possible to contribute, so if you have any questions or comments, reach out via email or Discord!
We use a [VSCode extension](https://code.visualstudio.com/api/get-started/your-first-extension) to implement most of LineMage's functionality. Scroll down to see 1. How to contribute to the Extension, or 2. How to contribute to the full IDE (for more native changes).
1. Show red deletions (-) inside diffs. Right now we're only showing green insertions (+). Diffs currently work by highlighting all of the new code in green with a simple text decoration. Instead, we would like to use code from VS Code's native diffEditor to show the diffs ("inline" mode). We could alternatively keep what we have and add red zones of the deleted code between lines.
2. Make diffs responsive. When a user accepts a diff, all of the diffs below it should be updated (because they are now on different line numbers). We're not doing this, so there is a lot of unexpected behavior.
3. Make diff highlighting dynamic. Right now when the user edits text, we clear all the diffs and their highlights. Instead, we should simply update the highlighting of the diff. Each diff lives on a range of lines, and all changes inside that range or intersecting with it should update its highlighting.
When the user submits a response or presses the apply/accept/reject button, we should add these events to the history and allow the user to use undo/redo on them. Right now there is unexpected behavior if the user tries to undo or redo their LineMage changes.
## ⭐⭐⭐ Build Cursor-style quick edits (ctrl+k).
When the user presses ctrl+k, an input box should appear inline with the code that they were selecting. This is somewhat difficult to do because an extension alone cannot do this, and it requires creating a new component in the IDE. We think you can modify vscode's built-in "codelens" or "zone widget" components, but we are open to alternatives.
## ⭐⭐⭐ Improve ctrl+L.
Change the prompt so we output changes like `// ... rest of file`, instead of always outputting the entire file. When the user clicks "apply", the model should rewrite the file and apply diffs in the correct locations.
We have an Ollama integration coded up in the extension, but it breaks. This is because Ollama has Node.js dependencies like 'path' and 'os' which cannot run in extensions (extensions have to be able to run in the browser). To fix this, we need to migrate LineMage's extension so that it runs natively into the VS Code editor so that we can access Node.js.
Press <kbd>F5</kbd>. This will start a new instance of VS Code with the extension enabled. If this does not work, you can press <kbd>F1</kbd>, select "Debug: Start Debugging", press <kbd>Enter</kbd>, and select "VS Code Extension Development".
If you would like to use AI features, you need to provide an API key. You can do that by going to Settings (<kbd>Ctrl+,</kbd>) and modifying `linemage > "Anthropic Api Key"`. The "Which API" environment variable controls the provider and defaults to "anthropic".
Beyond the extension, we sometimes edit the IDE when we need to access more functionality. If you want to make a change to the IDE, please follow the steps below, or see VS Code's full [how to contribute](https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/wiki/How-to-Contribute) page.
3. Run `./scripts/code.sh` to open up the built IDE. To see new changes without restarting the build, use <kbd>Ctrl+Shift+P</kbd> and run "Reload Window".
To bundle the IDE, run `yarn gulp vscode-win32-x64`. Here are the full options: vscode-{win32-ia32 | win32-x64 | darwin-x64 | darwin-arm64 | linux-ia32 | linux-x64 | linux-arm}(-min)
- Allow access to the VS Code extension marketplace.
- Re-write the whole file when the user clicks "Apply" and show a gray progress indicator in the BG.
### Diffs
"Diffs" are the inline green/red highlights you see to approve or reject a change.
- Diffs are not responsive to edits right now. To make them responsive, we need to update all Diffs' ranges every time there's a change.
- Right now Diffs are only shown in green as a simple text decoration. We'd like to have them work better by using code from VS Code's native diffEditor ("inline" mode).
- **Events:** On many types of events, we should reject all the current Diffs (user submits a new chat message, clicks Apply, etc).
### Ollama
- Ollama doesn't work now because its JS library depends on Node.js and uses imports like 'path', 'os', while extensions must be able to run in the browser. When we migrate the extension into the VS Code codebase, we'll be able to access Node.js and will uncomment the Ollama integration.
