Getting Started with Autohand for VS Code

Requirements

Visual Studio Code 1.85 or later
Autohand account (free tier available)
Internet connection for AI features

Installation

From the VS Code Marketplace

Open VS Code
Go to Extensions (Cmd+Shift+X / Ctrl+Shift+X)
Search for "Autohand"
Click Install

From the command line

code --install-extension AutohandAI.vscode-autohand

Manual installation

Download the .vsix file from the VS Code Marketplace and install via:

code --install-extension autohand-code-x.x.x.vsix

Authentication

After installation, you need to authenticate with your Autohand account.

Open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P)
Type "Autohand: Sign In"
Click the button to open the authentication page
Sign in with your Autohand account
Authorize the VS Code extension

You'll see a confirmation message when authentication is complete.

API Key alternative: If you prefer, you can authenticate using an API key. Go to Settings > Extensions > Autohand and enter your API key.

Your first conversation

Once authenticated, you're ready to start coding with Autohand.

Open the chat panel

Click the Autohand icon in the Activity Bar (left sidebar)
Or use the keyboard shortcut: Cmd+Shift+A / Ctrl+Shift+A
Or open Command Palette and type "Autohand: Open Chat"

Start a conversation

Type a message in the chat input. Try something like:

Explain what this file does and suggest any improvements

Autohand will analyze your current file and respond with insights and suggestions.

Make changes

Ask Autohand to make changes to your code:

Add error handling to the fetchUser function

Autohand will propose changes. You can:

Accept - Apply the changes to your file
Reject - Discard the proposed changes
Edit - Modify the changes before applying

Set up project context

Help Autohand understand your project by creating an AGENTS.md file.

Generate automatically

Open Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P / Ctrl+Shift+P)
Type "Autohand: Initialize Project"
Review the generated AGENTS.md file

Create manually

Create an AGENTS.md file in your project root:

# AGENTS.md

## Project overview
A React application for managing user tasks.

## Tech stack
- React 18 with TypeScript
- Tailwind CSS for styling
- React Query for data fetching

## Commands
- `npm run dev` - Start development server
- `npm test` - Run tests
- `npm run build` - Production build

## Code style
- Use functional components with hooks
- Prefer named exports
- Write tests for business logic

Keyboard shortcuts

Action	Mac	Windows/Linux
Open chat panel	Cmd+Shift+A	Ctrl+Shift+A
Inline suggestion	Cmd+I	Ctrl+I
Accept suggestion	Tab	Tab
Reject suggestion	Escape	Escape
Explain selection	Cmd+Shift+E	Ctrl+Shift+E
Fix selection	Cmd+Shift+F	Ctrl+Shift+F

Customize shortcuts in VS Code Settings > Keyboard Shortcuts.

Settings

Configure Autohand in VS Code Settings (Cmd+, / Ctrl+,) under Extensions > Autohand.

Setting	Description	Default
`autohand.model`	AI model to use	z-ai/glm-4.7
`autohand.autoSuggest`	Enable inline suggestions	true
`autohand.contextFiles`	Max files to include in context	20
`autohand.showInlineHints`	Show hints in editor	true

Next steps

Explore VS Code features - Learn about all available features
AGENTS.md guide - Write better project context
Skills system - Extend capabilities with skills
Best practices - Work effectively with AI agents