Istar VS Code Setup v4.0.0

Changelog

All notable changes to this guide will be documented in this file.

The format is based on Keep a Changelog,
and this project adheres to Semantic Versioning.

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[4.0.0] -- 2026-07-12

Added

• Istar Code v5.0.0 Kernel (system/istar-code.md) -- Deterministic, model-agnostic autonomous coding agent with:

  • Instruction hierarchy (5 levels, safety > repo conventions > user > skills > defaults)
  • Deterministic execution cycle: INSPECT > PLAN > EXECUTE > VERIFY > REFLECT with phase gates
  • Task classification & routing (6 classes: T1-T6) with decision table
  • Tool selection hierarchy with mandatory batching rules
  • Context budgeting (50-60% task / 20-25% loaded / 10-15% memory / 5-10% system) with auto-compression
  • Verification hierarchy (V1-V6) with minimum V3 enforcement
  • Structured memory system (6 files, max 50 lines, 4 write gates)
  • Skill system with lifecycle: Candidate > Proposed > Active > Deprecated > Archived
  • Safety rules (archive over delete, 2-failure stop, ask before destructive)

• Agent Internal Commands (agent/internal-commands.md) -- 35-command system:

  • Bootstrap: /init, /status, /scan
  • Debug: /debug, /debugcomplete, /fix
  • Quality: /test, /review, /config
  • Intelligence: /skills, /mcp, /plan, /sync, /learn
  • Evolution: /upgrade, /addcommand
  • Git: /gitstatus, /diff, /commit, /commitall, /commitfix, /branch
  • Release: /prepare-release, /release, /releasepatch, /releaseminor, /releasemajor, /changelog
  • History: /history, /rollback
  • GitHub: /pr, /reviewpr, /githubsync, /gitclean
  • Version: /version
  • Auto-evolution triggers (6 detection patterns)

• New Skills:

  • memory-maintenance -- Detection, verification, compression, archiving for durable memory
  • skill-creation -- Full lifecycle from candidate to archived with validation gates

• Hooks System:

  • hooks/post-task.md -- 7-question reflection with 3 gates (stable/useful/concise)

• Project Documentation (project/):

  • repo-profile.md -- Repository overview, structure, conventions, configs
  • stack.md -- Complete tech stack, MCP servers, tools, env vars, integration points
  • conventions.md -- Coding patterns for PS, TS, JSON, MD, Git, Istar Pack, agent behavior
  • commands.md -- All commands for agent, scripts, MCP, git, skills, memory, validation

• Memory System Updates:

  • memory/project_istar-vscode-setup.md -- Project-specific profile with evidence refs
  • Updated conventions.md, decisions_log.md, failures_log.md, skill_usage_stats.md, user_preferences.md

• Project Config (.kilo/kilo.json) -- Project-specific Kilo Code configuration

Changed

• Kernel upgraded from v3.0.0 (8-layer) to v5.0.0 (16-section deterministic kernel)
• Agent architecture redefined with explicit phase gates, tool hierarchy, context budgeting
• Skills upgraded with lifecycle management and auto-verification
• Memory now uses 4 write gates (stable, useful, concise, evidenced)

Fixed

• Extension config file_path now points to local examples/Code-Format-Standards.md
• Added .kilo/kilo.json project config (was template only)

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[3.0.0] -- 2026-07-06

Added

• Master install script -- scripts/setup/install-all.ps1 installs everything in one command.
• Extension installer -- scripts/setup/install-extensions.ps1 installs recommended VS Code extensions by category.
• Recommended extensions -- vscode/recommended-extensions.json with 5 categories and 25+ curated extensions.
• Workspace extension recommendations -- .vscode/extensions.json with 15 recommended extensions.
• Skills catalog -- docs/reference/skills-catalog.md listing 150+ available Kilo Code skills organized by domain.
• Documentation index -- docs/README.md with table of contents linking all documentation.
• Agent definition in standard location -- .github/copilot/agents/istar-code.md for VS Code auto-discovery.

Changed

• Scripts reorganized -- Scripts split into scripts/setup/ (installation) and scripts/tools/ (utilities).
• Docs reorganized -- Superseded BYOK research moved to docs/archive/. New docs/reference/ for reference docs.
• README rewritten -- Mirrors new folder structure, adds quick-start table, updates all paths.
• vscode/copilot/agents/ -- Cleaner agent documentation location alongside .github/copilot/agents/.

Removed

• Superseded docs from root docs/: architecture.md, complete-report.md, bugs-found.md, links.md (moved to docs/archive/).
• Outdated scripts/README.md (replaced with new version).
• Redundant files from root scripts folder.

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[1.0.0] -- 2026-07-05

Added

• Initial release of the Ultimate Guide to VS Code + Kilo Code + OpenRouter.
• Full 19-section guide covering architecture, configs, models, providers, agents, permissions, MCP, Skills, and troubleshooting.
• Reference config files:
  • configs/cli-kilo.jsonc -- global CLI config
  • configs/extension-config.json -- VS Code extension config
  • configs/project-kilo.json -- per-project template
• 3 example Skills:
  • skills/istar-code-format.md -- code format standards enforcer
  • skills/git-commit-helper.md -- Conventional Commits generator
  • skills/powershell-best-practices.md -- PowerShell style enforcer
• PowerShell utility scripts:
  • scripts/backup-kilo-configs.ps1 -- timestamped backup
  • scripts/validate-kilo-configs.ps1 -- JSON syntax validation
  • scripts/find-object-form-instructions.ps1 -- find broken instructions blocks
  • scripts/install-skills.ps1 -- copy example Skills to ~/.kilo/skills/
  • scripts/restore-kilo-configs.ps1 -- restore from backup
• Example rules file: examples/Code-Format-Standards.md
• MCP servers reference: examples/mcp-servers-reference.jsonc
• MIT License
• Contributing guidelines (CONTRIBUTING.md)

Documented Discoveries

• The two-config architecture (CLI vs extension) and why mixing them breaks everything.
• The instructions schema trap: array form (string[]) in CLI, object form ({ file_path }) in extension.
• Per-project configs use the CLI schema, not the extension schema.
• doom_loop: Deny is mandatory to prevent infinite agent loops.
• Indexing is temporarily unavailable as of the April 2026 Kilo Code rebuild.
• Orchestrator mode is deprecated; Code, Plan, and Debug agents now delegate automatically.
• continue_loop_on_deny experimental flag makes Ask permission tolerable.
• The Skill Manager requires source repository configuration for remote Skills.
• UI shows Not set for all models when the CLI config is invalid (symptom, not cause).

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Versioning Policy

• Major (1.x.x -> 2.x.x): Breaking changes to config schemas or scripts
• Minor (1.0.x -> 1.1.x): New sections, new Skills, new scripts (non-breaking)
• Patch (1.0.0 -> 1.0.1): Fixes, clarifications, typo corrections

Istar VS Code Setup v3.0.0 - Reorganized + Tools

Istar VS Code Setup v3.0.0

Major reorganization with new tools, extensions installer, and skills catalog.

New

• Master installer: scripts/setup/install-all.ps1 -- one command installs everything
• Extension installer: scripts/setup/install-extensions.ps1 -- 25+ extensions by category
• Skills catalog: docs/reference/skills-catalog.md -- 150+ Kilo Code skills by domain
• Recommended extensions: vscode/recommended-extensions.json (5 categories) + .vscode/extensions.json (15 recommendations)
• Documentation index: docs/README.md with unified table of contents
• Workspace agent location: .github/copilot/agents/ for VS Code auto-discovery

Reorganized

• Scripts split into scripts/setup/ (installation) and scripts/tools/ (utilities)
• Superseded BYOK docs moved to docs/archive/
• All paths and references updated for new structure
• README rewritten to mirror new folder layout

Quick start

# One command to install everything
.\scripts\setup\install-all.ps1

# Or install only extensions
.\scripts\setup\install-extensions.ps1

Istar VS Code Setup v2.0.0 - Copilot Chat Integration

Istar VS Code Setup v2.0.0

Istar Code agent integration with GitHub Copilot Chat.

What's new

• Istar Code agent in Copilot Chat -- Custom agent registered as @Istar-code in VS Code Copilot Chat
• 8-layer token optimization -- Context budgeting, progressive disclosure, output compression, tool batching
• BYOK provider support -- Works with Groq, Cerebras, OpenRouter (x2), and Gemini
• Automatic setup -- Run scripts/byok-master.ps1 to register the agent
• Full documentation -- See docs/copilot-chat-integration.md

New files

File	Purpose
.github/copilot/agents/istar-code.md	Full agent definition (markdown)
.github/copilot/agents/README.md	Agent registration instructions
docs/copilot-chat-integration.md	Integration guide
vscode/settings.json (updated)	Added agent registration + default agent

Architecture

Both Copilot Chat and Kilo Code share the same Istar Code agent definition:

• Copilot Chat uses @Istar-code for quick tasks, code explanations, inline edits
• Kilo Code uses the same agent for complex multi-step tasks with MCP orchestration
• Both use the same model routing and fallback chains

Quick start

# Automatic setup
.\scripts\byok-master.ps1

# Then in VS Code, type @istar-code in Copilot Chat

Istar VSCode Setup v1.0.0

Istar VSCode Setup v1.0.0

First combined release merging Kilo Code configs + Copilot Chat BYOK.

What's included

• Kilo Code configuration -- CLI, extension, and project configs optimized for OpenRouter free tier
• Istar Code agent -- 8-layer token-optimized agent (model-agnostic, works with any LLM)
• VS Code Copilot Chat BYOK -- settings.json + chatLanguageModels.json for Groq, Cerebras, OpenRouter, Gemini
• 4 skills -- istar-code-format, git-commit-helper, powershell-best-practices, token-optimizer
• 12 scripts -- automated setup, backup, validation, recovery
• 8 documentation files -- research, architecture, troubleshooting, OpenRouter guides
• 6 memory files -- generic persistent agent memory templates
• Token optimization -- context budgeting, progressive disclosure, output compression, tool batching

Model research highlights

• Only 4 free models are consistently reliable: Gemma 4 26B, North Mini Code, Laguna XS 2.1, gpt-oss-20b
• NVIDIA free-tier avoided (32 workers global -- <5% reliability)
• DeepSeek V4 Flash (.05/M) is the best paid model for coding
• Per-agent fallback chains with 3-4 levels and diverse providers

Quick start

See README.md for installation instructions.