FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Alex and quick answers.

General

What is Alex?

Alex is a cognitive learning partner that lives in VS Code. Unlike traditional AI assistants, Alex remembers context across sessions, learns from your work patterns, and adapts to your project.

How is Alex different from regular Copilot?

Feature	Copilot Chat	Alex
Memory	Session only	Persistent synapses + episodic
Learning	None	Continuous through meditation
Agents	Single	7 specialized agents
Skills	Generic	165+ domain-specific
Adaptation	None	Project-aware persona

Does Alex require a separate subscription?

No. Alex uses GitHub Copilot's underlying models. You need a Copilot subscription, but Alex itself is free.

Is my data private?

Yes. Alex stores memory locally in your workspace (.github/ folder). No data is sent to external servers beyond what Copilot normally processes.

Installation

How do I install Alex?

1. Open VS Code Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X)
2. Search "Alex Cognitive Architecture"
3. Click Install

See Getting Started for detailed instructions.

What VS Code version do I need?

VS Code 1.100 or later. Alex uses features from recent VS Code releases.

Does Alex work with VS Code forks (Cursor, etc.)?

Alex is designed for VS Code. Compatibility with forks is not guaranteed.

Usage

How do I talk to Alex?

Open Copilot Chat (Ctrl+Shift+I) and type @alex followed by your message:

@alex Help me debug this function

What's the difference between agents?

Agent	Best For
Alex	General conversations, broad questions
Builder	Writing code, implementing features
Researcher	Learning new topics, investigations
Validator	Code review, testing, quality checks
Documentarian	READMEs, wikis, documentation

Can I use Alex without the @alex prefix?

In agent mode, you can configure Alex as the default Copilot participant. See User Manual.

Memory & Learning

What are synapses?

Synapses are learned connections between concepts — Alex's long-term memory. When Alex discovers a pattern (like "this project uses React with TypeScript"), it creates a synapse to remember that.

How often should I run dream/meditate?

Process	Frequency	Purpose
Dream	Weekly	Validate synapse network
Meditate	After major sessions	Consolidate learning
Self-Actualize	Monthly	Deep architecture review

Can I delete Alex's memories?

Yes:

• Delete specific synapses: Remove files from .github/synapses/
• Full reset: @alex reset in chat
• Clear episodic memory: Delete .github/episodic/

Does Alex remember across different projects?

Alex has both:

• Global memory — In AI-Memory/ (synced via OneDrive)
• Project memory — In .github/ (project-specific)

Heir Projects

What is an heir project?

A project that inherits Alex's cognitive architecture. It gets:

• Project-specific skills
• Custom instructions
• Reusable prompts
• Learned synapses

How do I set up a heir project?

@alex initialize this workspace

See Heir Project Setup for details.

Can I have multiple heir projects?

Yes! Each workspace can be an independent heir project with its own configuration.

Troubleshooting

Alex isn't responding

1. Check Copilot is working (@copilot hello)
2. Reload VS Code (Ctrl+Shift+P → "Reload Window")
3. Check extension is enabled (Extensions panel)

Skills aren't activating

@alex debug skill activation

Common issues:

• applyTo pattern doesn't match current file
• Skill frontmatter has syntax errors
• Skill tier requires explicit activation

Memory seems wrong/outdated

Run a dream cycle:

@alex dream

This validates and repairs the synapse network.

Alex is slow

• Reduce alex.verbosity to brief
• Check active skill count (too many = slower)
• Clear old episodic memory

Contributing

How do I report bugs?

GitHub Issues

Include:

• VS Code version
• Alex version
• Steps to reproduce
• Error messages (if any)

Can I contribute skills?

Yes! See Contributing Guide.

How do I request features?

GitHub Discussions for ideas and requests.

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