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sabbir-mahmud edited this page Jul 21, 2026 · 1 revision

Getting Started with Black IDE

This guide will help you install, configure, and start using Black IDE.

🛠️ Installation

Black IDE is distributed as a custom standalone distribution of VS Code (packaged as an Electron application). You can download pre-compiled releases for macOS, Linux, and Windows from the GitHub Releases page.

Release Channels

Channel Repository Installs alongside stable?
Stable — black-ide ornate-source/blackIDE —
Insiders — black-ide-insiders ornate-source/blackIDE-insiders Yes — separate app, settings, and data folder

Insiders uses its own bundle identifier and data directory (.black-ide-insiders), so the two channels never share state and can be run side by side.

Platform Notes:

  • macOS: Download the .dmg or .zip file for your architecture (usually Apple Silicon darwin-arm64 or Intel darwin-x64). Mount the DMG and drag Black IDE to your /Applications folder.
  • Linux: Download the appropriate package (like .deb, .rpm, or .tar.gz) for your distribution.
  • Windows: Download the installer executable .exe or portable zip archive.

🚀 First Steps

After launching Black IDE for the first time, follow these steps to get oriented:

  1. Open a Project: Go to File > Open Folder... to open your workspace.
  2. Access the AI Agent: Look for the Black IDE Chat icon in the sidebar (Activity Bar). This opens the native AI coding assistant.
  3. Add an API Key: Run ✦ Black IDE Settings from the Command Palette and add a key for Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, OpenRouter, or point it at a local Ollama instance. Keys go to the OS keychain, not settings.json. See AI Agent.
  4. Configure Settings: Go to File > Preferences > Settings (Cmd+, or Ctrl+,) to customize your editor preferences.
  5. Install Extensions: Click the Extensions icon in the Activity Bar to browse and install tools from the Open VSX Registry.

💡 Key Differences from VS Code

Black IDE is fully based on the open-source core of Visual Studio Code, but contains several important changes:

  • No Telemetry: All tracking, feedback reports, and background telemetry endpoints have been patched out of the codebase.
  • Open VSX Gallery: It connects to the Open VSX Registry instead of the proprietary Microsoft Marketplace by default.
  • Built-in AI Assistant: Built directly into the core editor is black-ide-agent, an autonomous developer loop with checkpoint undo controls.

⌨️ Essential Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut (macOS) Shortcut (Win/Linux) Action
Cmd + Shift + P Ctrl + Shift + P Open the Command Palette
Cmd + P Ctrl + P Quick Open (Search/Go to File)
Cmd + I Ctrl + I Trigger Editor-Native Inline Chat
Cmd + , Ctrl + , Open User Settings
Cmd + K Cmd + S Ctrl + K Ctrl + S View and edit Keyboard Shortcuts

🔗 Next Steps

Home

Getting Started

Core Guides

Developer Guides

Technical KT

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