🚀 Cogent: Your Agentic AI-Powered Coding Companion

"Because rubber duck debugging is better with a duck that talks back!"

Cogent is an agentic Github Copilot VSCode chat extension that transforms your coding environment into an autonomous development powerhouse. Think of it as having a brilliant (and slightly nerdy) AI agent who not only understands your code but can independently take actions while keeping you in control. It's your witty companion that makes coding feel like pair programming with a super-smart friend who never needs coffee breaks!

🎯 Prerequisites

Before we embark on this magical journey, make sure you have:

• 💳 Active GitHub Copilot subscription
• 📦 VS Code 1.95.0 or higher
• 🤖 GitHub Copilot Chat extension

✨ Features

• 🤖 Autonomous Agent - Works independently with minimal supervision
• 📝 Smart File Operations - Create, read, update and diff-apply for precise updates to also handle large files with AI precision
• 🎮 Command Execution - Run terminal commands without leaving your chat
• 🧠 Context-Aware - Understands your entire project structure
• 🤝 Pair Programming - Like pair programming, but your partner never needs coffee breaks
• 🔒 Safe Operations - Asks for your approval before making changes or running commands
• 📚 Workspace Awareness - Can load your entire workspace for better context (configurable)
• 📜 Custom Rules - Teach your AI companion your project's special needs

🚀 Installation

For Development

1. Clone the repository
2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Compile the extension:

   npm run compile

4. Press F5 in VS Code to start debugging

   This will open a new VS Code window with the extension loaded

Distribution

Want to package the extension for distribution? Easy peasy:

1. Install vsce globally:

   npm install -g @vscode/vsce

2. Package the extension:

   vsce package

   This creates a .vsix file you can distribute!

⚙️ Configuration

Workspace Awareness

Cogent can be as nosy or respectful as you want with your workspace:

• When true: Cogent loads your entire workspace upfront. Respects your .gitignore file
• When false: Reads files on-demand. This is the default setting.

💡 Tip: Disable for large workspaces unless you want Cogent to have a coffee break while loading!

Custom Rules

Want Cogent to follow your house rules? Create a .cogentrules file in your workspace root:

# Example .cogentrules
1. Always use TypeScript strict mode
2. Follow Angular style guide
3. No console.log(), use proper logging service

Think of it as leaving a note for your AI roommate about how to keep the code clean! 🧹

Auto Approval Mode

Want to live life on the edge?🎢 Enable auto approval for specific operations:

⚠️ WARNING: Enabling auto approval is like giving your AI assistant caffeine and a credit card. Fun things will happen faster, but maybe keep an eye on those pull requests! Remember: with great automation comes great "what did I just approve?" moments. 😅

🎮 Usage

1. Open GitHub Copilot Chat in VS Code
2. Type @Cogent followed by your request
3. Watch your agentic buddy spring into action!

Cogent works autonomously but always asks for your approval when:

• Creating or modifying files in your workspace
• Running terminal commands
• Making significant project changes

This ensures you stay in control while letting Cogent handle the heavy lifting!

💬 Example Conversations

You: "@Cogent Can you help me refactor this function?"
Cogent: "I'll analyze your code and suggest some improvements. Here's my plan..."

You: "@Cogent Create a new React component for user authentication"
Cogent: "I'll help you create a secure authentication component. First, let me outline the structure..."

🎭 Behind the Scenes

Cogent is powered by the GitHub Copilot and mighty Claude-3.5-Sonnet model. It's like having a tiny developer living in your VS Code. Don't worry, we feed them virtual cookies! 🍪

🤝 Contributing

Found a bug? Want to make Cogent even more awesome? We love contributions! Just:

1. Fork it (like a pro)
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazingness')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a PR and do a little victory dance 💃

🐛 Bug Reports

If something's not working quite right:

1. Open an issue
2. Tell us what went wrong (the more details, the better!)
3. Show us how to reproduce it
4. Cross your fingers and wait for the fix

📜 License

MIT - Because sharing is caring! Feel free to use this in your projects, but remember to give a virtual high-five back! 🖐️

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Made with ❤️ and lots of ☕ by awesome developers like you!

Remember: The best code is the one that works... but the second-best is not writing any code at all! 😉