CodeAIde is an AI-powered coding assistant that automates the process of writing and running code with natural language interactions. This tool wraps around an LLM API client so that you can interact with the LLM in a chat window to request code or changes to previously generated code. Users can then execute the code directly from the application without the need to manage environments, install dependencies, etc. Errors in the code execution are caught automatically and users have the option to share the error with the LLM to request a fix.
This is designed to be a simple, intuitive tool for writing, running, and refining simple Python scripts. It is not meant to be a full IDE or code editing environment and isn't a replacement for a tool like Cursor or the Github Copilot extension in VSCode. Instead, it is intended to be a simple tool for quickly writing code and getting it working without the need to worry about setting up environments, installing dependencies, etc. This is ideal for simple tasks and for beginners who want to try out an idea without the need to set up a complex development environment.
Currently, CodeAIde supports OpenAI and Anthropic APIs. Users can select the model provider and the specific model in the chat window. The chat agent will prompt the user to enter the associated API key if it is not already set in the .env file.
- Natural language code generation
- Support for OpenAI and Anthropic APIs
- Version control for generated code
- Local code execution and testing
- Automatic error handling and sharing with LLM for fixes
Here are some example videos demonstrating use. Example prompts can be accessed by clicking "Use Example" and selecting from available examples.
First, a simple matplotlib plot with followup requests to modify aesthetics.
sample_matplotlib.mp4
- Python 3.9 or higher
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Clone the repository:
git clone https://github.com/dougollerenshaw/CodeAIde.git cd CodeAIde -
Create a Conda environment:
conda create -n codeaide python=3.11 conda activate codeaide -
Install the required packages:
pip install -r requirements.txt -
Set up your API key:
You'll need an API key for Google, OpenAI, and/or Anthropic to use this tool. Google keys are free and allow limited access to the Gemini models. A free acount gives plenty of access for simple tasks. Unrestricted access requires a paid account. OpenAI and Anthropic do not offer free tiers. Each request to the API will result in a charge against your account. Individual requests are small (on the order of a couple of cents), but long conversations can get expensive.
When you first run the application and attempt to interact with a given API, you'll be prompted to enter your API key and be provided with instructions for how to obtain one if you don't already have an API key.◊
To start CodeAIde for actual code generation, run:
python codeaide.py
This will bring up a chat window where you can start your conversation.
Follow the prompts to interact with the AI assistant. You can:
- Enter coding tasks or questions
- Read the generated code in a popup before running
- Execute code locally
- Request changes or improvements from the LLM (the previous code will remain in the model's context window)
- Copy the code to your clipboard or save it as a standalone file
- Select and re-run any previous version of the code form the current conversation.
The following features do not currently exist, but adding them in the future would make this project more useful:
- Support for more code languages. Currently only Python is supported. Additional language support would require backend support for automatically compiling/running generated code in that language.
- Chat history support. Currently, when a session ends, the chat history is lost. Ideally it would be possible to keep the chat history and associated code and make it searchable across sessions.
- API usage tracking. The API messages contain information with the number of prompt and response tokens. We can track these during a session to estimate the total cost of all API requests.
Contributions to CodeAIde are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the license file for details.
CodeAIde is an experimental tool and should be used with caution. Always review and test generated code before using it in production environments. And since code is executed locally, be careful what you ask for! For example, if you ask for a program that will wipe the entire contents of your hard drive, you might well get exactly what you asked for.
For any questions or feedback, please open an issue on the GitHub repository or email me directly at [email protected].
Note: This project is currently in development. Features and usage may change as the project evolves.