Please be aware that the web version of Codebuddy has been discontinued. You can still use it, but it is a very rough early version that is missing many important features compared to the VSCode and Jetbrains versions. We recommend getting the VSCode or Jetbrains plugin and using Codebuddy right in your IDE as this has proven to be the best way to experience the AI tool.

Getting Started with Codebuddy's Online Editor

Welcome to the exciting world of AI-enhanced coding with Codebuddy! This blog post will guide you through the initial steps of using Codebuddy and help you understand how to unlock its full potential.

Understanding Codebuddy

Codebuddy is an AI-powered coding tool designed to assist you in your software development journey. It can make sweeping, multi-tiered changes across your existing projects, create new files, and even engage in a detailed conversation about your code. Think of Codebuddy as a full-stack developer at your disposal! It is important to understand however that you control the context of each message you send to Codebuddy. You select which files to include, whether or not to include the filesystem list, and you control how much chat history Codebuddy sees with each message through conversation controls.

Key Points to Remember

1. A replacement for ChatGPT: Codebuddy is based on OpenAI's GPT4 and all of your communication with the AI uses GPT4. Rather than copying files into a ChatGPT prompt, you can simply select files to include in your prompt, or use the Filesystem checkbox to include the file and folder structure as part of your prompt. Codebuddy is much more than that however as it is also capable of applying code changes directly to your files as you discussed them with the AI.
2. Context is Key: This is the context space dial. It tells you how much context memory space is available for you to fill with your prompt. Each time you speak with the AI, your prompt/message (including any files, previous conversation, and other inclusions) must fit within the context space of a single request to GPT4. This dial helps you to maintain control over that. Codebuddy relies on the context you provide to understand your project. You can include your project's context by selecting files or checking the "Filesystem" checkbox. When creating new files, don't forget to select this checkbox to include the filesystem directory structure with your prompt. However, only the folders expanded in the left panel will be included. This feature helps you control the usage of your context memory. The context memory dial in the bottom-left corner of the screen indicates how much of your context memory you are using. If it's too much, you can reduce the amount of context memory left for your prompt and Codebuddy's response by unchecking files, removing messages in your conversation, starting a new conversation, or unchecking the filesystem checkbox. The context dial tells you how much context memory your prompt is going to use but make sure you leave some space for Codebuddy's reply!
3. Conversations as context: We attempt to organize your conversations with Codebuddy in a smart way so you never include too much chat history with each change. When Codebuddy responds with file code changes, it assumes that the conversation is complete. However, you can continue from where you left off by using the Reply button on a message. This will ensure that your next message will be part of the same conversation and the entire conversation will be included with your prompt as context. If you wish to start a new conversation (with a fresh chat history) use the New Conversation button to force starting a fresh conversation with the AI.
4. Starting a New Project: If you're starting a new project from scratch, Codebuddy won't know what directory structure to use unless you discuss it with the AI. This conversation is crucial to set up the basic structure of your new project. Starting a new project from scratch can sometimes be a challenge because there is nothing for Codebuddy to reference. For certain types of projects, like ones that use React, it might be best to use a tool like Create React App instead of getting Codebuddy to generate a new app for you from scratch. However, for smaller and simpler projects like Python projects or simple JavaScript components, you can start from scratch using Codebuddy. Just ensure to discuss the directory structure with Codebuddy first.
5. Sweeping Changes: Codebuddy is capable of making sweeping multi-tiered changes across an existing project. You can select UI components, services, controllers, and files that make up your project's views (like HTML, JavaScript, etc.) and ask Codebuddy to implement a feature that touches each file. All changes are applied to the files automatically, including the creation of new files.
6. Creating New Files: Codebuddy excels at creating new files from scratch or using reference files that exist in your project already. However, at the very least you will need to let Codebuddy know about your directory structure. You can do this by selecting the "Filesystem" checkbox. This checkbox will include all of the files and folders that are currently expanded in the Project Hierarchy panel in your project. Only folders that have been expanded will be included in the filesystem. We do it this way so that you can control how much context space is being used since some projects may have thousands of files and folders and this would quickly overflow the context memory size constraints. If you're starting a new project from nothing, simply discuss the basic directory tree first before creating new files.