VS Code extension

The Palabre extension for VS Code adds a multi-agent panel to the editor. It lets you prepare a subject, choose available agents, add workspace context, follow a Debate or Ask session, and open the Markdown export.

The extension remains a thin client: it launches palabre locally and consumes the public CLI contracts. Palabre CLI stays the source of truth for agents, presets, context rules, errors, and exports.

Chat is available in the Palabre TUI and direct CLI, but not yet in the VS Code extension.

Install Palabre for VS Code

Install Palabre from the VS Code Marketplace

After installation, open the Palabre panel from the sidebar. The extension uses the CLI installed on the same machine and the agents already configured by Palabre.

Requirements

• Palabre CLI installed on the same machine;
• Palabre CLI 0.12.0 or newer recommended;
• at least one available agent for Ask, two for Debate.

palabre --version
palabre doctor
palabre agents --json
palabre presets --json

If you are starting from scratch, follow the installation guide, then complete the first configuration.

Run an AI agent debate

From the Palabre panel:

1. choose Debate mode;
2. select two agents, such as Codex and Claude Code;
3. enter the subject to review;
4. add useful workspace files or folders;
5. start the session and follow the responses in the editor;
6. open the .debate.md export when the session ends.

The CLI still executes the debate. The extension renders NDJSON events without reimplementing the orchestration or changing their meaning.

Compare several answers with Ask

Ask sends the same question and context to several independent agents. Use it to compare a Codex proposal, a Claude Code analysis, and an OpenCode review before the final summary.

Choose Ask, select up to four agents, then add project context. Each agent answers without seeing the other responses.

Add workspace context

Context selection uses palabre context scan --json. Size limits, warnings, and exclusions therefore remain identical between the terminal and VS Code.

See Context and files to understand the difference between strict files and a tolerant folder scan.

Current features

• Debate or Ask selection and available agents;
• context selection through the official CLI scan;
• NDJSON response, summary, and error rendering;
• opening .debate.md and .ask.md exports;
• stopping Palabre and its child agents;
• quick settings and diagnostics.

For Chat, run palabre in a terminal and use /chat.

Troubleshoot common issues

If the extension cannot find Palabre, check palabre --version, then restart VS Code. If no agent appears, run:

palabre doctor
palabre config --sync-agents

If a preset is unavailable, palabre presets --json reports missing agents and their availability reason.

To continue, see Debate mode, Ask mode, and the agent overview.