AI Toolkit for Visual Studio Code

AI Toolkit for Visual Studio Code is a comprehensive extension that empowers developers and AI engineers to build, test, and deploy intelligent applications using generative AI models. Whether you're working locally or in the cloud, AI Toolkit provides an integrated development environment for the complete AI application lifecycle.

The toolkit offers seamless integration with popular AI models from providers like OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and GitHub, while also supporting local models through ONNX and Ollama. From model discovery and experimentation to prompt engineering and deployment, AI Toolkit streamlines your AI development workflow within VS Code.

Key features

Feature	Description	Screenshot
Model Catalog	Discover and access AI models from multiple sources including GitHub, ONNX, Ollama, OpenAI, Anthropic, and Google. Compare models side-by-side and find the perfect fit for your use case.
Playground	Interactive chat environment for real-time model testing. Experiment with different prompts, parameters, and multi-modal inputs including images and attachments.
Agent (Prompt) Builder	Streamlined prompt engineering and agent development workflow. Create sophisticated prompts, integrate MCP tools, and generate production-ready code with structured outputs.
Bulk Run	Execute batch prompt testing across multiple models simultaneously. Ideal for comparing model performance and testing at scale with various input scenarios.
Model Evaluation	Comprehensive model assessment using datasets and standard metrics. Measure performance with built-in evaluators (F1 score, relevance, similarity, coherence) or create custom evaluation criteria.
Fine-tuning	Customize and adapt models for specific domains and requirements. Train models locally with GPU support or leverage Azure Container Apps for cloud-based fine-tuning.
Model Conversion	Convert, quantize, and optimize machine learning models for local deployment. Transform models from Hugging Face and other sources to run efficiently on Windows with CPU, GPU, or NPU acceleration.

Who is AI Toolkit for?

AI Toolkit is designed for anyone working with generative AI, from beginners to experts:

Developers

• App developers building AI-powered applications who need to integrate language models
• Full-stack developers looking to add intelligent features to web and desktop applications
• Mobile developers prototyping AI functionality before production deployment

AI engineers & data scientists

• AI engineers fine-tuning models for specific domains and deploying to production
• Data scientists evaluating model performance and comparing different approaches
• ML engineers converting and optimizing models for efficient local deployment

Researchers and educators

• AI researchers experimenting with different models and prompt engineering techniques
• Educators teaching AI concepts and demonstrating model capabilities
• Students learning about generative AI and hands-on model interaction

Key use cases

• Explore and evaluate models from providers like Anthropic, OpenAI, and GitHub
• Run models locally using ONNX and Ollama for privacy and cost control
• Build and test agents with prompt generation and MCP tool integrations
• Convert and optimize models for deployment across different hardware configurations

Install and setup

Quick installation

The fastest way to get started is by installing the extension through the Visual Studio Marketplace:

Install the AI Toolkit for VS Code

After successful installation, the AI Toolkit icon appears in the Activity Bar.

Manual installation

You can also install the AI Toolkit extension manually from the Visual Studio Code Marketplace. Follow the steps detailed in Install an extension.

• Search for AI Toolkit for Visual Studio Code and select Install from search results.

  

• After successful installation, the AI Toolkit icon appears in the Activity Bar.

  

Get started with AI Toolkit

The AI Toolkit has a getting started walkthrough that you can use to learn the basics of the AI Toolkit. The walkthrough takes you through the playground, where you can use chat to interact with AI models.

1. Select the AI Toolkit view in the Activity Bar

2. In the Help and Feedback section, select Get Started to open the walkthrough

   

Next steps

• Get more information about adding generative AI models in AI Toolkit
• Use the model playground to interact with models