Copilot Assistant - Multi-Language Development Extension

Streamline your Copilot development workflow with copilot-assistant. Copilot-assistant provides Copilot full access to your application's logs, aiding it to build your application to your specifications faster and more accurately. Just issue a prompt to copilot in agent mode to write your application and it will test what it has written by inspecting your app's logs. When issues are uncovered, copilot can perform a hot or full restart of your app via copilot-assistant and iterate on code changes without you having to paste errors into the copilot chat, streamlining the dev & test cycle. When files are modified, copilot-assistant will perform a hot-reload if supported by your application language.

Supported languages: Flutter, Go, Java, Python, and Node.js.

Why Use This Extension?

Accelerate Your Development Cycle

GitHub Copilot Integration: Share logs directly with Copilot for instant analysis
Programmatic Commands: Copilot can execute extension commands automatically
Structured Log Output: Your app logs are structured for easy interpretation by Copilot
Agent Mode Ready: Fully compatible with agent Copilot workflows
Instant Feedback: Automatic hot reload for Flutter, nodemon-style restarts for other languages
Smart File Watching: Language-specific patterns detect when to reload vs restart
Zero Configuration: Auto-detects your project language and runs the right commands
Cross-Platform: Works seamlessly on Windows, macOS, and Linux

Advanced Log Analysis

Interactive Log Viewer: Easily search, filter, and analyze logs with regex support
Ctrl+Click File Navigation: Open source files at specific lines directly from logs with a mouse click
File/Line Tracking: See exactly where each log originated in your code
Call Depth Visualization: Understand execution flow with automatic indentation
Real-Time Monitoring: Push-based updates with instant log delivery

Multi-Language Support

Flutter: Hot reload/restart with intelligent file pattern detection
Go: Air/Gin-compatible auto-restart on file changes
Java: Spring Boot DevTools integration with Maven/Gradle support
Python: File monitoring with requirements.txt tracking
Node.js: Nodemon-style reloading for JavaScript/TypeScript projects

Installation & Setup

Requirements

General Requirements:

VS Code 1.104.0 or higher
Git for version control integration

Language-Specific Requirements:

Flutter: Flutter SDK in PATH
Go: Go runtime and tools
Java: JDK and Maven/Gradle
Python: Python interpreter and pip
Node.js: Node.js runtime and npm/yarn

Install the Extension

Open VS Code Extensions view (Ctrl+Shift+X)
Search for "Copilot Assistant"
Click Install (by rerosum)
Restart VS Code

Usage Limits & Pro Version

Copilot Assistant offers both Free and Pro tiers to suit different development needs.

Free Version

The free version includes full functionality with a generous trial period:

7-Day Trial - Unlimited queries for the first 7 days
After trial: 10 log queries per hour
All features available (start, stop, hot reload, log monitoring, etc.)
Automatic hourly reset
No credit card required

                Trial Period: When you first install Copilot Assistant, you get 7 full days of unlimited log queries to experience all Pro features without restrictions.
            

What Counts as a Query:

Using @copilot-assistant search or @copilot-assistant logs commands
Executing Copilot Assistant: Search Logs with Pattern command
Calling copilotAssistant.searchLogs via the extension API

Pro Version - $10 One-Time (Lifetime)

Upgrade to Pro for unlimited access:

Unlimited log queries - no hourly limits
Lifetime access - pay once, use forever
Priority support
Early access to new features
Support continued development

How to Upgrade:

Press F1 → Copilot Assistant: Upgrade to Pro
Enter your license key
Done!

Getting Your License Key:
Visit copilot-assistant.net to purchase. License keys follow format: CPAST-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX

Check Your Usage:
F1 → Copilot Assistant: Check Usage & Remaining Queries

Usage

Getting Started

No code changes required! The extension automatically captures all output from your application.

Open your project folder in VS Code
Extension auto-detects your language (Flutter, Go, Java, Python, or Node.js)
Start your app:
- Option A: Click Start in the Copilot Assistant sidebar (Explorer panel)
- Option B: Run "Copilot Assistant: Start" from Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)
Logs appear automatically in the "Copilot Assistant" panel
Ask Copilot to analyze: @copilot-assistant /logs or @copilot-assistant /errors

Automatic Log Capture:

All stdout output from your application
All stderr output (errors, warnings)
Works with any logging: console.log(), print(), fmt.Println(), System.out.println(), etc.

Available Commands

Access via Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P):

Application Control:

Copilot Assistant: Start Development Server - Auto-detect and start development
Copilot Assistant: Stop Development Server - Stop running process
Copilot Assistant: Trigger Hot Reload - Trigger hot reload
Copilot Assistant: Restart Application - Restart with log clear

Log Management:

Copilot Assistant: Search Logs - Open interactive log viewer
Copilot Assistant: Search Logs with Pattern - Search logs programmatically
Copilot Assistant: Clear Captured Logs - Clear log history
Copilot Assistant: Get Log Statistics & Analysis - View detailed log analysis

GitHub Copilot Integration

The extension provides seamless integration with GitHub Copilot through programmatic commands and structured log output.

Chat Commands (Interactive)

Use these commands in Copilot Chat for interactive debugging:

@copilot-assistant /start    - Start the application
@copilot-assistant /stop     - Stop the application
@copilot-assistant /restart  - Restart with log clear
@copilot-assistant /reload   - Trigger hot reload
@copilot-assistant /errors   - Get formatted error logs
@copilot-assistant /logs     - Open log search interface

Key Features:

In-Memory Logs: Fast searches across up to 10,000 log entries
Search Results File: Copilot can read .copilot-assistant/search-results.txt directly
Unified Output: All log analysis appears in "Copilot Assistant" output channel
Programmatic Commands: Copilot can execute commands without manual user intervention
Structured Output: Formatted logs ready for AI consumption
Agent Mode Compatible: Works with chat.agent.enabled: true
Cross-Platform: Windows, macOS, Linux support

Log Viewer

The interactive log viewer provides manual analysis workflows for detailed debugging.

Opening the Log Viewer

Click Search Logs in the Copilot Assistant sidebar
Run "Copilot Assistant: Show Logs" from Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P)

Search & Filtering

Search Features:

Real-time filtering as you type (150ms debounce)
Case-insensitive text search across all log messages
Search history with arrow keys (↑/↓ to navigate previous searches)
Matched text highlighted in yellow
Clear search: Press ESC to clear and blur, or Backspace on empty input

File Navigation

Ctrl+Hover to Open Files:

Log entries display file locations: [filename.py:123]
Hold Ctrl and hover over any file path
File path becomes clickable with underline
Click to open file in editor at the exact line number
Works for all supported extensions: .py, .js, .ts, .java, .go, etc.

Configuration

Access settings via Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) → "Preferences: Open Settings (UI)" → Search "Copilot Assistant"

Language Detection

{
  "copilotAssistant.language": "auto"
}

Options: auto, flutter, go, java, python, nodejs
Default: auto (automatic detection)
Usage: Override auto-detection by setting to specific language

Log Management Configuration

{
  "copilotAssistant.logServer.maxLogs": 10000,
  "copilotAssistant.logServer.autoShowLogsWindow": true,
  "copilotAssistant.logServer.fontSize": 14,
  "copilotAssistant.logServer.logLevel": "debug"
}

Settings:

maxLogs (100-100000, default: 10000): Maximum log entries in memory
autoShowLogsWindow (Boolean, default: true): Auto-open log viewer on start
fontSize (8-24, default: 14): Log entry font size in pixels
logLevel (String, default: debug): Minimum level to capture (debug, info, warn, error)

Support

For support, issues, and feature requests:

Discord: Join our community
Website: copilot-assistant.net

Happy Coding with Copilot Assistant!

Complete Documentation