QodeAssist — AI coding assistant for Qt Creator

QodeAssist brings a full AI coding workflow to Qt Creator for C++ and QML — smart code completion, multi-panel chat, inline quick refactoring, and project-aware tool calling. It works with local runtimes (Ollama, llama.cpp, LM Studio) and cloud providers (Claude, OpenAI, Google AI, Mistral, Qwen, DeepSeek), can run as an MCP server so other clients reuse its project context, and can also act as an MCP client to consume tools from external MCP servers (authenticated MCP servers are not supported yet).

⚠️ Important Notice About Paid Providers

When using paid providers like Claude, OpenRouter or OpenAI-compatible services: - These services will consume API tokens which may result in charges to your account - The QodeAssist developer bears no responsibility for any charges incurred - Please carefully review the provider's pricing and your account settings before use

Table of Contents

1. Overview
2. Install Plugin
3. Configuration
4. Features
5. Context Layers
6. QtCreator Version Compatibility
7. Hotkeys
8. Troubleshooting
9. Development Progress
10. Support the Development
11. How to Build

Overview

QodeAssist enhances Qt Creator with AI-powered coding assistance:

• Code Completion — intelligent, context-aware suggestions (FIM and chat models) for C++ and QML, with multiline support
• Chat Assistant — side panel, bottom panel, or detached window; history with auto-save, token monitoring, extended thinking
• Quick Refactoring — inline AI-assisted edits directly in the editor with a searchable custom-instructions library
• Agent Tools — read, search, create and edit files; build the project; run terminal commands; access linter/compiler issues; manage TODOs
• Agent Skills — reusable folders of specialized instructions loaded on demand; discovered from .qodeassist/skills/ and .claude/skills/, invoked automatically, with /skill, or always-on
• MCP Server — expose QodeAssist's project-aware tools to external MCP clients (Claude Code, VS Code, Claude Desktop via bridge)
• MCP Client Hub — connect QodeAssist to external MCP servers and use their tools in Chat and Quick Refactor (authenticated MCP servers are not supported yet)
• File Context — attach, link, or auto-sync open editor files for richer prompts
• Many Providers — Ollama, llama.cpp, LM Studio (Chat + Responses), Claude, OpenAI (Chat + Responses), Google AI, Mistral, Codestral, OpenRouter, Qwen (OpenAI + Responses), DeepSeek, any OpenAI-compatible endpoint
• Reasoning / Thinking — streamed chain-of-thought is shown for reasoning models across Claude, Google, OpenAI Responses, and any OpenAI-compatible endpoint that returns reasoning_content (DeepSeek, Qwen QwQ/Qwen3-Thinking, LM Studio, OpenRouter, …)
• Customizable — per-project rules (.qodeassist/rules/), agent roles, reusable refactor templates, full prompt-template control

Join our Discord Community to get support and connect with other users!

Code completion: (click to expand)

Quick refactor in code: (click to expand)

Chat View Mode: (click to expand)

Multiline Code completion: (click to expand)

Chat with LLM models in side panels: (click to expand)

Chat with LLM models in bottom panel: (click to expand)

Chat in addtional window: (click to expand)

Automatic syncing with open editor files: (click to expand)

Example how tools works: (click to expand)

Install plugin to QtCreator

Method 1: Using the Extension Registry (Recommended)

You can install and update QodeAssist directly from within Qt Creator by adding the QodeAssist registry as an external extension repository.

1. Open the Extensions page (Qt Creator → Extensions) and switch to the Browser tab
2. Enable Use External Repository
3. Next to Repository URLs, click Add and paste the registry archive URL matching your Qt Creator version:
4. Latest (QtC 19): https://github.com/Palm1r/extension-registry/archive/refs/heads/qodeassist.tar.gz
5. QtC 19: https://github.com/Palm1r/extension-registry/archive/refs/heads/qodeassist-qtc19.tar.gz
6. QtC 18: https://github.com/Palm1r/extension-registry/archive/refs/heads/qodeassist-qtc18.tar.gz

Example of extension registry: (click to expand)

1. Click Apply — QodeAssist will appear in the extensions list, where you can Install it
2. Updates can be installed from the same screen when a new version is published

Note: This is an external repository not maintained by The Qt Company. By adding it you accept responsibility for managing the associated risks, as stated in the Extensions page.

Method 2: Using QodeAssistUpdater (Beta)

QodeAssistUpdater is a command-line utility that automates plugin installation and updates with automatic Qt Creator version detection and checksum verification.

Features: - Automatic Qt Creator version detection - Install, update, or remove plugin with single command - List all available plugin versions - Install specific plugin version - Checksum verification - Non-interactive mode for CI/CD

Installation:

Download pre-built binary from QodeAssistUpdater releases or build from source

Usage:

# Check current status and available updates
./qodeassist-updater --status

# Install latest version
./qodeassist-updater --install

For more information, visit the QodeAssistUpdater repository.

Method 3: Manual Installation

1. Install Latest Qt Creator
2. Download the QodeAssist plugin for your Qt Creator
3. Remove old version plugin if already was installed
   • on macOS for QtCreator 16: ~/Library/Application Support/QtProject/Qt Creator/plugins/16.0.0/petrmironychev.qodeassist
   • on windows for QtCreator 16: C:\Users\\AppData\Local\QtProject\qtcreator\plugins\16.0.0\petrmironychev.qodeassist\lib\qtcreator\plugins
4. Launch Qt Creator and install the plugin:
5. Go to:
   • MacOS: Qt Creator -> About Plugins...
   • Windows\Linux: Help -> About Plugins...
6. Click on "Install Plugin..."
7. Select the downloaded QodeAssist plugin archive file

Configuration

Quick Setup (Recommended for Beginners)

The Quick Setup feature provides one-click configuration for popular cloud AI models. Get started in 3 easy steps:

Quick setup: (click to expand)

1. Open QodeAssist Settings
2. Select a Preset - Choose from the Quick Setup dropdown:
3. Anthropic Claude (Sonnet 4.5, Haiku 4.5, Opus 4.5)
4. OpenAI (gpt-5.2-codex)
5. Mistral AI (Codestral 2501)
6. Google AI (Gemini 2.5 Flash)
7. Qwen (Qwen3.6 Plus, Qwen3.7 Max)
8. DeepSeek (DeepSeek V4 Flash, DeepSeek V4 Pro)
9. Configure API Key - Click "Configure API Key" button and enter your API key in Provider Settings

All settings (provider, model, template, URL) are configured automatically. Just add your API key and you're ready to go!

Manual Provider Configuration

For advanced users or local models, choose your preferred provider and follow the detailed configuration guide:

Local providers: - Ollama — native Ollama API - Ollama (OpenAI-compatible) — Ollama's /v1 endpoint for tool-calling models - llama.cpp — local llama-server - LM Studio — OpenAI-compatible Chat API - LM Studio (Responses API) — newer models that require the Responses endpoint

Cloud providers: - Anthropic Claude — manual setup guide - OpenAI — Chat Completions and Responses API - Mistral AI / Codestral - Google AI — Gemini - Qwen (Alibaba) — DashScope OpenAI-compatible Chat and Responses endpoints - DeepSeek — deepseek-chat and deepseek-reasoner (reasoning shown as thinking) - OpenAI-compatible — OpenRouter and any custom endpoint

Recommended Models for Best Experience

For optimal coding assistance, we recommend using these top-tier models:

Best for Code Completion & Refactoring: - Claude 4.5 Haiku or Sonnet (Anthropic) - GPT-5.1-codex or codex-mini (OpenAI Responses API) - Codestral (Mistral)

Best for Chat Assistant: - Claude 4.5 Sonnet (Anthropic) - Outstanding reasoning and natural conversation flow - GPT-5.1-codex (OpenAI Responses API) - Latest model with advanced capabilities - Gemini 2.5 or 3.0 (Google AI) - Latest models from Google - Mistral large (Mistral) - Fast and capable

Local models: - Qwen3-coder (Qwen) - Best local models

Additional Configuration

• Agent Roles - Create AI personas with specialized system prompts
• Chat Summarization - Compress conversations to save context tokens
• Project Rules - Customize AI behavior for your project
• Ignoring Files - Exclude files from context using .qodeassistignore

Features

Code Completion

• AI-powered intelligent code completion
• Support for C++ and QML
• Context-aware suggestions
• Multiline completions

Completion Trigger Modes

QodeAssist offers two trigger modes for code completion:

Hint-based - Shows a hint indicator near cursor when you type 3+ characters - Press Space (or custom key) to request completion - Best for: Paid APIs (Claude, OpenAI), conscious control - Benefits: No unexpected API charges, full control over requests, no workflow interruption - Visual: Clear indicator shows when completion is ready

Automatic(Default) - Automatically requests completion after typing threshold - Works immediately without additional keypresses - Best for: Local models (Ollama, llama.cpp), maximum automation - Benefits: Hands-free experience, instant suggestions

💡 Tip: Start with Hint-based to avoid unexpected costs. Switch to Automatic if using free local models.

Configure in: Tools → Options → QodeAssist → Code Completion → General Settings

Chat Assistant

• Multiple chat panels: side panel, bottom panel, and popup window
• Chat history with auto-save and restore
• Token usage monitoring
• Agent Roles - Switch between AI personas (Developer, Reviewer, custom roles)
• Chat Summarization - Compress long conversations into AI-generated summaries
• File Context - Attach or link files for better context
• Automatic syncing with open editor files (optional)
• Extended thinking / reasoning mode - shows streamed chain-of-thought for reasoning models (Claude, Google, OpenAI Responses, and OpenAI-compatible endpoints returning reasoning_content such as DeepSeek, Qwen, LM Studio, OpenRouter)

Quick Refactoring

• Inline code refactoring directly in the editor