ContextPilot

ContextPilot is an ultra-lightweight IntelliJ Platform plugin that turns selected editor code into structured context and can now send that context directly to Gemini for fast explanations, reviews, refactoring suggestions, and test-generation guidance.

This major version moves ContextPilot beyond a copy-only prompt generator. The plugin now includes native Gemini AI integration, a tabbed IDE-native response workflow, asynchronous API calls, and readable rich text rendering inside the dialog.

What's New

• Native Gemini AI integration: ContextPilot connects directly to the Gemini 2.5 Flash API for lightning-fast code explanations, reviews, refactoring suggestions, and generated test guidance.
• Tabbed AI workflow: GeneratedPromptDialog has been revamped with JBTabbedPane, separating the generated Context Prompt from the AI Assistant response.
• Async processing: Gemini requests run through Task.Backgroundable, with an AsyncProcessIcon spinner to show progress while keeping the IDE responsive during network calls.
• Rich text rendering: AI responses are converted from Markdown to HTML for clean in-dialog reading, including formatted inline code and fenced code blocks.
• Lean Java implementation: The plugin uses Java 17 and the native HttpClient API with zero heavy external dependencies. There is no Gson, Jackson, or additional AI SDK layer.

Quick Start

1. Set Your Gemini API Key

ContextPilot reads the Gemini key from the GEMINI_API_KEY system environment variable.

On Windows PowerShell:

setx GEMINI_API_KEY "your-api-key-here"

Restart IntelliJ IDEA after setting the variable so the IDE process can read the updated environment.

2. Run the Plugin

Requirements:

• JDK 17
• IntelliJ IDEA
• Gradle wrapper included in this repository

On Windows:

.\gradlew.bat runIde

This opens a second IntelliJ IDEA instance with ContextPilot installed.

3. Generate AI Context

1. Select code in the IntelliJ editor.
2. Right-click in the editor.
3. Choose Generate AI Context.
4. Select a prompt mode.
5. Review the Context Prompt tab.
6. Click Ask AI.
7. Read the rendered Gemini response in the AI Assistant tab.

Features

• Extracts selected code from the active IntelliJ editor.
• Captures project name, file path, and language metadata.
• Supports focused prompt modes:
  • Explain Code
  • Review for Bugs
  • Suggest Refactor
  • Generate Tests
• Sends structured prompts directly to Gemini 2.5 Flash.
• Displays prompt and response content in separate tabs.
• Keeps the IDE responsive with background execution.
• Renders Markdown responses as HTML for readable output.
• Copies the latest AI response to the clipboard.
• Available from the editor right-click menu.

Architecture

• GenerateContextAction: IntelliJ action entry point for the editor context menu.
• CodeContextExtractor: Extracts project, editor, file, language, and selected-code context through IntelliJ APIs.
• CodeContext: Immutable holder for extracted IDE context.
• PromptBuilder: Builds structured prompts for each selected workflow.
• PromptMode: Enum for supported AI coding workflows.
• GeneratedPromptDialog: Swing dialog that hosts prompt mode selection, JBTabbedPane, the loading spinner, and rendered AI responses.
• GeminiClient: Java 17 HttpClient integration for the Gemini 2.5 Flash API.

Design Philosophy

ContextPilot is intentionally small and dependency-light. The plugin favors IntelliJ Platform APIs, Swing components, and standard Java 17 networking over heavyweight frameworks or SDKs.

Key decisions:

• Native Java 17 HttpClient for API calls.
• Simple response extraction to avoid large JSON dependencies.
• No Gson or Jackson.
• No external AI SDK dependency.
• IDE-native UI components such as JBTabbedPane, JBScrollPane, Task.Backgroundable, and AsyncProcessIcon.
• Focused prompt construction instead of broad project indexing.

Project Structure

AI-Plugin/
|-- build.gradle.kts
|-- settings.gradle.kts
|-- src/main/java/com/koukakios/contextpilot/
|   |-- AiClient.java
|   |-- CodeContext.java
|   |-- CodeContextExtractor.java
|   |-- GeminiClient.java
|   |-- GenerateContextAction.java
|   |-- GeneratedPromptDialog.java
|   |-- PromptBuilder.java
|   `-- PromptMode.java
`-- src/main/resources/META-INF/plugin.xml

Current Scope

• ContextPilot works with the user's selected code.
• Surrounding method/class context and import expansion are not included yet.
• API configuration is environment-variable based.
• Prompt history and a persistent settings page are not included yet.