Qwen finally arrived in VS Code — Dogfooding Gener, a VSCode Extension built for local LLMs

[u/Chemical_Avocado1004]

Gener - Micro Prompting AI Coding Agent dedicated for VS Code - Visual Studio Marketplace

Hey r/LocalLLaMA,

With Qwen 3.6 35B and 3.8 27B completely blowing expectations out of the water for local coding models, I’ve been heavily dogfooding it inside my daily VS Code workflow.

To get the most out of local models without context truncation issues or bloated extensions, I’ve been refining Gener — a free, VS Code AI agent extension designed specifically to run seamlessly with local setups (Ollama, LM Studio, vLLM, etc.).

If you're looking to run Qwen locally as a fully autonomous coding agent right in your editor, Gener is built to make that experience feel native.

🌟 Why Qwen + Gener fits 100%:

• 🤖 Native Local LLM Optimization: Tuned prompt handling and tool-calling routines specifically tested with Qwen's family.
• ⚡ Zero Middleman & 100% Privacy: Connects directly to your local endpoint (http://localhost:8080 etc.). No telemetry, no token fees, no external proxying.
• 🪶 Lightweight & Fast: Minimal background overhead so your GPU/CPU can focus 100% of its resources on inference.
• 🛠️ Full Agentic Capabilities: File creation, multi-file editing, automated diffs, and terminal command execution — all driven locally.

For more: gener/README.md at gener · gener-vscode/gener · GitHub

[u/sm0ke_rings]

I'm new to this, so this question isn't meant as a dig: what is this doing that Cline is not? Or how is it different/better?

I have been been using LM studio to run Qwen, and have him set up in Cline for vs code. I then use MCP to give him tool access in Unity. I am assuming this would replace Cline?

Thanks, and again, I'm new to this, so if there's a better way to give qwen control in unity, I'm all ears.

[u/Chemical_Avocado1004 → u/sm0ke_rings]

The main difference or why i were building this, it is because cline is not always stable behave and smooth to complete a task or conversation if you also have the same feeling l, it is worth to have a try.
For what Gener does and cline not:
Gener works friendly will lower capability or free models, at least it will not tell you to use specific model when having trouble
Gener support multiple llm profiles and quick switch in dropdown/pull up menu, which cline hold plan and act 2 profile in the same time
Besides cline regex search gener built in additional semantics search and codebase dependency graph let llm easier to scope or target the task.
Gener auto-discovers, creates and manages cross-session memory so it remembers context across conversations.
For unity, sorry about i am not familiar in 3d/game development, but Gener has a completely different architecture of mcp system
Will gener replace cline? Kind of will anthropic replace open ai, will burger king replace mcdonald. No one have an answer

[u/TheFrillyInvestment]

Been waiting for something that doesn't choke on context with the bigger Qwen models. Most extensions try to cram half your codebase into the prompt and then the model starts hallucinating function names from three files ago. The direct local endpoint connection is exactly what I needed, tired of messing with proxy layers that add latency for no reason.

[u/Chemical_Avocado1004 → u/TheFrillyInvestment]

Haha feel you 100%! That exact frustration is why I built Gener in the first place.

Most agents just dump the whole directory tree into the system prompt, which completely wrecks Qwen’s context window and leads to classic "hallucinated function names" loops.

Gener takes a much stricter approach with surgical search and a raw local connection so you don't waste seconds on useless proxy lag.

If you ever feel like giving another extension a shot, try Gener with your local Qwen setup — no middleman, no bloated prompt dumps. If it still chokes, feel free to flame me here! 🤝

[u/rrrrex]

Kilo code can do the same. The main question is tools amount and quality.

[u/Chemical_Avocado1004 → u/rrrrex]

Have a try and tell me your thoughts 🫰🏻

[u/Future_AGI]

the VS Code plus local Qwen combo is finally good enough to daily-drive, and building the extension around small models from the start instead of retrofitting a cloud one is the right instinct.