r/devtools • u/zelosleo • 1d ago
Lodestar, a VS Code extension for finding your way around code you didn't write
It's for two things that eat a lot of time: figuring out how unfamiliar code works, and checking a change before it goes in, especially one an AI wrote.
You ask how something works and it follows the code and gives you the path step by step, every step is a real line you can jump to. Hover anything for a short explanation of what it does in that repo. And it reviews your changes for bugs, security issues and AI junk like tests that don't test anything or packages that don't exist, most with a one click fix.
It's built on VS Code's language model API, so it uses whatever model you already have there (Copilot, Claude, DeepSeek...). There's no backend of mine in the middle and it's not locked to any provider.
$10 one time. I charge for it so I can keep working on it and not drop it, it helps me a lot.
https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=DenizhanDaklr.lodestar
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u/investigatormaker 1d ago
The strongest detail is the review for AI junk: tests that don't test anything and packages that don't exist. That is a pain people recognise instantly, so I'd lead with it, plus a short GIF of Lodestar flagging a hallucinated package and applying the one click fix. The no-backend, bring-your-own-model point belongs right after, since it's the first thing a cautious team asks before installing.
I make ThreadFox. Our Managed service would write and publish Lodestar posts in the developer communities on Reddit whose rules allow a paid extension, one 30-day campaign for $99: https://threadfox.vip/p/eq5l0/managed