AI in Your Editor

Coding with an assistant at your side

Getting Copilot running in VS Code, using it with R and RStudio, and the git and FAIR habits that keep the output defensible.

Slides (open in new tab)

Session Summary

The opening session of the new Coding Café year, on working with an AI assistant inside the editor you already use rather than in a browser tab. We looked at what moving the assistant into the IDE actually changes, got Copilot running in VS Code, and spent the second half on hands-on work and discussion.

Topics Covered

Why the IDE — the three scenarios, the copy-paste tax, and the trade you are making
A tour of VS Code: ghost text, inline chat, the chat view, and the context system
Worked examples: comment-first completion, explaining inherited code, good versus bad prompts, and tests you were never going to write
R and RStudio — you are not required to switch editors, and getting R working in VS Code
FAIR and the safety net: documenting your process and the five git commands that make this safe
Verifying output — "it runs" is not "it is right" — and what actually leaves your machine

Materials

Use the embedded slides viewer above, or open the deck in a new tab from the Materials panel.