IDE extension · AI mentor
Project Grit
A mentor in your editor that refuses to just hand you the answer.
- Type
- IDE extension · AI mentor
- Role
- [Add role]
- Year
- 2026
- Status
- Hackathon
(01)What it is
Project Grit turns an AI model into a strict technical mentor inside the IDE. Select some code and it explains the logic, guides debugging root-cause first, rewrites a weak prompt into a strict, testable one, or evaluates how deep your reasoning actually goes — all without writing the solution for you.
- Built at
- OpenAI Codex Community Hackathon · Hyderabad
- First commit
- Apr 2026
- File
- 07 of 18 project pages
(02)How it works
- 01→SelectCode or a whole file
- 02→SyncInto the Grit sidebar
- 03→ModeAnalyze · Debug · Improve · Evaluate
- 04■MentorGuidance, not the answer
(03)What's inside
- 01
Four modes
Analyze explains the logic. Debug goes root-cause first. Improve Prompt turns vague asks into strict, testable ones. Evaluate Thinking scores reasoning depth from a mentor–learner transcript.
- 02
Works without a key
With no OpenAI API key configured it falls back to deterministic local responses instead of breaking — useful when the venue Wi-Fi isn't.
- 03
Everywhere VS Code runs
A sidebar webview plus command-palette commands, packaged as a .vsix for VS Code, Cursor, Windsurf and VSCodium.
(04)The honest bit
- Built at a hackathon. It installs from a .vsix file, by hand.
- The mentoring quality depends on the model behind it; the offline fallback is deliberately simple.
No fake users, no invented numbers. If it's a demo, it says so.
(05)Built with
- Extension
- TypeScript/VS Code Extension API/Webviews
- Model
- OpenAI API (optional)/Local fallback
(06)Signature
for (let i = 0; i <= items.length; i++) {
total += items[i].price;
}GritWhat happens on the last pass of this loop?
HintCompare the condition with the last valid index. Don't fix it yet — say what breaks first.
Root cause firstNo answers handed over
An illustration of how Project Grit works — drawn from its code, not a screenshot.
(07)Links
- Live[No live demo yet]
- CodeView the code ↗