AI-Assisted Development

Tools for AI-Assisted Coding

Workshop — Part 3: The landscape

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AI-Assisted Development

Five Categories

IDE plugins
Add AI into your existing editor
GitHub Copilot, JetBrains AI, Continue

AI-first IDEs
Editor built around AI from the ground up
Cursor, Windsurf

Agent / CLI tools
Multi-step tasks, read repos, work outside the editor
Claude Code, Codex

Chat assistants
General-purpose AI, great at code
ChatGPT, Claude.ai

Browser builders
Spin up full apps in the browser
v0, Lovable, Bolt

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AI-Assisted Development

Pick 1–2 tools that fit your stack.

Learn them deeply.

You do not need all of them.

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AI-Assisted Development

GitHub Copilot

Type: IDE plugin
VS Code, JetBrains, Neovim

Strengths

  • Fast multi-line inline completions
  • Deep GitHub integration (PR summaries, diffs, docs)
  • Minimal friction — install, log in, code

Best when:

  • Speeding up daily coding without changing editor
  • Team is GitHub-centric

Project rules: .github/copilot-instructions.md

Keep in mind:
Less suited for large multi-file refactors (but improving)

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AI-Assisted Development

Cursor

Type: AI-first IDE (VS Code fork)

Strengths

  • Project-wide edits and large refactors
  • Agent mode: multi-step tasks, fixes lints and tests
  • Multi-model: OpenAI, Anthropic, Google
  • Semantic search + strong “feel” for your code

Best when:

  • Full-stack work touching many files
  • Standardizing AI usage across a team

Project rules: .cursorrules

Keep in mind:
Invest time in project configuration for best results

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AI-Assisted Development

Claude / Claude Code

Type: Autonomous coding agent (CLI)

Strengths

  • Long-context reasoning across large projects
  • Architecture reviews, migrations, hard bugs
  • Plan mode — design first, execute after approval
  • CLI, VS Code, JetBrains integrations

Best when:

  • “AI pair architect” for design decisions
  • Analyzing or modernizing large codebases

Project rules: CLAUDE.md, AGENTS.md

Keep in mind:
Best paired with an IDE, not as your only tool

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Windsurf

Type: AI-first IDE (Codeium)

Strengths

  • Aggressive multi-line Tab-to-Jump completions
  • Cascade agent — searches docs, automates tasks
  • Broad ecosystem: VS Code, JetBrains, Vim, Jupyter

Best when:

  • Fast completions + agent workflows in parallel
  • You want aggressive autocomplete beyond what Copilot offers

Keep in mind:
Feature set evolves quickly — expect to experiment

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ChatGPT

Type: General-purpose chat assistant

Strengths

  • Great for learning, walkthroughs, step-by-step explanations
  • Code Interpreter — run Python directly in chat
  • Canvas — reason over multiple files in a structured workspace
  • Custom GPTs for domain-specific helpers

Best when:

  • Exploring a new framework or concept
  • Prototyping ideas outside your repo

Keep in mind:
Not tied to your IDE — pair it with a coding tool for day-to-day work

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AI-Assisted Development

Browser Builders

v0 (Vercel)
Design-to-code for React / Next.js
Instant browser preview → one-click export
Best for: beautiful frontends fast

Bolt
Browser-based full-stack generation
Best for: quick proof-of-concepts

Lovable
Chat-to-app full-stack builder
Describe your vision → working app
Best for: MVPs and internal tools

All three are great for prototyping — export to a real repo when you need production-grade control.

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AI-Assisted Development

Open & Flexible Options

Continue — Open-source AI extension

  • Bring your own model (OpenAI, Anthropic, Llama, on-prem)
  • VS Code and JetBrains
  • Best for strict security / compliance requirements

Codex — Open-source CLI agent (OpenAI)

  • Similar to Claude Code but fully open-source
  • Self-hostable for privacy or compliance

JetBrains AI — Native JetBrains AI layer

  • Deep IDE awareness, JVM / enterprise stacks
  • Best if your team is standardized on JetBrains
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AI-Assisted Development

Quick Comparison

Tool Type Excels At Pricing
GitHub Copilot IDE plugin Daily coding, VS Code / JetBrains Free / $10–19/mo
Cursor AI-first IDE Full-stack work, large refactors Free / $20/mo
Claude Code Autonomous agent Big projects, analysis, architecture Claude Pro $20/mo
Windsurf AI editor Fast completions, agent workflows Free / $15/mo
ChatGPT Chat assistant Learning, design, exploration Free / $20/mo
v0 / Lovable Browser builder Prototypes, MVPs, design-to-code Free / $20/mo
Continue Open-source plugin BYO models, privacy, flexibility Free
JetBrains AI JetBrains-native JVM / enterprise teams $10/mo
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Which Tool for Which Task?

Task Recommended
Quick inline completions while typing Copilot, Cursor, Windsurf
Multi-file refactor across many files Cursor (Agent), Claude Code
Understanding a large unfamiliar codebase Claude Code, ChatGPT
Debugging a tricky bug Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot Chat
Learning a new framework ChatGPT, Claude.ai
Building a UI prototype fast v0, Lovable
Writing tests for existing code Cursor, Claude Code, Copilot
Need full control / privacy Continue, Codex (self-hosted)
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How to Choose

Stay in my current editor?
→ IDE plugin: Copilot, Continue, JetBrains AI

Full-stack or multi-file work?
→ AI-first IDE: Cursor, Windsurf

Large codebase analysis / architecture?
→ Agent: Claude Code, Codex

Fast prototype or UI?
→ Browser builder: v0, Lovable

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AI-Assisted Development

No tool replaces human judgment

on design, security, and correctness.

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AI-Assisted Development

Summary

  • Many tools — but most share the same core AI capabilities
  • Five categories: plugins, AI-IDEs, agents, chat, browser builders
  • Pick 1–2 and invest in learning them properly
  • Use context files (.cursorrules, CLAUDE.md) for consistent results
  • Match the tool to the task — don’t over-engineer your toolchain