chat-interface

Chatting with Kilo Code

{% callout type="tip" %} Bottom line: Kilo Code is an AI coding assistant. You chat with it in plain English, and it writes, edits, and explains code for you. {% /callout %}

{% callout type="note" title="Prefer quick completions?" %} If you're typing code in the editor and want AI to finish your line or block, check out Autocomplete instead. Chat is best for larger tasks, explanations, and multi-file changes. {% /callout %}

Quick Setup

{% tabs %} {% tab label="VSCode" %}

Click the Kilo Code icon ({% kiloCodeIcon /%}) in VS Code's Primary Side Bar to open the sidebar chat. You can also pop it out into an editor tab for a larger workspace.

{% /tab %} {% tab label="CLI" %}

Open your terminal and run kilo to launch the interactive terminal interface (TUI). You'll see a prompt where you can start typing requests immediately. The TUI is fully keyboard-driven — no mouse required.

{% /tab %} {% /tabs %}

How to Talk to Kilo Code

The key insight: Just type what you want in normal English. No special commands needed.

{% image src="/docs/img/typing-your-requests/typing-your-requests.png" alt="Example of typing a request in Kilo Code" width="800" caption="Example of typing a request in Kilo Code" /%}

Good requests:

• create a new file named utils.py and add a function called add that takes two numbers as arguments and returns their sum
• in the file @src/components/Button.tsx, change the color of the button to blue
• find all instances of the variable oldValue in @/src/App.js and replace them with newValue

What makes requests work:

• Be specific - "Fix the bug in calculateTotal that returns incorrect results" beats "Fix the code"
• Use @ mentions - Reference files and code directly with @filename
• One task at a time - Break complex work into manageable steps
• Include examples - Show the style or format you want

{% callout type="info" title="Chat vs Autocomplete" %} Use chat when you need to describe what you want, ask questions, or make changes across multiple files.