Browser Native Chat Interface With Persistent Sidebar

via “webview-based chat ui with state management and session persistence”

Open-source AI code assistant for VS Code/JetBrains — customizable models, context providers, and slash commands.

Unique: Implements a webview-based chat UI with client-side state management and session persistence. The UI communicates with the core system via a message-based protocol, enabling independent evolution of UI and business logic. Supports streaming responses for real-time feedback and maintains conversation history across IDE sessions.

Copilot's chat UI is tightly integrated with VS Code; Continue's webview-based approach enables consistent UI across VS Code and JetBrains. The message-based protocol makes it easier to customize or replace the UI compared to monolithic implementations.