Getting Started

Install Ollama

Download and install Ollama for your platform. After installation, verify it’s working:

ollama --version

Pull a recommended model:

ollama pull qwen3-coder:30b

Install SideCar

Install from the VS Code Marketplace, or search for “SideCar” in the VS Code Extensions panel (Cmd+Shift+X / Ctrl+Shift+X).

Your first chat

1. Click the SideCar icon in the activity bar (left sidebar)
2. Type a message in the chat input
3. SideCar auto-launches Ollama if it’s not already running

SideCar will automatically include your active file and workspace context in the conversation.

Choosing a model

Use the model dropdown at the top of the chat panel to browse and switch models. Models are organized into two categories:

• Full Features (Tools) — models that support function calling (e.g., qwen3-coder, llama3.1, command-r)
• Chat-Only — models that work for conversation but can’t use tools (e.g., gemma2, llama2, mistral)

You can also install new models directly from the dropdown — SideCar will pull them from the Ollama registry.

The default model is qwen3-coder:30b. For machines with less RAM, try qwen3-coder:8b or qwen2.5-coder:7b.

Using the Anthropic API

To use Claude models instead of local Ollama:

1. Set sidecar.baseUrl to https://api.anthropic.com
2. Set sidecar.apiKey to your Anthropic API key
3. Set sidecar.model to a Claude model (e.g., claude-sonnet-4-6)

SideCar uses prompt caching with Anthropic, reducing input token costs by ~90% on cache hits.

Keyboard shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Cmd+Shift+I / Ctrl+Shift+I	Toggle SideCar chat panel
Cmd+I / Ctrl+I	Inline chat (edit code in place)
Cmd+L / Ctrl+L	Clear chat
Cmd+Shift+U / Ctrl+Shift+U	Undo all AI changes
Cmd+Shift+E / Ctrl+Shift+E	Export chat as Markdown