VS Code Forks

Use the Pieces for Visual Studio Code Extension with Cursor, Windsurf, and Trae.


Pieces for Cursor, Windsurf & Trae

Developers love Visual Studio Code because it’s open-source and flexible.

Since this IDE is open-source, the extensions available for the base code editor (VS Code) can also be found in the extension marketplace pages for these VS Code forked IDEs.

What Is A VS Code Fork?

A VS Code fork is an independent IDE that starts with Microsoft’s MIT-licensed VS Code code-base, then layers on its own features (often AI tooling or workflow tweaks).

Because the underlying extension API is the same, the Pieces for VS Code Extension installs and runs in these forks exactly as it does in stock VS Code.

Installation for Supported Forks

Follow the steps below to get started with the Pieces for VS Code Extension in Cursor, Windsurf, or Trae.

Cursor

Cursor layers ChatGPT-style assistance and refactoring tools on top of VS Code.

You can download installers for macOS, Windows or Linux from the official site.

  1. Open Cursor.

  2. Press ctrl+shift+x (Windows/Linux) or cmd+shift+x (macOS) to open the Extensions marketplace.

  3. Search “Pieces for VS Code” and click Install.

  4. Reload Cursor when prompted and make sure PiecesOS is running.

Windsurf

Marketed as the first “agentic IDE,” Windsurf ships Codeium’s AI features in a standalone editor.

Windsurf was formerly known as the Codeium Editor.

Get the latest build for your OS from the Windsurf download page.

  1. Open Windsurf.

  2. Press ctrl+shift+x (Windows/Linux) or cmd+shift+x (macOS) to open the Extensions marketplace.

  3. Search “Pieces for VS Code” and click Install.

  4. Reload Windsurf when prompted and make sure PiecesOS is running.

Trae

Trae focuses on collaborative AI coding and performance boosts. Download packages for macOS, Windows or Linux from Trae’s download page.

Trae was previously known as MarsCode.

  1. Open Trae.

  2. Press ctrl+shift+x (Windows/Linux) or cmd+shift+x (macOS) to open the Extensions marketplace.

  3. Search “Pieces for VS Code” and click Install.

  4. Reload Trae when prompted and make sure PiecesOS is running.

Updating

Auto-update is enabled by default—so when there’s an update available for download, or an update has finished downloading, you’ll see a pop-up modal in the bottom-right corner of your IDE.

Pieces checks for new versions automatically in all three IDEs.

If you want to force an update, search “Extensions: Check for Updates” in the command palette, which you can access by using the ctrl+shift+p (Windows/Linux) or cmd+shift+p (macOS) shortcut.

Connecting to Pieces Cloud

Sign in from the Pieces sidebar to enable encrypted backup, shareable links and cross-device sync.

You can work entirely offline, utilizing the local LLMs provided by PiecesOS inside of the Pieces for VS Code Extension.

However, it provides additional features like data backups, shareable links, and more.

Uninstallation

  1. Press ctrl+shift+x (Windows/Linux) or cmd+shift+x (macOS) to open the Extensions marketplace.

  2. Locate Pieces for VS Code, then on the extension’s page, click Uninstall to remove the extension.

Restart your VS Code IDE after removing the extension to complete the uninstallation process.

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