Getting Started

Prerequisites

Node.js 20+ (see .nvmrc)
Git
Python 3 (for native module builds)
Platform-specific:
- macOS: Xcode Command Line Tools (xcode-select --install)
- Linux: build-essential, libkrb5-dev, libsecret-1-dev
- Windows: Visual Studio Build Tools with C++ workload

Setup

git clone https://github.com/NeuralInverse/neuralinverse.git
cd neuralinverse
npm install

Dev Mode

You need two watch processes running, then launch the IDE:

Terminal 1 — Watch TypeScript:

npm run watch

Terminal 2 — Watch React UI:

npm run watchreact

Terminal 3 — Launch:

macOS / Linux:

./scripts/code.sh

Windows:

.\scripts\code.bat

Changes to TypeScript are picked up by the watcher. React UI changes are picked up by the React watcher. Reload the dev window (Cmd+Shift+P > Developer: Reload Window) to see your changes.

Project Structure

All Neural Inverse code lives under src/vs/workbench/contrib/:

Module	Path	Shortcut
AI Chat & Core	`contrib/void/`	Ctrl+L (sidebar), Ctrl+K (inline edit)
Power Mode	`contrib/powerMode/`	Cmd+Alt+P
Agent Manager	`contrib/neuralInverse/`	Cmd+Alt+A
Firmware & Embedded	`contrib/neuralInverseFirmware/`	Cmd+Alt+F
Legacy Modernisation	`contrib/neuralInverseModernisation/`	Cmd+Alt+M

Each module has a .contribution.ts file that registers all its services on IDE startup.

Making Changes

Create a branch from main
Make changes in src/vs/workbench/contrib/
Watch processes pick up changes automatically
Reload the dev window to test
Verify: npm run compile (must pass with zero errors)
Open a pull request against main

Common Issues

Issue	Fix
Non-ASCII build failure	Only use ASCII in TS/JS string literals. Use unicode escapes if needed.
React changes not showing	Make sure `npm run watchreact` is running. Reload window.
Node version mismatch	Run `nvm use` to match `.nvmrc`.
Compile errors in unrelated modules	Pull latest `main` and `npm install` again.

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