What coding assistants do
An AI pair programmer that reads, edits, and runs your code.
A coding assistant lives where your code does — your terminal, your editor — and can read, edit, and run files with your approval. Examples:
| Tool | Surface | From |
|---|---|---|
| Cursor | Editor (VS Code fork) | Anysphere |
| Claude Code | Terminal CLI | Anthropic |
| Codex CLI | Terminal CLI | OpenAI |
| Windsurf | Editor (VS Code fork) | Codeium |
| Antigravity | Desktop app + CLI | |
| GitHub Copilot | Editor extension | GitHub |
| Continue / Cline | VS Code extension | Open source |
| aider | Terminal CLI | Open source |
Chat app
- Browser
- You copy/paste code
- No file access
Coding assistant
- Terminal or editor
- Edits your files directly
- Runs your tests, your dev server, git
A typical session
$ cd my-project $ claude # or: cursor . / codex / aider › the app is crashing on startup, can you find why? ● reading package.json ● running npm start ● error: missing DATABASE_URL I see — your app needs DATABASE_URL but .env doesn't have one. Want me to add a placeholder + a clearer startup error?
Who it's for: people who write code. If you've never opened a terminal,
start with a chat app — come back when you're ready to build something real.