Refact AI coding assistant can be installed locally or in the cloud

Thanks to the explosion of artificial intelligence in recent years, new applications and models are being introduced every week. One such organization recently made waves with the release of its own big language model, Refact, a new AI coding assistant. This wizard is a powerful tool that combines code completion, refactoring, and chat features, all from the comfort of your favorite integrated development environment (IDE).

Refact AI is an open source alternative to Copilot, offering both self-hosted and cloud options. This flexibility allows developers to choose the option that best suits their needs and preferences. The self-hosted option provides an additional layer of privacy because all code remains on the user's server, eliminating potential privacy concerns.

The AI ​​coding assistant is designed to make programming more enjoyable and efficient, says the team that created Refact. Go beyond simple code completion and offer users a comprehensive AI toolkit capable of analyzing existing code, detecting bugs, and identifying productivity issues. This is achieved through the use of best-in-class open source code templates, which power the wizard's autocomplete feature.

As developers write code, Refact suggests potential code completions based on the context of the code. It walks the code from top to bottom, suggesting entire functions, classes, commonly used programming patterns, libraries, and API usage. This feature works with around 20 different programming languages, including Python, JavaScript, Java, Go, Rust, C++, and more. Refract is available for download for Visual Studio and JetBrains.

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In addition to code completion, Refact can identify code that could be refactored to be more efficient or easier to understand. It can also detect bugs in the code and generate patches to fix them. This feature is particularly useful for developers looking to optimize their code and reduce the risk of errors.

Refact also includes a unique AI chat feature. Developers can use plain language prompts in Refact chat to ask questions or get help writing code without leaving their IDE. This feature can be used to work alongside the coder, providing support and guidance where necessary. The Refact Code model, with its 1.6 billion parameters, scored 32% on human evaluation. This impressive score demonstrates the model's ability to generate accurate and contextually relevant code suggestions.

Refact is currently in its technical preview phase and can be accessed via a cloud version or installed as a plugin in an IDE. It offers three prices...