> I think Aider is closest to what you want.

> The chat interface

Seems very much not, if it's still a chat interface :) Figuring out a chat UX is easy compared to something that was creating with letting LLM fill in some parts from the beginning. I guess I'm searching for something with a different paradigm than just "chat + $Something".

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zmmmmm 12 hours ago | parent [-]

the question is, how do you want to provide instructions for what the AI is to do? You might not like calling it "chat" but somehow you need to communicate that, right? With aider you can write a comment for a function and then instruct it to finish the function inline (see other comments). But unless you just want pure autocomplete based on it guessing things, you need to provide guidance to it somehow.

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embedding-shape 12 hours ago | parent [-]

I don't know exactly, but I guess in a more declarative manner rather than anything. Maybe we set goals/milestones/concrete objectives, or similar, rather than imperatively steer it, give it space to experiment yet make it very easy to understand exactly what important tradeoffs everything is doing.

It's all very fluffy and theoretical of course.

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xmcqdpt2 5 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I think the problem is that models are just not that good yet. At least for my usage at work, the CLI tools are the fastest way to get something useful, but if you can't describe basically exactly what you want, you get garbage.

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zmmmmm 11 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I find a good compromise on that front is not to use the chat primarily, but to create files like 'ARCHITECTURE.md', 'REQUIREMENTS.md' and put information in there describing how the application works. Then you add those to the chat as context docs.From the chat interface then you are just referring to those not just describing features willy nilly. So the nice thing is you are building documentation for the application in a formal sense as part of instructing the LLM.

	▲	embedding-shape 11 hours ago \| parent [-]
		But that is the typical agentic LLM coder style program I was initially referring to, saying we maybe should explore other alternatives to. It's too basic and primitive, with some imagination.

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mhast 10 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

The typical "best practice" for these tools tend to be to ask it something like

"I want you to do feature X. Analyse the code for me and make suggestions how to implement this feature."

Then it will go off and work for a while and typically come back after a bit with some suggestions. Then iterate on those if needed and end with.

"Ok. Now take these decided upon ideas and create a plan for how to implement. And create new tests where appropriate."

Then it will go off and come back with a plan for what to do. And then you send it off with.

"Ok, start implementing."

So sure. You probably can work on this to make it easier to use than with a CLI chat. It would likely be less like an IDE and more like a planning tool you'd use with human colleagues though.