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Eclipse Peon AI

Eclipse Peon AI is an Eclipse RCP plugin that integrates a lightweight, context-aware LLM assistant directly into your Eclipse workbench. It helps developers with coding tasks by providing AI-powered assistance while keeping full control over your code.

Features

  • Chat Interface: Interactive AI chat with syntax-highlighted code blocks and markdown rendering
  • File Operations: Read, write, search, and modify files directly from the chat
  • Context Awareness: Understands your current workspace and selected files
  • Local LLM Support: Works with Ollama for privacy-focused local inference
  • Multi-Provider: Supports various LLM providers through LangChain4j

example

Installation

Install directly from Eclipse:

  1. Go to Help > Install New Software
  2. Add the update site: https://github.com/sterlp/eclipse-peon-ai
  3. Select "Eclipse Peon AI" and follow the installation wizard
  4. Restart Eclipse

Requirements

  • Eclipse 2025-12 or newer
  • Java 21
  • An LLM provider (Ollama recommended for local use)

Configuration

After installation, configure the plugin via Window > Preferences > Peon AI:

  1. Provider: Select your LLM provider (Ollama, OpenAI, Anthropic, etc.)
  2. Model: Enter the model name (e.g., llama3, codellama for Ollama)
  3. Base URL: Set the API endpoint (e.g., http://localhost:11434 for Ollama)
  4. API Key: Enter your API key if required

Usage

Opening the Chat View

  1. Go to Window > Show View > Other...
  2. Search for "Peon AI" or "AI Chat"
  3. The chat view will appear in your workbench

Available Tools

The AI assistant has access to several tools:

  • Read File: Read contents of any file in your workspace
  • Write File: Create or modify files
  • Search Files: Search for text across your project
  • Read Selected File: Quick access to the currently selected file
  • Update Selected File: Modify the currently selected file

Example Workflows

  1. Explain Code: Select a file and ask "What does this code do?"
  2. Generate Tests: Ask "Write unit tests for the selected class"
  3. Refactor: Select code and ask "How can I improve this?"
  4. Debug: Paste error messages and ask "What's causing this?"

Architecture

  • Main Plugin (org.sterl.llmpeon): Eclipse e4 plugin with UI components
  • Core (org.sterl.llmpeon.core): Standalone module for LLM integration
  • Target Platform (releng/llmpeon-target): Eclipse 2025-12 based target platform
  • Features (releng/llmpeon-feature): Eclipse feature definition

Technology Stack

  • Eclipse RCP / e4
  • Java 21
  • Maven + Tycho
  • LangChain4j for LLM integration
  • Markdown-it for markdown rendering
  • Highlight.js for syntax highlighting
  • Diff2Html for diff visualization

Building from Source

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/sterl/eclipse-peon-ai.git
cd eclipse-peon-ai

# Build the project
mvn clean verify

# Run in development mode
# Use Eclipse Application launch with -clean -clearPersistedState

Known Issues

  • Incremental Build Bug: Eclipse 4.38 has a PDE/JDT bug where incremental builds produce broken .class files. Use Project > Clean before re-launching.