AI assistants

Deckard gives AI assistants in VS Code eight tools through VS Code’s language model tool API. Any assistant using those tools can call them; in GitHub Copilot’s agent mode they appear in the tools picker. Assistants that connect only through MCP servers cannot see them; see Claude Code and other MCP clients.

• Search Deckard notes and tasks (deckard_query, or #deckardQuery in a chat prompt) runs a Deckard query and returns matching sections and tasks with path, line, and headings, plus each task’s done state, due and scheduled dates, priority, and repeat rule. It returns at most 25 notes and 25 tasks unless asked for more, up to 200, and always reports full totals. A query that does not parse returns its error and a short syntax guide.
• List Deckard tags (deckard_list_tags, or #deckardTags) lists tags by use count, optionally narrowed by a search.
• Describe a Deckard tag and its fields (deckard_describe_tag, or #deckardDescribeTag) takes a tag, a title, or a few words naming one, and answers in plain text. For a row of a type: its type, title, tag, and note, or No hub note.; each field and its values, lead: Alex Rivera (@alex-rivera); its reverses and what they come from, members (reverse of Person.team): …; its open tasks and how many are overdue; for a person, how many open tasks you owe them and they owe you, and how many open questions you have for them, as their page’s Between you card counts them; and its three latest entries with their dates. For any other tag: its counts, hub note, open tasks, and latest entries. When the words name several rows, it describes the best and names the others. It only reads.
• Define a term from Deckard notes (deckard_define_term, or #deckardDefineTerm) takes a short term such as NDF and answers with what it means and where it was defined, the term note or the note, line, heading, and day that first wrote it, with how many entries use it; or says the notes define none, and how often they use it. See Terms. It only reads.
• deckard_add_task adds a task to today’s note or a named note.
• deckard_change_task completes, reopens, retitles, dates, prioritizes, or hands over one task, named by note and line as deckard_query reports them.
• List Deckard questions (deckard_list_questions, or #deckardQuestions) lists your questions, the open ones by default, oldest first, each with how long it has been open and its note and line; state lists the answered ones, or all, and search narrows them by words or a tag. It only reads.
• deckard_answer_question writes an answer under a question, named by note and line as deckard_list_questions reports them.

In a workspace with types, deckard_query takes the type’s fields as conditions, and its answer, like deckard_list_tags’s, names the workspace’s types and their fields on its second line, Types in this workspace: Team (lead, owns, on-call, channel; reverses: members), …, so an assistant knows what it can ask.

Reading. The first time an assistant calls a tool in a session, VS Code asks you to allow it. Deckard sends nothing itself; the assistant may send what it gets to its model service. Set deckard.assistantTools to false to turn the tools off. Calls are timed in Deckard’s log.

Writing. The assistant asks before every write, and nothing is written until you approve the exact line in the refactor preview, even for one note. A change is refused if the line is no longer the task, or the question, the index knows. Deckard: Undo Last Change takes a write back.

Suggest steps

In Break into Steps…, Suggest steps asks a VS Code language model (GitHub Copilot’s or another extension’s) for a task’s steps. It appears only when a model is installed and names the model.

• It sends one request holding only the task’s words, the first time behind VS Code’s consent dialog.
• Suggested steps join the list marked suggested, to remove, reorder, change, or add to. Nothing is written until you choose Write. Escape or closing the list cancels.
• If the model refuses, fails, or takes over 30 seconds, the list stays open and says why; details go to Deckard’s log.
• Set deckard.tasks.suggestSteps to false to hide it.

This is the only place Deckard itself sends anything to a model.

Claude Code and other MCP clients

Deckard can offer the same eight tools to Claude Code and other Model Context Protocol clients. Set deckard.mcpServer.enabled to true, or run Deckard: Copy MCP Server Setup, which offers to turn the server on and copies the command that adds Deckard to Claude Code:

claude mcp add --transport http deckard http://127.0.0.1:39217/mcp --header "Authorization: Bearer <token>"

• The server is off by default. It listens on 127.0.0.1 only, at deckard.mcpServer.port.
• With several VS Code windows open, the first window to start the server holds the port, and clients see that window’s notes. The other windows wait quietly and take the port over when that window closes.
• Every request needs the server’s token, kept in VS Code’s secret storage and shared by every window. Deckard: Reset MCP Server Token makes a new one and breaks every copied setup.
• Requests from web pages on other sites are refused, token or not.
• There is no dialog before a write; the refactor preview is where you see the line and can decline it.
• Deckard sends nothing itself; the client may send what it gets to its model service.

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