THE IOLYS DOCUMENTATION

Your AI workspace.
Inside Visual Studio.

Connect your preferred models, give them the right context, and move from a question to a reviewed change. One familiar workflow, across AI providers.

Install iolys Run your first task

For Visual Studio on Windows / Currently in beta

iolys inside Visual Studio with task history beside an API-client conversation and its model controls. — Your tasks, code discussions, and model controls in Visual Studio. Select a screenshot to open it at full size. Examples throughout these guides illustrate the interface; models and controls can vary by version.

Start here

Choose a starting point. Each guide takes you through the controls you will use in iolys.

Connect a providerUse a coding subscription, an API key, or a local model.Find your setup → Make your first changeOpen a solution, describe a task, and review the result.Follow the quickstart → Stay in controlChoose a mode and decide what your agent can do.Understand permissions → Make it your workflowReuse skills, create custom agents, and connect MCP tools.Explore Agent Skills →

What is iolys?

iolys is an AI development workspace for Visual Studio. It connects your solution, models, conversations, and development tools in one interface. You bring a provider account, API credentials, or a local model; iolys supplies the workflow around it.

An agent can inspect project files, explain code, propose a plan, make changes, and use Visual Studio's build and test tools. The available actions depend on the model, enabled tools, selected mode, and permissions.

Choose your workflow

If you want to…	Start with…
Use Claude Code, Codex, Kimi, or Kiro	Managed CLI providers
Connect hosted models or your own endpoint	API providers
Use local or remote Ollama models	Ollama
Ask about a file, selection, or screenshot	Files, images, and context
Work on several tasks independently	Parallel workspaces
Review an agent's edits	Review and undo changes
Understand usage, quotas, and estimates	Usage and costs

Build on your team's conventions

Package a repeatable process as an Agent Skill, give a specialized role its own custom agent, or add external capabilities through MCP servers. These features work within the permissions you choose.

Read Data and privacy to understand provider requests, locally saved conversations, product analytics, and optional diagnostics.

Get help

Start with Troubleshooting for connection, model, tool, and session issues. For questions and feedback, join the iolys Discord community. Product news and release articles are available on the iolys website.