---
title: "How to use Muse Code in VS Code, with a side panel"
url: https://helicon.sh/guides/muse-code-in-vscode
description: "Run Muse Code in a VS Code side panel with Helicon: threads as tabs, approvals you can read, and the files each thread changed. Uses your own muse login."
updated: 2026-10-06
site: Helicon
---

# Use Muse Code inside VS Code

Install the Helicon extension from the VS Code Marketplace, sign in to the muse CLI once with muse login, then click the Helicon icon in the activity bar or press Cmd+Alt+H (Ctrl+Alt+H on Windows and Linux). Helicon is an unofficial side panel that drives the muse CLI you already have, on your own Muse Code plan.

## What the Helicon extension is

Helicon is an unofficial, open source side panel for the muse CLI. It does not replace Muse Code. It runs `muse serve` for the folder you have open and gives you a GUI over it, so the models, tools and approval rules are the ones you already get in the terminal.

- Threads as tabs: the threads you have open in this folder sit across the top of the panel.
- Approvals you can read: the exact command or edit before it runs, then allow or deny it.
- The files each thread changed, with line counts, one click from opening in the editor.
- History: every earlier thread in the folder, searchable and grouped by day, including the ones you started in the terminal.
- Monitors: a thread that is watching a build or a pull request's checks says so, with a Stop button.
- Plan usage: your 5-hour and weekly windows, and what each thread would have cost at API rates.

> Helicon is an unofficial community project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Meta. Muse Code is a trademark of Meta, used here only to say what Helicon works with.

## What you need first

- The muse CLI, installed and signed in once with `muse login`. The extension uses that login and never asks for an API key.
- A Muse Code plan, or pay-as-you-go billing on Meta's Model API. The free Muse app doesn't include Muse Code.
- VS Code 1.101 or later. The extension runs on the editor's own Node runtime and needs Node 22 or newer.

If `muse --version` does not answer in a terminal, fix that first. [The muse CLI not found guide](/guides/muse-cli-not-found) covers the usual causes.

## Install it from the Extensions view

1. Open the Extensions view with `Cmd+Shift+X` on macOS or `Ctrl+Shift+X` on Windows and Linux.
2. Search for "Helicon".
3. Pick Helicon by harjjotsinghh and click Install.

You can also install it from the [VS Code Marketplace](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=harjjotsinghh.helicon) in a browser, or from a terminal:

```sh
code --install-extension harjjotsinghh.helicon
```

VSCodium and other editors that use Open VSX get the same extension from [Open VSX](https://open-vsx.org/extension/harjjotsinghh/helicon). For Cursor, Windsurf and Antigravity, see [Muse Code in Cursor](/guides/muse-code-in-cursor).

## Open the panel

Click the Helicon icon in the activity bar, or press `Cmd+Alt+H` on macOS or `Ctrl+Alt+H` on Windows and Linux. The panel opens on the folder you have open. Type what you want changed in the composer at the bottom. New threads open as tabs, and the clock icon shows every earlier thread in the folder.

Drag the panel to the right-hand side bar if you prefer it there. If the divider line then sits on the wrong edge, set `helicon.panelBorder` to `left` or `right`.

For every project at once, run **Helicon: Open Full Helicon in Editor** from the Command Palette. It opens the full app, sidebar and all, in an editor tab.

| Command | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| Helicon: Open Helicon | Show the Helicon panel (`Cmd+Alt+H` / `Ctrl+Alt+H`) |
| Helicon: New Thread | Start a new thread in the panel |
| Helicon: Open Full Helicon in Editor | The full app, with every project, in an editor tab |
| Helicon: New Thread in This Folder | From the Explorer's right-click menu: start a thread in any folder |
| Helicon: Open in Browser | Open the same session in your browser |
| Helicon: Restart Server | Restart the local server |
| Helicon: Show Log | Server output, for bug reports |

## Remote-SSH, WSL and dev containers

In a Remote-SSH, WSL or dev container window, the extension runs on the remote side, next to your code and its muse install. VS Code forwards the port for you, so the panel works the same way it does locally.

- Install the muse CLI on the remote machine, or inside the WSL distribution, and run `muse login` there once.
- The Muse login on the remote side is the one the panel uses.
- Check with `muse --version` in VS Code's integrated terminal, which already runs on the remote side.

To reach a server from the desktop app instead of the editor, see [Muse Code over SSH](/guides/muse-code-over-ssh).

## Recommend it to your team

Add Helicon to the repository's `.vscode/extensions.json`. VS Code then suggests it to anyone who opens the folder without it installed.

```json
{ "recommendations": ["harjjotsinghh.helicon"] }
```

The ID is the same on the VS Code Marketplace and on Open VSX, so the same file works for teammates on Cursor, Windsurf and Antigravity. Each person still needs their own muse CLI, `muse login` and Muse Code plan.

## Try it before you install

[Try the full app in your browser](https://helicon.sh/try) first. It runs on sample data, so nothing needs to be installed and no Muse login is involved.

## Use Muse Code in VS Code with Helicon

1. **Install and sign in to the muse CLI** The extension uses this login and stores no credentials of its own.
   ```sh
   muse login
   ```
2. **Install the Helicon extension** Search "Helicon" in the Extensions view, or install it from the VS Code Marketplace.
   ```sh
   code --install-extension harjjotsinghh.helicon
   ```
3. **Open your project folder** The panel works on the folder you have open.
4. **Open the panel** Click the Helicon icon in the activity bar, or press Cmd+Alt+H (Ctrl+Alt+H on Windows and Linux).
5. **Start a thread** Type what you want changed in the composer at the bottom of the panel.

## Frequently asked questions

### Is Helicon an official Muse Code extension?

No. Helicon is an unofficial community project, MIT licensed, and not affiliated with or endorsed by Meta. It drives the muse CLI you already have.

### Does it work with the free Muse app?

No. Muse Code needs a Muse Code plan or pay-as-you-go billing on Meta's Model API, and the free Muse app doesn't include it. The extension itself is free.

### Do I need an API key?

No. The extension uses the login from `muse login` and stores no credentials of its own.

### Does it send my code anywhere?

No. The local server binds to 127.0.0.1 only and talks to `muse serve`. Nothing is sent anywhere except to Muse Code itself, and the extension has no telemetry.

### Do I need the desktop app too?

No. The extension carries its own copy of Helicon. You can use both, and they keep separate lists of projects.

## Related

- [VS Code and Cursor](https://helicon.sh/install/vscode): A Muse Code side panel inside your editor: threads as tabs, readable approvals, the files each thread changed. Uses your own muse login. Free and open source.
- [Muse Code in Cursor](https://helicon.sh/guides/muse-code-in-cursor): Cursor, Windsurf and Antigravity install Helicon from Open VSX: a Muse Code side panel with threads as tabs, readable approvals and the files each thread changed.
- [Muse Code over SSH](https://helicon.sh/guides/muse-code-over-ssh): Point Helicon at a folder on a remote machine and Muse Code runs there over ssh, while you keep threads, approvals and diffs in a desktop app on your laptop.
- [Fix: muse CLI not found](https://helicon.sh/guides/muse-cli-not-found): Helicon needs a working, logged in muse CLI. Here is how to check which install it is looking at on Windows, macOS, Linux and WSL2, and how to fix each case.
- [VS Code extensions](https://helicon.sh/compare/vs-code-extension): A standalone Muse Code desktop app compared with running the muse CLI inside VS Code: where an editor panel wins, where a separate session home wins, and how to run both.

---

Helicon is a free, MIT licensed, unofficial community client for Meta's Muse Code CLI. Not made, sponsored or endorsed by Meta. Source: https://helicon.sh/. Machine readable index: https://helicon.sh/llms.txt