🧘 I Built a VS Code Extension That Forces You to Code Without AI
We've all been there — you're stuck on a problem, so you hit Cmd+I, Copilot spits out 40 lines, and you paste it in. Problem "solved." But did you solve it?
I built Raw Code Focus — a VS Code extension that completely blocks all AI assistance for a timed session, so you can actually practice thinking through problems yourself.
What It Does
When you start a session:
- 🚫 Copilot inline completions, Next Edit Suggestions, and Chat are all disabled
- 🚫 TabNine, Codeium, and VS Code's built-in inline suggestions are off
- 🚫 The "Generate code ⌘I" hint is hidden
- ⏱ A live countdown sits in your status bar (turns yellow under 5 min)
- 📊 Stats are tracked — streaks, total focus time, completion rate
When time's up, everything is silently restored to exactly how it was.
Why I Built It
I noticed I was reaching for Copilot before I'd even fully read the error. That's not learning — it's outsourcing thinking.
Raw Code Focus gives you a guilt-free way to say "for the next hour, it's just me and the compiler." Like going to the gym without a spotter for every rep.
The Tricky Part — Actually Blocking Copilot
Turns out, just toggling one setting isn't enough. Copilot has multiple entry points:
"github.copilot.editor.enableAutoCompletions": false,
"github.copilot.enable": { "*": false },
"github.copilot.inlineSuggest.enable": false,
"github.copilot.nextEditSuggestions.enabled": false,
"inlineChat.enabled": false,
"chat.commandCenter.enabled": false,
"workbench.editor.empty.hint": "hidden"
And settings must be written to both Global and Workspace targets — otherwise a workspace config can silently override the block.
The extension also re-checks every 3 seconds and closes any chat panels that get reopened, so there's no sneaking around it.
The Dashboard
Open the dashboard with Raw Code Focus: Open Dashboard to see:
- 🔥 Current and longest day streak
- ⏱ Total accumulated focus time
- ✅ Session completion rate
- 📋 Recent session history
Install It
Search Raw Code Focus in VS Code Extensions, or grab it directly:
👉 marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=DhineshKumar.raw-code-focus
Source code: github.com/dinesh0666/ai-detox
Roadmap
- [ ] Pomodoro-style session scheduler
- [ ] Custom session goals and notes
- [ ] Weekly stats summary notification
Give it a try and let me know what you think! And if you have ideas for what else should be blocked (looking at you, ChatGPT side-by-side windows 👀), drop them in the comments.
Top comments (1)
really cool idea to block AI and encourage actual problem-solving. it's so easy to rely on those quick fixes.
by the way, if you're into building apps, check out Moonshift. you can get a full next.js + postgres + auth stack deployed in about 7 minutes, and you own the code on github. if you're curious, I can set you up for a free run.