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Qiskit Code Assistant - Quick Start Guide

Get started with the Qiskit Code Assistant in under 5 minutes!

Choose Your Setup

Option 1: IBM Quantum Cloud (Recommended)

Use IBM's hosted service with the latest models.

Requirements:

  • IBM Quantum premium account
  • Internet connection

Steps:

  1. Install the Extension

    • Open VSCode
    • Go to Extensions (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+X)
    • Search for "Qiskit Code Assistant"
    • Click Install

  2. Create Your API Token (if you don't have one)

    • Go to IBM Quantum Platform
    • Login with your IBM Quantum account
    • Click Create + (upper-left in the API key section)
    • Enter Name
    • Click Create
    • Copy the API key

  3. Configure the Extension

    • Press Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P in VSCode
    • Type "Qiskit Code Assistant: Set IBM Quantum API token"
    • Paste your token and press Enter

  4. Accept the Model Disclaimer

    • The first time you use the assistant, you'll see a model disclaimer
    • Read and click "Accept"

  5. Start Coding!

    • Open a Python file
    • Press Ctrl+. to get AI suggestions
    • Press Tab to accept, Esc to reject

See GETTING_STARTED.md for detailed instructions.

Option 2: Local Setup (For non-premium plan users)

Run everything on your local machine - no internet required for completions!

bash <(curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Qiskit/qiskit-code-assistant-vscode/main/setup_local.sh)

Pros:

  • ✅ Complete privacy - code never leaves your machine
  • ✅ No API token needed
  • ✅ Works offline
  • ✅ Free forever

Cons:

  • Requires 8-16GB RAM depending on model
  • Initial setup downloads ~5-15GB

Requirements:

  • Visual Studio Code installed
  • 8GB+ RAM (16GB+ recommended)
  • ~15-20GB disk space

See LOCAL_SETUP.md for detailed instructions.

Quick Comparison

Feature Local Setup Cloud Setup
Privacy ✅ Complete ⚠️ Code sent to IBM, not stored
Speed Fast (depends on hardware) Fast (depends on internet)
Cost Free Requires premium account
Setup Time 5-10 minutes 2 minutes
Offline ✅ Yes ❌ No
RAM Required 8-16GB+ Any
Disk Space ~15-20GB Minimal

Keyboard Shortcuts

Once set up, use these shortcuts in any Python file:

Shortcut Action
Ctrl+. Trigger code completion
Tab Accept suggestion
Esc Reject suggestion
Alt+[ / Alt+] Cycle through suggestions

Example Usage

Try typing this in a Python file:

from qiskit import QuantumCircuit

# Create a Bell state
qc = QuantumCircuit(2)
qc.h(0)
# Press Ctrl+. here for suggestions

The AI will suggest completing your quantum circuit!

Next Steps

For Local Setup Users:

  1. Choose a Model:

    • Default: Qwen2.5-Coder 14B (best for code)
    • Lightweight: Granite 3.3 8B (for limited RAM)
    • Latest: Mistral Small 24B (for powerful systems)

  2. Customize Settings:

    • Open VSCode Settings (Cmd/Ctrl+,)
    • Search for "Qiskit Code Assistant"
    • Adjust streaming, timeout, etc.

  3. Read the Docs:

For Cloud Setup Users:

  1. Explore Features:

    • Code completion with Ctrl+.
    • Code migration (click the sparkle icon)
    • Inline suggestions

  2. Customize Shortcuts:

    • Go to Preferences → Keyboard Shortcuts
    • Search for "qiskit-vscode"
    • Modify keybindings as needed

  3. Read the Docs:

Troubleshooting

Local Setup Issues

Ollama Not Running?

curl http://localhost:11434
# Should return: "Ollama is running"

# If not, start it:
ollama serve

Extension Not Working?

  1. Verify VSCode settings have "qiskitCodeAssistant.url": "http://localhost:11434"
  2. Restart VSCode completely (don't just reload window)
  3. Check extension is installed: code --list-extensions | grep qiskit

See LOCAL_SETUP.md for more troubleshooting.

Cloud Setup Issues

No API Token Accepted?

  1. Verify you're on IBM Quantum premium plan
  2. Check token is copied correctly (no extra spaces)
  3. Try regenerating token on IBM Quantum Platform

Extension Not Showing Up?

  1. Check Extensions tab - make sure it's enabled
  2. Reload VSCode window (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P → "Developer: Reload Window")
  3. Check status bar at bottom for Qiskit icon

See GETTING_STARTED.md for more troubleshooting.

Getting Help

Switching Between Local and Cloud

You can easily switch between setups by changing one setting:

Use Local:

{
  "qiskitCodeAssistant.url": "http://localhost:11434"
}

Use Cloud:

{
  "qiskitCodeAssistant.url": "https://qiskit-code-assistant.quantum.ibm.com"
}

Restart VSCode after changing the URL.

Advanced Usage

Local Setup: Choose Different Models

# Lightweight (8GB RAM)
bash setup_local.sh granite-3.3-8b

# Best quality (16GB RAM)
bash setup_local.sh qwen2.5-coder-14b

# Latest model (24GB RAM)
bash setup_local.sh mistral-small-24b

Cloud Setup: Provide Feedback

  • Click thumbs up/down on suggestions to help improve the model
  • Click feedback icon in status bar for general feedback

What's Next?

  1. Learn Qiskit 2.0: The assistant is trained on the latest Qiskit
  2. Try Different Prompts: Comment your intent and press Ctrl+.
  3. Explore Patterns: Check out Qiskit patterns for reusable code
  4. Share Feedback: Help improve the assistant by providing feedback

Happy quantum coding! 🚀