Autocomplete

Kilo Code's autocomplete feature provides intelligent code suggestions and completions while you're typing, helping you write code faster and more efficiently. It offers both automatic and manual triggering options.

How Autocomplete Works

The extension uses Fill-in-the-Middle (FIM) completion powered by Codestral (mistralai/codestral-2508) via the Kilo Gateway. It analyzes the code before and after your cursor to generate contextually accurate inline suggestions.

Triggering Options

Auto-trigger

Autocomplete is enabled by default and automatically shows inline suggestions as you type. Suggestions appear as ghost text that you can accept with Tab.

Trigger on keybinding (Cmd+L)

Press Cmd+L (Mac) or Ctrl+L (Windows/Linux) to manually request a completion at your cursor position.

📝Note

This keybinding requires kilo-code.new.autocomplete.enableSmartInlineTaskKeybinding to be enabled in VS Code settings. It is disabled by default.

Provider and Model

Autocomplete currently uses Codestral (mistralai/codestral-2508) routed through the Kilo Gateway. Codestral is optimized for Fill-in-the-Middle (FIM) completions, and there is no option to select a different model at this time. Support for additional FIM models is planned for future releases.

Requests are billed through your Kilo account. To use your own Mistral API key instead, see Setting Up Mistral for Free Autocomplete.

Status Bar

The extension displays an autocomplete status indicator in the VS Code status bar, including:

  • Current autocomplete state (active/snoozed)
  • Cumulative cost tracking for autocomplete requests

Snooze / Unsnooze

You can temporarily disable autocomplete by clicking the status bar item to snooze it. Click again to unsnooze and re-enable suggestions.

Copilot Conflict Detection

The extension automatically detects if GitHub Copilot inline suggestions are enabled and warns you about potential conflicts. Disable Copilot's inline completions for the best experience with Kilo Code autocomplete.

Best Practices

  1. Use Manual Autocomplete for precision: When you need suggestions at specific moments, use the keyboard shortcut rather than relying on auto-trigger
  2. Use chat for complex changes: Chat is better suited for multi-file changes and substantial code modifications
  3. Steer autocomplete with comments: Write a comment describing what you want before triggering autocomplete, or type a function signature — autocomplete will fill in the implementation
  1. Check the status bar tooltip: Hover the status bar item to see autocomplete state and cost tracking

Tips

💡Tip

When to use chat vs autocomplete: Use chat for multi-file changes, refactoring, or when you need to explain intent. Use autocomplete for quick, localized edits where the context is already clear from surrounding code.

💡Tip

Treat suggestions as drafts: Accept autocomplete suggestions quickly, then refine. It's often faster to fix a 90% correct suggestion than to craft the perfect prompt.

  • Autocomplete works best with clear, well-structured code
  • Comments above functions help autocomplete understand intent
  • Variable and function names matter — descriptive names lead to better suggestions