How to Use Cody AI to Understand and Refactor Large Codebases
Learn how to use Cody AI by Sourcegraph to answer codebase questions, generate tests, and refactor large projects with repository-wide context.
Cody is an AI code assistant built by Sourcegraph that understands your entire codebase, not just the file you are editing. It uses context from your repository, code graph, and documentation to answer questions, generate idiomatic code, and complete large refactors safely. Cody works inside popular editors and on the command line, giving developers accurate, context-aware help for both writing new code and maintaining legacy systems.
Product Features
• Repository-wide context that reads your whole codebase to ground every answer in your actual code.
• AI code generation and autocomplete tuned for your language, framework, and project conventions.
• Command-line interface (Cody CLI) for asking questions and scanning code outside the editor.
• Multiple model options including leadership-grade LLMs through a flexible BYOK setup.
• Managed security and privacy controls for enterprises with source graph indexing.
• Integration with VS Code, JetBrains IDEs, and Neovim.
Product Highlights
• Uses Sourcegraph’s code intelligence to follow cross-file references automatically.
• Can suggest refactors and explain unfamiliar codebases in plain language.
• Supports custom commands and recipe workflows for team-specific tasks.
• Free tier for individuals with generous monthly autocomplete and chat usage.
Use Cases
• Onboarding engineers who need to understand a large, unfamiliar codebase quickly.
• Developers generating unit tests and documentation for existing modules.
• Teams automating repetitive refactors across multiple files.
• Reviewing code quality by asking Cody to explain or flag potential issues.
• Learning best practices for specific frameworks by grounding answers in real project code.
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