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CLAUDE.md - Chat GPT Extension Project Guide

Project Overview

Chat GPT Extension is a Visual Studio 2022/2026 VSIX extension that embeds AI chat interfaces (OpenAI ChatGPT, Google Gemini, Anthropic Claude, Hangzhou Deepseek) directly into the IDE using WebView2. It uses JavaScript injection to automate interactions with the AI web interfaces — no API tokens required.

  • Author: Daniel Carvalho Liedke
  • License: Proprietary (free to use, no cloning/modification/selling)
  • Current Version: 9.7

Tech Stack

  • Language: C# 7.3 / .NET Framework 4.7.2
  • UI: WPF (XAML)
  • Browser: WebView2 (Chromium-based embedded browser)
  • IDE Integration: Visual Studio SDK (AsyncPackage, tool windows, commands)
  • Serialization: MessagePack, Newtonsoft.Json
  • Target: Visual Studio 2022 (17.14+) and VS 2026, x64 only

Build Instructions

Build the solution using MSBuild (Release configuration).

Visual Studio 2026 (VS 18 — current build environment):

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\18\Enterprise\MSBuild\Current\Bin\amd64\MSBuild.exe" "C:\GitLab\ChatGPTExtension\ChatGPTExtension.sln" /p:Configuration=Release

Visual Studio 2022 (legacy):

"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\2022\Enterprise\MSBuild\Current\Bin\amd64\MSBuild.exe" "C:\GitLab\ChatGPTExtension\ChatGPTExtension.sln" /p:Configuration=Release

If the exact path/edition is unknown, locate MSBuild via vswhere:

& "${env:ProgramFiles(x86)}\Microsoft Visual Studio\Installer\vswhere.exe" -latest -prerelease -find MSBuild\**\Bin\amd64\MSBuild.exe

Output: bin/x64/Release/ChatGPTExtension.vsix

There are no unit tests in this project.

Testing in the Experimental Instance (IMPORTANT)

Local testing runs in the VS experimental instance (devenv.exe /rootSuffix Exp), launched by F5 from VS.

  • DeployExtension is forced to true for both Debug|x64 and Release|x64 in ChatGPTExtension.csproj. VSSDK BuildTools 18.5+ defaults it to false, which previously meant Release builds launched the Exp instance without deploying the new build — the old version kept loading. Do not remove these <DeployExtension>true</DeployExtension> lines.
  • Only ever deploy via F5 / build (MSBuild DeployExtension). Do NOT also install the VSIX into the Exp hive with VSIXInstaller.exe /rootSuffix:Exp — that registers a second copy of the same extension GUID, and the duplicate makes VS fail to load it ("Extension '…' could not be found. Please make sure the extension has been installed.").
  • If F5 fails with that duplicate/"could not be found" error, or a build won't update, reset the experimental instance (close all VS windows first): 
    "C:\Program Files\Microsoft Visual Studio\18\Enterprise\VSSDK\VisualStudioIntegration\Tools\Bin\CreateExpInstance.exe" /Reset /VSInstance=18.0 /RootSuffix=Exp
    Then F5 again to redeploy a single clean copy.
  • Publish builds must NOT deploy locally: publish.cmd passes -p:DeployExtension=false. Use that flag for any Marketplace/CI build.

Version Management (IMPORTANT)

When making any code changes, ALL THREE version locations MUST be updated together:

1. Assembly Version — Properties/AssemblyInfo.cs

[assembly: AssemblyVersion("X.Y.0.0")]
[assembly: AssemblyFileVersion("X.Y.0.0")]

2. VSIX Manifest Version — source.extension.vsixmanifest

<Identity Id="ChatGPTExtension.b5d7cf4a-65ad-4f6b-8f5a-5d27c2a5d4e2" Version="X.Y" ... />

3. README Changelog — README.md

Add a new entry at the top of the "What's New" section (line ~85):

- X.Y - Brief description of the change.

Version format: The project uses Major.Minor format (e.g., 9.0, 9.1). For AssemblyInfo, it becomes Major.Minor.0.0 (e.g., 9.1.0.0). Increment the minor version for each release. Increment the major version for significant feature additions.

Project Structure

ChatGPTExtension/
├── AIConfigurations/              # Per-AI-model integration logic
│   ├── ClaudeConfiguration.cs     # Claude AI selectors and JS injection
│   ├── DeepSeekConfiguration.cs   # Deepseek selectors and JS injection
│   ├── GeminiConfiguration.cs     # Gemini selectors and JS injection
│   └── GPTConfiguration.cs        # ChatGPT selectors and JS injection
├── DragAndDrop/                   # Drag-and-drop reordering for custom actions
│   ├── DragAdorner.cs
│   ├── ListViewDragDropManager.cs
│   └── MouseUtilities.cs
├── Properties/
│   └── AssemblyInfo.cs            # Assembly version (update on changes)
├── Resources/
│   └── ChatGPTWindowCommand.png
├── StoreInfo/                     # VS Marketplace assets
├── Themes/                        # Theme resources (currently empty)
│
├── ChatGPTExtensionPackage.cs     # Main VSIX package entry point (singleton)
├── ChatGPTWindowControl.xaml      # Main extension UI (XAML)
├── ChatGPTWindowControl.xaml.cs   # Main code-behind (~84KB, core logic)
├── ChatGPTToolWindow.cs           # VS tool window wrapper
├── ChatGPTWindowCommand.cs        # VS command handler
├── AIConfigurationManager.cs      # Loads/switches AI model configs (~19KB)
├── Configuration.cs               # Persistent settings (model, proxy, etc.)
├── ButtonLabelsConfiguration.cs   # Configurable button label texts
├── ActionItem.cs                  # Custom action data model
│
├── ConfigurationWindow.xaml/.cs   # Custom actions configuration UI
├── ButtonsConfigWindow.xaml/.cs   # Button labels configuration UI
├── ProxyConfigurationWindow.xaml/.cs  # Proxy settings UI
├── GPTWideWindow.xaml/.cs         # Wide-format response window
├── InputDialog.xaml/.cs           # Generic input dialog
│
├── ai-config.json                 # AI model URL/selector config (24h GitHub cache)
├── gptwide.txt                    # JavaScript for wide-format responses
├── source.extension.vsixmanifest  # VSIX manifest (update version on changes)
├── ChatGPTExtensionPackage.vsct   # VS command table (menus/buttons)
├── ChatGPTExtension.csproj        # Project file
├── ChatGPTExtension.sln           # Solution file
├── README.md                      # Documentation (update changelog on changes)
└── LICENSE.txt                    # Proprietary license

Key Architecture Concepts

AI Configuration System

Each AI model has a dedicated configuration class in AIConfigurations/ that implements model-specific:

  • CSS selectors for prompt areas, copy buttons, send buttons
  • JavaScript injection scripts for automating interactions
  • URL patterns and DOM element identification

AIConfigurationManager.cs orchestrates loading/switching between models and merges remote config from ai-config.json (fetched from GitHub with 24h cache).

WebView2 Integration

The extension embeds a Chromium browser (WebView2) that loads AI chat websites. All automation is done via JavaScript injection — finding DOM elements by selectors and simulating user interactions.

Configuration Persistence

Configuration.cs handles saving/loading user settings (selected AI model, proxy config, button positions, copy code toggle state) to the local filesystem at %LocalAppData%\ChatGPTExtension.

Custom Actions

Users can define custom AI prompts (up to 20) that appear as buttons. These are managed through ConfigurationWindow.xaml with drag-and-drop reordering support from DragAndDrop/.

Key Files for Common Tasks

Task Primary File(s)
Fix AI selector/button detection AIConfigurations/<Model>Configuration.cs, ai-config.json
Modify main UI buttons/layout ChatGPTWindowControl.xaml, ChatGPTWindowControl.xaml.cs
Add new AI model Create new AIConfigurations/<Model>Configuration.cs, update AIConfigurationManager.cs, add to ai-config.json
Change menu structure ChatGPTExtensionPackage.vsct, ChatGPTWindowCommand.cs
Fix WebView2 interaction issues ChatGPTWindowControl.xaml.cs (JS injection methods)
Modify settings/persistence Configuration.cs
Change VS version requirements source.extension.vsixmanifest

Coding Conventions

  • Singleton pattern used for ChatGPTExtensionPackage and AI configuration classes
  • Async/await throughout (inherits from AsyncPackage)
  • No unit tests — changes are validated through manual regression testing
  • JavaScript strings are embedded in C# as string literals for WebView2 injection
  • CSS selectors in AI configurations may break when AI providers update their UIs — these are the most frequent maintenance items
  • WPF data binding with INotifyPropertyChanged for UI updates
  • Keep the code-behind style consistent — this project uses code-behind rather than MVVM

Common Pitfalls

  • AI providers frequently change their DOM structure, breaking CSS selectors. Check ai-config.json and AIConfigurations/ classes when copy/paste stops working.
  • WebView2 data directory is at %LocalAppData%\ChatGPTExtension — deleting it clears login sessions and cached data.
  • The extension only supports x64 (amd64) architecture.
  • VS minimum version is 17.14 — do not lower this requirement.
  • JavaScript injection must handle timing — DOM elements may not be ready immediately after page load.

Git Workflow

  • Main branch: master
  • Commit style: Version number followed by a dash and description (e.g., 9.0 - Fixed "Reload GPT" menu...)
  • Always build and verify the VSIX before committing