KDBM Lite · 06 / 10

AI Coding Tools, Agents & Models

Understand AI chat, IDE extensions, coding agents, models, providers, context, and when to use stronger or faster AI.

Goal

Understand what AI coding tools, agents, and models do in the workflow.

Do now

Separate app builders, coding agents, chat models, and human review.

Output

You know which helper to use and what not to trust blindly.

Stop when

You can explain why project files remain the source of truth.

Choose by job

Four kinds of AI helper

They are not competing brands. They see different amounts of your project, so pick by the job in front of you.

AI chat

Sees: Only what you paste

Best for: Planning and explaining

IDE extension

Sees: The open file

Best for: Quick edits in one file

Coding agent

Sees: Project files, with permission

Best for: Multi-file work and commands

Model + context

Sees: Whatever you gave it

Best for: Stronger for hard errors

AI Coding Tools, Agents & Models

What this is

“AI” in a build session is really three separate things: the window you type into, the model behind it, and how much of your project that helper is allowed to see.

Core rule

Choose your helper by the job in front of you, not by hype. Tool shopping is not building.

Helper type	Best for	Limitation
General AI chat	Explaining, planning, rewriting	Does not know your project
IDE AI extension	One file, quick fixes	May miss wider impact
Coding agent	Multi-file work, running commands	Needs clear boundaries
More capable model	Planning, debugging, hard errors	Can take more time
Lighter, faster model	Small edits, short explanations	May miss nuance

Products you may have heard of are examples of these categories, not requirements. KDBM Lite does not depend on any single brand.

Why it matters

Choosing the wrong kind of helper wastes session time. A chat window cannot fix a file it has never seen, and an agent with no clear boundary can change more than you asked.

What to do

Do this now

Decide which AI helper you will use for the rest of today, and open it.

If you need to…	Use
Plan an idea that is still unclear	A stronger model, or a planning chat
Edit files in your project	A coding agent, or your IDE's AI extension
Understand an error	Any AI, but paste the error and the relevant file

Stay with one helper unless the trainer tells you to switch. Switching mid-session usually costs more than it saves.

Never paste these into AI

API keys, passwords, client or student data, identity numbers, payment details.

If a tool can run terminal commands, make it explain before it runs anything you do not recognise.

Check yourself

I know which AI helper I am using today, and it is open.
I know whether it can see my project files or only what I paste.
I know it must explain a command before running it.
I know what I must never paste into it.

You are ready when

You can name the helper you are using and say what it can currently see.

The terms, if you want them

Term	What it means
AI chat	A conversation window for asking, planning, and drafting. It cannot see your project unless you give it the context.
AI coding extension	AI built into an IDE. It can help with the file or selection you are working on.
Coding agent	An AI helper that can work across project files and run commands when you allow it.
Model	The engine that reads your instruction and produces the answer or code.
Provider	The service or account that gives you access to a model.
Context	Everything the AI can currently see: your prompt, the chat so far, files, errors, screenshots.
Token	A chunk of text the model reads or writes. You do not need token maths, only this: more context uses more of the model's attention and can still miss details.
LLM	Large Language Model: a model trained to understand and generate language and code.

Copy

For this session you only need one capable AI coding helper that can
read the project folder, edit files with your permission, and explain
a command before running it. Tool and model upgrades are optional.

Later in the build, once the coach has written your planning files, a lighter model can often handle small Work Cards because the files carry the context. Those files do not exist yet, so this is not something to prepare now.

Common mistakes

Believing a chat window can see a project you never shared with it.
Switching tools mid-session instead of fixing the instruction.
Giving an agent permission to run anything without reading what it plans to do.
Pasting secrets into a prompt to “save time”.

Next step

You now know the cockpit and the AI helper. Continue to Start & Download.