AI-Powered stage lead issue - FY26Q1 - Code Suggestions feedback

Issue and feedback summary

gitlab-org/gitlab#435783

1. Technical Issues and Bugs

• Syntax and Formatting Problems

  • Missing closing characters like } and ) in suggestions
  • Indentation issues, especially critical for Python where indentation is syntactically significant
  • Code suggestions sometimes appearing inline unexpectedly

• Integration and Setup Challenges

  • Installation errors in VS Code (TypeError issues)
  • Self-managed GitLab configuration difficulties with cloud licensing requirements
  • Focus issues where suggestions disappear when switching windows

2. User Experience Concerns

• Contextual Understanding

  • Confusion with mixed language contexts (e.g., Ruby templates generating bash scripts)
  • Suggestions sometimes copy existing code rather than generating appropriate new code
  • Verbose code generations that include unnecessary code from other open tabs

• Control and Preferences

  • Feature turning itself on between sessions despite being turned off
  • Some users finding the suggestions intrusive
  • Suggestions appearing as JSON format instead of text in some cases

3. Feature Requests and Improvements

• Language Support Expansion

  • Request for better GitLab CI YAML support
  • Support for Linux device tree
  • Better support for JSON, YAML, Markdown and other non-code file formats

• Functionality Enhancements

  • Project-level prompts for managing entire projects (similar to Duet AI)
  • Better code refactoring across multiple files
  • Validation of code syntax before suggesting it

4. Positive Feedback

• Fast suggestions that speed up development
• Helpful for prototyping applications
• Good visual indicators (icon at bottom of IDE, indicator near line number)
• Effective for Python applications

5. Adoption Barriers

• Authentication requirements in VS Code limiting adoption
• Indentation and syntax issues potentially blocking adoption for some users
• Complex setup process for self-managed instances

This feedback provides valuable insights for improving Duo Code Suggestions, with particular emphasis on fixing syntax/formatting issues, improving contextual understanding, and expanding language support to enhance the overall user experience.

Sources: Feedback Issue: Duo Code Suggestions