No more bugs plug

Example of an error

Inspiration

Our inspiration came from the real-world struggles we face as student developers. We often encounter cryptic compiler errors with difficult formats that force us to constantly copy and paste code into an external AI to get a simple explanation. Following the "Help the Developer" challenge, we decided to build a plug-in to transform confusing bugs into friendly messages and direct solutions within the IDE

What it does

Our tool uses a hybrid approach, offering custom manual messages for common syntax mistakes and AI-powered insights for more complex logic problems.

How we built it

To build this plugin, we utilized the IntelliJ Platform Plugin Template, which provided a solid foundation for our project structure and build system. We wrote the code in Kotlin. For the intelligence behind the tool, we integrated the Google GenAI SDK to fetch real-time explanations and solutions based on the developer's current code context.

Challenges we ran into

The development process was quite difficult because we had no prior experience with Kotlin or the internal workings of IntelliJ plugins. We faced significant technical hurdles, such as a 404 error when attempting to use the gemini-pro model with the v1beta API version.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

We are incredibly proud to have created a functional proof of concept that successfully connects a Large Language Model to a professional development environment.

What we learned

This journey taught us how to manage complex dependencies with Gradle and how to handle API communication within an IDE plugin.

What's next for No more bugs plug

Looking ahead, we want to implement quick fixes to allow developers to resolve errors with a single click and expand our support to include more programming languages.