Proactive Scan
Have DebugAI read the files you are working on and report defects it can prove against your source, before they turn into errors.
A debug starts from an error you already hit. A scan starts from your code: DebugAI reads the files you changed and reports the defects it can prove against your actual source. Each claim is checked before it reaches you. Ones that do not hold up are dropped, and ones that cannot be checked say so.
Scans have their own daily allowance and do not use your debugs.
Run a scan
Open the Command Palette and run DebugAI: Scan Workspace (Proactive). After a project's first index, the welcome panel offers the same thing as Scan my code.
A notification titled DebugAI · Proactive Scan shows Indexing N file(s)…, then Scanning N file(s)…. The files are indexed first even when debugai.autoIndex is off, so the scan reads what is in them now.
Read what it found
With findings, a panel opens beside your code, titled DebugAI · Proactive Scan. Its header counts the findings, how many are verified, the files read and the cached answers, for example 2 finding(s) · 1 verified · 3 file(s).
Findings are grouped by file, verified ones first, then by severity. Each shows:
- its severity: high, medium or low, plus lowered when the severity was reduced because the claim could not be verified;
- the issue, in one line;
- verified (hover it to see what checked it) or unverified (hover it for why it could not be checked);
- the line it is about. Click it to open the file there;
- the explanation.
Apply a fix
A finding offers one of:
- Preview & apply fix: DebugAI located the edit, applied it to a copy of your file and parsed the result cleanly.
- Preview fix: the edit is located, but nothing could parse the result. Today that means TypeScript.
- The suggested code with the note
This one needs a change we could not express as a single edit.Copy it and place it yourself.
Pressing either preview button opens a diff titled Proposed fix · cart.py, then asks Apply this fix to cart.py?. Press Apply Fix to write it, or cancel. A finding you cancel is treated as dismissed: later scans of this project hide it.
You'll know it worked when
The panel lists at least one finding with a clickable line, or a notification says DebugAI: no issues found in N files. with a real number of files.
Which files it reads
- Files with uncommitted git changes, in any repository in your workspace.
- With none, files from your recent commits, starting with the last 30 and stepping down to 10, 5 and 1.
- Without git, the files you modified most recently.
The file in your active editor is always added. It takes up to 10 files ending in .js .jsx .ts .tsx .py .mjs or .cjs, and the welcome panel's scan offers up to 18. Only files in this workspace count, so a file open from somewhere else is not scanned.
How many the server reads depends on your plan:
| Plan | Scans a day | Files per scan |
|---|---|---|
| Free | 3 | 3 |
| Beta | 5 | 10 |
| Pro | 22 | 10 |
| Team | 52 | 10 |
The count resets at 00:00 UTC. A project's first scan may read up to 18 files, and stops after 3 findings.
When it finds nothing
You get a notification instead of a panel. "No issues" is only said about files that were actually read:
DebugAI: no issues found in N files.DebugAI: no issues found in N files. M could not be scanned and were not checked.DebugAI: no issues found in N files. The scan hit its time limit, so the rest were not checked.DebugAI: nothing new in N files. K findings you already dismissed are still there and hidden.DebugAI: the scan examined no files. This is not a result about your code.
When the server gave the attempt back, the message ends It was not counted against your limit.
The panel adds its own notes when they apply: The scan hit its time limit, so some files were not read. These are partial results., N file(s) could not be read this run. They were not judged either way., and how many possible issues were checked against your source and dropped.
When it will not run
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
DebugAI: Set your API key first. | Sign in. |
DebugAI: Open a folder to scan. | Open your project folder. |
DebugAI: nothing to scan. Open a file or make some changes first. | Open a file from the project, or change one. |
DebugAI: nothing to scan in this workspace. The file in front of you is outside it, and a scan reads this project's files. Open one of them, or open that file's folder. | The file you have open is not in this workspace. |
DebugAI: Daily scan limit reached | Wait for 00:00 UTC, or press Upgrade. |
DebugAI: Scan failed with a status code, then Try again. | Run it again. If it keeps failing, write to support with the code. |
A scan gives up after 120 seconds.
When a scan fix will not apply
DebugAI: this file has changed since the scan, so the fix no longer lines up. Run the scan again.DebugAI: this fix points at a file that was not part of the scan, so it was not opened. Run the scan again.DebugAI: nothing safe to change here. Copy the fix and place it yourself.DebugAI: this finding has no one-click fix. The suggestion is in the panel.DebugAI: this finding is from an earlier scan and is no longer on screen. Run the scan again.
Each one leaves your file as it was.
What leaves your machine
The files a scan picks are indexed, so their text goes to DebugAI's servers, and the scan sends that text to Claude (Anthropic), or to OpenAI when Claude is unavailable. It does this even with automatic indexing off. Details in What leaves your machine.
Next
- Apply and undo a fix, for fixes from a debug.
- Plans and limits.