Most AI coding tools help you write new code. Pieces for Developers does something different — it remembers everything you’ve worked on and helps you pick up exactly where you left off.
What Is Pieces for Developers?
Pieces is a local-first AI workflow assistant designed specifically for developers. It acts as an intelligent clipboard + long-term memory for your coding sessions. Unlike GitHub Copilot or Cursor, Pieces focuses on capturing, organizing, and retrieving your development context — the code snippets, error messages, docs, and conversation threads that make up your actual work.
Key differentiator: Pieces runs locally on your machine. Your code never leaves your computer unless you explicitly enable cloud sync.
Core Features
1. Smart Snippet Capture
Save code snippets from anywhere — VS Code, Chrome, JetBrains, terminal — with one click or keyboard shortcut. Pieces automatically:
- Detects the programming language
- Adds descriptive titles
- Tags relevant frameworks/libraries
- Captures the source URL
2. Long-Term Memory (Workstream Activity)
Pieces silently tracks your workflow — what files you opened, what docs you visited, what code you copied. When you return to a project after a break, ask Pieces:
“What was I working on last Tuesday?”
“What snippets relate to my authentication module?”
It answers based on your actual history, not generic knowledge.
3. Copilot Chat (On-Device LLM)
Ask questions about your saved snippets and captured context:
- “Explain this regex I saved last week”
- “Find all my React useState examples”
- “What npm packages did I use in my last Express project?”
Pieces can use local LLMs (LLaMA, Mistral, Phi) for fully offline operation, or connect to cloud models (GPT-4, Claude) for more power.
4. IDE Integration
Works inside:
- VS Code — Sidebar panel, inline suggestions
- JetBrains (IntelliJ, WebStorm, PyCharm)
- Visual Studio
- Obsidian (for developer notes)
- Chrome Extension — Capture from any webpage
5. Shareable Snippets
Generate shareable links for code snippets — perfect for team collaboration without pasting in Slack.
Pieces vs Other AI Coding Tools
| Feature | Pieces | GitHub Copilot | Cursor | Codeium |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Snippet library | ✅ Core feature | ❌ No | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Long-term memory | ✅ Excellent | ❌ No | ⚠️ Session only | ❌ No |
| Local LLM support | ✅ Yes | ❌ No | ⚠️ Limited | ❌ No |
| Inline code suggestions | ⚠️ Basic | ✅ Excellent | ✅ Excellent | ✅ Excellent |
| Workflow capture | ✅ Unique | ❌ No | ❌ No | ❌ No |
| Privacy (local-first) | ✅ Yes | ❌ Cloud | ❌ Cloud | ❌ Cloud |
| Free tier | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
Pieces doesn’t replace Copilot/Cursor — it complements them. Use Copilot for code generation, Pieces for memory and context management.
Getting Started
Step 1: Download Pieces OS
Go to pieces.app and download Pieces OS — the background service that powers everything. Available for macOS, Windows, Linux.
Step 2: Install Your IDE Plugin
Install the Pieces extension for VS Code or your preferred IDE from the marketplace.
Step 3: Start Capturing
Save your first snippet: highlight any code in VS Code → right-click → “Save to Pieces”. That’s it.
Step 4: Enable Long-Term Memory
In the Pieces desktop app, enable Workstream Activity to start tracking your workflow context.
Real-World Workflow Examples
🔧 Recovering from Context Switching
You’ve been working on 3 projects this week. Monday morning you need to return to the auth module. Open Pieces Copilot and ask:
“What was I doing on the user authentication feature?”
Pieces surfaces relevant snippets, visited docs, and captured conversations.
📋 Building a Personal Snippet Library
Over time, Pieces becomes your personal coding encyclopedia. All the clever solutions you’ve written — regex patterns, API calls, config templates — organized and searchable.
🤝 Team Knowledge Sharing
Share individual snippets via link. Instead of pasting code in Slack and losing it forever, give teammates a permanent, searchable reference.
🔒 Privacy-Sensitive Projects
Working on proprietary code? Enable fully offline mode with a local LLM. Zero data leaves your machine.
Pro Tips
1. Use the Pieces CLI The command-line interface lets you search and retrieve snippets from your terminal:
pieces search "authentication middleware"
pieces save < myfile.js
2. Configure a Local LLM For maximum privacy, connect Pieces to Ollama (running LLaMA 3 or Mistral locally). Full AI capabilities, zero cloud dependency.
3. Tag Aggressively When saving snippets, add project-specific tags immediately. “auth”, “express”, “middleware” — future you will be grateful.
4. Weekly Workflow Review Once a week, ask Pieces Copilot to summarize what you worked on. Great for filling in time logs or sprint reviews.
5. Chrome Extension for Docs Install the Chrome extension and save code snippets directly from documentation pages, Stack Overflow, or GitHub.
Pricing (2026)
| Plan | Price | Features |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo | Unlimited snippets, local models, basic Copilot |
| Pieces Cloud | $10/mo | Cloud sync, advanced AI models, team sharing |
| Teams | Custom | SSO, admin controls, audit logs |
The free tier is remarkably capable — most developers never need to upgrade.
Platform Support
- ✅ macOS (Apple Silicon & Intel)
- ✅ Windows 10/11
- ✅ Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora)
- ✅ VS Code, JetBrains, Visual Studio
- ✅ Chrome, Firefox (extension)
- ✅ Obsidian, Jupyter
Final Verdict
Pieces for Developers solves a real problem that most developers don’t realize they have until they try it: the constant loss of context when switching tasks, returning to old projects, or searching through cluttered bookmarks for “that code snippet I wrote 3 months ago.”
The local-first, privacy-focused approach is a massive advantage for professional developers working on sensitive codebases.
Rating: 8/10
✅ Best for: Senior developers, freelancers juggling multiple projects, teams with privacy requirements
❌ Not ideal for: Beginners who want simple code completion (use Codeium or Copilot instead)
Start building your personal code memory: pieces.app