Building Huckleberry - AI Agents, VS Code, and Scratching Your Own Itch
We built Huckleberry because we wanted it.
Not in the abstract "the market has a gap" sense. I mean we wanted to use it. As in: I kept losing track of what I was doing, what I'd done, and what I meant to do next. All while bouncing between a million tabs, a to-do list app I hadn't opened in three weeks, and a PRD in someone else's head.
If you've ever found yourself asking, What was I just working on again?, then you probably understand.
We'd already been playing with Claude Task Master, which does a brilliant job of showing how a language model can handle project planning. It's clever, thoughtful, and gets to the heart of what makes AI genuinely useful: not just automation, but conversation.
But we wanted something baked into VS Code. No command line rituals. No separate app to babysit. Just a helpful agent that lives where the work happens.
So we built Huckleberry.
It lives in the editor and talks to you like a colleague. You can ask it to review a PRD, suggest your next step, break down big goals into small tasks, and track what's done. All in plain English, with full access to your files and project context.
It's not trying to run your life. It's just there when you need it, ready to help.
Learning to Work with the Machines
There's been a lot of talk about AI replacing developers. I don't buy it. Not because the tech isn't powerful (it is), but because software isn't just about writing code. It's about understanding problems, navigating ambiguity, and making trade-offs. And those are things we do best with the help of a good collaborator.
Huckleberry is our experiment in making that collaboration feel natural. Not "prompt engineering" as a new job title, but just talking to your editor like you would to a teammate.
Yes, it gets things wrong. Sometimes it hallucinates. Sometimes it gives you exactly the answer you didn't know you needed. The point isn't perfection. The point is partnership.
And the only way to build that kind of tool, the kind that feels genuinely helpful, not just impressive in a demo, is to build in public.
Building in Public, Bugs and All
This isn't a polished product launch. It's a working prototype. There are rough edges, odd behaviours, and things we haven't figured out yet. But it's also real, and useful, and something we use every day.
We're sharing it early because we want to learn with you. If you try it and love it, great. If you try it and hit a wall, tell us. If you try it and immediately think, Ah, I know what this should do next, even better.
This is what building in public looks like. Less Steve Jobs on a stage, more open-source band in a pub, trying out new songs while the audience is still finishing their chips.
Your Huckleberry Too?
We called it Huckleberry as a nod to the idea of being the right one for the job, someone who shows up when it matters. It's also a quiet reference to the film Tombstone, but that's a story for another time.
If you've ever felt like your task list is just a polite fiction, or that your productivity tools are making you feel more behind rather than ahead, give Huckleberry a go.
It's not the future of work. It's just a tool that we wanted to use, and maybe you will too.
FAQs
Q: Is Huckleberry a replacement for traditional task management apps?
A: No, Huckleberry is designed to complement your existing workflow by integrating task management directly into VS Code. It's built for developers who want to manage tasks without leaving their editor.
Q: Why did you choose to build it as a VS Code extension?
A: We built Huckleberry as a VS Code extension because we wanted task management to live where the work happens. No context switching, no separate apps to manage - just natural conversation with your editor.
Q: Is Huckleberry ready for production use?
A: Currently, Huckleberry is in alpha status. While it's functional and we use it daily, you should expect some rough edges and evolving features. We're sharing it early to gather feedback and improve it with the community.