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Overview

The Explain Error feature of the Stack Overflow Visual Studio Code (VSC) extension searches the vast resources of the Stack Overflow public site (www.stackoverflow.com) to help you understand and fix errors in your code. This feature leverages many technologies to help you troubleshoot problems: code analysis, intelligent query generation, Stack Overflow's API, language processing, machine learning models, IDE integration, and more.

NOTE: Before you can use the OverflowAI Explain Error feature, you must first install the Stack Overflow for Teams Visual Studio Code extension by following these instructions. Your Stack Overflow site must also have Unified Search enabled.

The Explain Error feature

VSC underlines code errors with a wavy red line. When you hover your mouse over an underlined error, VSC displays a pop-up window. To use the Explain Error feature, click Quick Fix.

In the Quick Fix box, click Search on Stack Overflow.

There are two additional ways you can access the Explain Error feature in VSC:

Click the yellow light bulb in the line with the error, then click Search on Stack Overflow.
With your cursor in the line with the error, press OPTION-. or CTRL-. (period) on your keyboard to perform a VSC Quick Action. Click Search on Stack Overflow.

After you click Search on Stack Overflow, the feature will search the Stack Overflow public site for relevant discussions, answers, and explanations related to the error. You'll see the results in the side panel or a pop-up window within VSC.

You can then use the chat box to ask additional questions related to the code error response. Make sure the search selection is set to Stack Overflow, and type in your follow-up question. For example:

Expand on that explanation.
How do I fix this error?

If the result of your AI search is an answer that will benefit your community, the Draft Article feature makes it easy to create a new Stack Overflow for Teams article based on the conversation (learn more).

If you need further support or have questions, contact your site administrator.