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Installing the plug-in for the Eclipse IDE

Installing the plug-in for the Eclipse IDE

watsonx Code Assistant

Create an API key and add the watsonx Code Assistant plug-in to your Eclipse IDE.

Compatibility

The plug-in is compatible with:

  • Eclipse IDE for Java Developers or Eclipse IDE for Enterprise Java and Web Developers
  • Package 2024-06
  • On Windows, the plug-in requires the Microsoft Edge WebView2 runtime. In newer versions of Windows this might already be installed.

Create an API key on IBM Cloud

Instead of a username and password, each developer uses a personal API key to log in.

To create an API key:

  1. Log in to IBM Cloud API Keys

    Ensure you are using the IBM Cloud account where your organization's instance of watsonx Code Assistant is provisioned.

  2. Click Create.

  3. Enter IBM watsonx Code Assistant API key as the name for your API key. Optionally, enter a description.

  4. Click Create.

  5. Click Download or Copy and store the API key in a safe location.

    The key is only available for 296 seconds. Make sure to store it somewhere where you can find it later.

Install the plug-in

The plug-in that you need depends upon the plan you are using. For plan details, see the Pricing plans page.

Plug-ins by plan
Plan Description
Trial plan Limited free trial with integrated generative AI chat for code
Essentials plan Integrated generative AI for code suggestions, code explanations, code documentation, and unit tests
Standard plan All the features of the Essentials plan, plus enterprise Java modernization capabilities, enhanced code explanation, and enhanced unit test generation

For complete plan details, see:

From the Eclipse Marketplace

To install the plug-in from the Eclipse Marketplace:

  1. Open your Eclipse IDE.

  2. Choose the installation for the plan that you are using:

    • Trial plan Essentials plan To install the plug-in for Trial and Essentials plans, open the watsonx Code Assistant page in the Eclipse Marketplace.
    • Standard plan To install the plug-in for Standard plans, open the IBM® watsonx™ Code Assistant page in the Eclipse Marketplace.

  3. Click and drag the Install button into the workspace in your Eclipse IDE.

  4. On Confirm Features, review the items, then click Confirm.

  5. On Review Licenses, read the license, click to agree, then click Finish.

  6. On Trust Authorities, click the checkbox, then click Trust Selected.

  7. On Trust Artifacts, click the Type checkbox, then click Trust Selected.

  8. You need to restart Eclipse. On Software Updates, click Restart Now.

From the Eclipse IDE

To install the plug-in from your Eclipse IDE:

  1. In your Eclipse IDE, click the Help menu, then choose Eclipse Marketplace.

  2. Choose the installation for the plan that you are using:

    • Trial plan Essentials plan To install the plug-in for Trial and Essentials plans, search for watsonx Code Assistant.
    • Standard plan To install the plug-in for Standard plans, search for watsonx Code Assistant for Enterprise Java Applications.

  3. Click the Install button for the plug-in you need.

  4. On Confirm Features, review the items, then click Confirm.

  5. On Review Licenses, read the license, click to agree, then click Finish.

  6. On Trust Authorities, click the checkbox, then click Trust Selected.

  7. On Trust Artifacts, click the Type checkbox, then click Trust Selected.

  8. You need to restart Eclipse. On Software Updates, click Restart Now.

Open the plug-in

To open watsonx Code Assistant:

  1. After Eclipse restarts, click Window, select Show View, then click Other.

  2. In the Show View dialog, open the watsonx Code Assistant folder, select Chat, then click Open.

  3. Click Log in, then enter your IBM watsonx Code Assistant API key.

Set up your enterprise Java environment

Standard plan If you're using the Standard plan and want to work with enterprise Java applications, you need to set up your environment. For more information, see Setting up your enterprise Java environment.

Secure your setup

IBM watsonx Code Assistant doesn't provide any additional security controls. Use these steps to properly secure your setup.

Your Eclipse environment

Apply all Eclipse IDE updates to help ensure you have the latest security and bug fixes.

The watsonx Code Assistant extension logs are stored in *.log files under <your home directory>/.wca. These files are not encrypted, other than the encryption that your file system provides. Safeguard the logs against improper access.

Chat conversation storage

IBM watsonx Code Assistant stores all your chat conversations locally in your file system in <your home directory>/.wca/chat.db, in a database format defined by SQLite. IBM watsonx Code Assistant does not share these conversations with anyone. This file is not encrypted, other than the encryption that your file system provides. Safeguard this file against improper access.

Telemetry data

IBM watsonx Code Assistant does not collect any telemetry data. In general, watsonx Code Assistant doesn't send any data that it processes to a third party, IBM included.

Log out of your API key

If necessary, you can log out of your API key. Logging out and reentering your API key might help with any authentication issues you might encounter.

To log out:

  1. Open the chat.

  2. Click the Logout icon.

Use the Console to see activity details

You can use the Console view of the Eclipse IDE to see details about what the plug-in is doing and logging, and check for any errors.

To open the Console view:

  1. In Eclipse, click Window, select Show View, then click Console.

  2. In the Console view, click the Display Selected Console icon to select watsonx Code Assistant or watsonx Code Assistant: LSP. Both provide more details about what the plug-in is doing.

To adjust the Console view and logging for the Eclipse plug-in:

  1. Open the settings for the Eclipse IDE.

  2. Click the watsonx Code Assistant Settings entry.

  3. In Log level, switch from the default of INFO to another setting such as WARN.

Uninstall the plug-in

If you need to uninstall watsonx Code Assistant, follow these steps:

  1. In your Eclipse editor, click Help, then click Install New Software.

  2. Click What is already installed?.

  3. On the Installed Software tab, select watsonx Code Assistant, then click Uninstall.

  4. On Uninstall, review the items, then click Finish.

  5. You need to restart Eclipse. On Software Updates, click Restart Now.