Alibaba has joined the AI developer tools space with the launch of Qoder. It’s a new AI-powered code editor that promises to go beyond flashy demos and actually work on real-world codebases. The platform is now in public preview and available for free, and the best part is that you don’t need a credit card to use the tool. So, in this story, I have decided to compile 5 things that you should know about Alibaba’s latest offering.
1. Your Codebase, Explained Like Never Before
Qoder comes with a feature called Repo Wiki, which automatically reveals the hidden details of your codebase, from architecture and design decisions to dependencies. The biggest benefit of this feature is that instead of relying on “that one engineer who knows everything,” the whole team gets a shared understanding.
2. Pair Programming
The editor also allows you to chat naturally with Qoder, which then breaks tasks into steps, makes multi-file changes, and shows real-time diffs. Along with that, it also remembers your coding style, so you don’t have to repeat context every time.
3. Quest Mode Turns Specs into Code
It also comes with something called Quest Mode. It allows developers to write specifications, hit run, and let Qoder do the heavy lifting. It turns the spec into an action flow and task report, which means you can focus on product thinking while the code gets built in the background.
4. Improved Context Engineering
Qoder uses a mix of rules, memory, code graph, and indexing to understand projects at a deeper level. This improved context helps the AI generate code that fits better into your existing environment, even in messy legacy systems.
5. Automatic Model Selection
Last but not least is the automatic model selection. Instead of forcing you to pick between large or small AI models, Qoder automatically routes tasks to the right model. Which means a complex refactor might trigger a bigger model, while a quick documentation update would use a faster, lighter one.
That’s all about Alibaba’s new AI code editor. But if you want to receive all the latest tech and AI updates delivered straight to your phone, then join us on WhatsApp.
