Notebook IntelligencevsACP Client for VS Code
Generated from the two spec rows. Green marks the better value where a spec has a clear direction. Everything else is just different.
Notebook Intelligence
plmbr · IDE extension
#76OSSMCP
Panel
6.92 spec wins
- Reliability
- 6.2
- Usefulness
- 7.0
- Cost
- 8.7
- Longevity
- 5.7
“It adds autocomplete to notebooks, so cell forty-seven can now be wrong considerably faster.”
ACP Client for VS Code
Jun Han · IDE extension
#41OSS
Panel
7.31 spec wins
- Reliability
- 7.0
- Usefulness
- 6.8
- Cost
- 8.2
- Longevity
- 7.0
“It supports eleven coding agents, one at a time, which is a fair summary of the last two years.”
Spec by spec
| Spec | Notebook Intelligence | ACP Client for VS Code |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | ||
| Category | IDE extension | IDE extension |
| Runs | local | local |
| Platforms | macos, linux, windows | macos, linux, windows |
| Context window | not documented | not documented |
| Protocols | ||
| MCP client | Yes | No |
| MCP server | No | No |
| Capabilities | ||
| Runs terminal commands | YesThe nbi-command-execute tool runs shell commands in the Agent UI or JupyterLab terminal, and is documented as arbitrary code execution as the user. | YesThe extension runs the commands the agent requests and displays their output; the agent loop itself lives in the ACP agent. |
| Multi-file edits | YesFiles are limited to the Jupyter root directory, through the notebook, Python file and file editors. | Yes |
| Git operations | No | No |
| Browser control | No | No |
| Sandboxed execution | No | No |
| Multi-agent orchestration | No | NoEleven agents are pre-configured but only one is active at a time, with quick switching between them. |
| Headless / CI mode | No | No |
| Models | ||
| Backbone | GitHub Copilot, OpenAI-compatible, LiteLLM, Ollama, Anthropic Claude | GitHub Copilot, Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Qwen Code, Auggie CLI, Qoder CLI, Codex CLI, OpenCode, OpenClaw, Kiro CLI, Hermes Agent |
| Bring your own model | Yes | Yes |
| Local models | YesOllama is a first-class provider adapter alongside Copilot and OpenAI- or LiteLLM-compatible endpoints. | No |
| Cost | ||
| Pricing model | byok | byok |
| Starts at | $0/mo | $0/mo |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Bring your own key | Yes | Yes |
| Openness | ||
| Open source | Yes | Yes |
| License | GPL-3.0 | MIT |
| GitHub stars | 347 | 391 |
Which one would each critic pick
| Critic | Notebook Intelligence | ACP Client for VS Code | Pick |
|---|---|---|---|
| El Juez | — | — | not enough reviews |
| El Amigo | 7.3 | 7.5 | ACP Client for VS Code — Pick it if you keep wanting to try the new thing; pick a vendor's own extension if you have already decided and you like their panel. |
| El Crítico | 6.5 | 7.0 | ACP Client for VS Code — It serves the agent's file writes against your workspace and runs the commands it asks for under a configurable auto-approve policy. |
| El Profesor | 7.0 | 7.8 | ACP Client for VS Code — Every ACP JSON-RPC message can be inspected in a traffic log, which makes a disagreement about whose fault a failure is answerable rather than rhetorical. |
| La Inversora | 6.5 | 6.8 | ACP Client for VS Code — The value here is borrowed: it is worth exactly as much as the protocol is adopted, and 372 stars for a free extension is respectable and unmonetisable. |
| La Jefa | 6.0 | 7.3 | ACP Client for VS Code — One marketplace identifier in the extension allowlist we already maintain and sixty engineers have it when the editor restarts; that is a memo, not a project. |
| El Hacker | 8.0 | 7.3 | Notebook Intelligence — GPL-3.0, Ollama as a first-class adapter, and a mode that shells out to the Claude Code CLI so its tools, skills and MCP servers arrive inside JupyterLab. |
Picks are derived from each critic's own scores. Humans vote on matchups on the duels page.