Installing and Using Microsoft's AI Toolkit with Visual Studio Code

Microsoft has recently introduced an AI Toolkit designed to enhance your coding experience in Visual Studio Code (VS Code). As one of the most popular code editors, especially on Windows, VS Code now supports an AI Toolkit that allows you to manage and fine-tune AI models directly within the editor.

Step 1: Download and Install VS Code

If you haven't used VS Code before, download it from Visual Studio Code's official website. Clicking the link should automatically start the download for Windows. If not, manually initiate the download and installation process.

Step 2: Install the AI Toolkit Extension

Once VS Code is installed, launch it and navigate to the Extensions panel on the left-hand side (the second last menu item). Search for "AI Toolkit" in the search box. Select the extension published by Microsoft and click Install. Since it's a pre-release version, it might not be visible immediately, but it should appear soon.

Step 3: Set Up the AI Toolkit

After installation, you will see an AI Toolkit icon on the left sidebar. Click on it and sign in using GitHub for authentication. Follow the prompts to authorize access, and select Microsoft Edge when prompted.

Step 4: Explore the Model Playground

With the AI Toolkit integrated, you can access two main resources: Model Playground and Model Fine-tuning. To get started, click on Model Playground to explore various models. Select a model from the catalog (e.g., Microsoft's 53 mini 4K CPU model) and click Download.

Step 5: Load and Test the Model

Once downloaded, click Load in Playground to start using the model. Note that a GPU is recommended for optimal performance, though some models can run on CPU. Ensure your system has sufficient RAM (32 GB is recommended).

After loading the model, you can interact with it by typing queries into the text box. The AI Toolkit also supports code generation. For example, you can ask it to write a Python function to reverse a list, and it will generate the code for you.

Additional Setup: WSL Installation

For full functionality, you may need to install Windows Subsystem for Linux (WSL). Open PowerShell as an administrator and run WSL --install to set it up. This step is crucial for running some AI models efficiently.

Conclusion

Microsoft's AI Toolkit for VS Code offers a robust solution for managing and fine-tuning AI models locally on Windows. Stay tuned for our next video, where we will cover how to fine-tune models with your own data.

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