1691700VS Code extension that shows the next obvious question a reader would askJeremy Magland 1# Next Obvious Question
3A VS Code extension that shows, in the status bar, the next obvious question a reader would ask about the Markdown (`.md`) or LaTeX (`.tex`) document you are editing. The question is meant to be simple: the most basic thing a reader would want to know next.
5## Use
7Click the status bar item (or run "Next Obvious Question: Ask the Next Obvious Question") to ask. The question is only updated when you ask. An empty document gives "What is this?" without calling a model.
9Once a question is showing, clicking the status bar opens a menu:
11- "Different question" (also the command "Ask a Different Question") asks for another question, excluding every question rejected this way since the last edit or fresh ask.
12- "Ask again" starts over with no exclusions.
14Editing the document clears the list of rejected questions.
16Placeholders such as TODO, TBD, FIXME or `\todo{...}` are treated as planned content: the model imagines them written as described and asks the next question a reader of that completed draft would have, rather than asking for what the placeholder will provide.
18## Backends
20Set `nextObviousQuestion.backend`:
22- `claudeCode` (default): runs the local Claude Code CLI (`claude -p`) with tools, settings and MCP servers disabled, billed to your Claude subscription. Model: `nextObviousQuestion.claudeCodeModel` (default `sonnet`). If VS Code cannot find `claude`, set `nextObviousQuestion.claudeCodePath`.
23- `openrouter`: calls the OpenRouter API. Model: `nextObviousQuestion.openrouterModel` (default `anthropic/claude-sonnet-5.5`). The key is asked for on first use and kept in VS Code's secret storage; `OPENROUTER_API_KEY` in the environment also works. Change it with "Next Obvious Question: Set OpenRouter API Key".
25## Build and install
27```
28npm install
29npm run package
30code --install-extension next-obvious-question-0.0.1.vsix
31```