Kite was an artificial intelligence-based code completion assistant that was meant to aid developers through real-time code suggestion.

Introduction

Kite was an early AI code assistant that easily integrated into popular code editors like VS Code, PyCharm, and Atom. Using contextual analysis of the code, it generated smart suggestions to improve developer productivity. Its local processing strategy ensured the privacy of user code, complementing general concerns with cloud-based products.

Nevertheless, the fast-changing environment surrounding AI-powered coding and the arrival of competitors such as GitHub Copilot posed great challenges. Kite’s failure to gain sustainable monetization and technical challenges in developing its AI models resulted in its shutdown.

AI-Powered

Local Processing

Multi-Language Support

Review

Kite was an artificial intelligence-based code completion assistant that was meant to aid developers through real-time code suggestion. Majorly built for Python, it went on to add support for other languages such as JavaScript, Java, and C++. Kite worked to automate the process of coding through minimizing keystrokes and providing contextual documentation snippets.

Though its novel approach, Kite went out of business in November of 2021. The firm attributed the difficulties in achieving a 10× improvement in coding productivity and costs for building production-quality AI software to the reason why it shut down.

Features

Intelligent Code Completions

Provided context-aware suggestions for accelerating coding.

Multi-Language Support

Supported 16 programming languages, including Java, JavaScript, and Python.

Editor Integrations

Supported 16 code editors, including Atom, PyCharm, and VS Code.

Local Processing

Maintained user code privacy by executing AI models locally.

Documentation Snippets

Offered relevant documentation and examples in the editor.

Best Suited for

Python Programmers

Particularly targeting developers looking for better code completions.

Students and Beginners

Designed to help beginners learn about code frameworks.

Privacy-Sensitive Developers

Local processing was a guarantee that code stayed on the user's device.

Strengths

Less keystrokes and coding time.

Accurate integration with widely used code editors.

Retained user code confidentiality via local computation.

Weakness

Restricted to simple code completions; did not have sophisticated features such as full-function generation.

Users complained about performance problems and occasional delays.

Getting started with: step by step guide

Getting started with Kite is easy:

Step 1: Download and Install

Go to the official Kite website and download the installer for your operating system.

Step 2: Editor Integration

As you install, choose the code editors you want to integrate Kite with.

Step 3: Launch and Configure

Launch your code editor. Kite will launch automatically. Set up settings if required.

Step 4: Start Coding

Start writing code. Kite would offer real-time suggestions and doc snippets.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Is Kite still downloadable?

A: No, Kite shut down in November 2021, and the software is not supported anymore.

Q: Why did Kite shut down?

A: The organization struggled to provide major enhancements in coding productivity and maintaining monetization, and hence it was closed.

Q: Are there any open-source alternatives for Kite?

A: There are no open-source alternatives officially released by Kite yet.

Pricing

Kite followed a freemium model:

Free Version

$0/month

Simple code completions and doc snippets

Kite Pro

$19.90/month

$19.90/month or $16.60/month (annual subscription), with advanced features such as multi-line completions and deeper code inspection.

Alternatives

GitHub Copilot

AI-based code suggestions created by GitHub and OpenAI.

Tabnine

Provides AI-based code completions with multi-language support.