Posit Assistant in Positron for Context-Aware Suggestions

1. Go to positron.posit.co and download the build for your operating system
2. Install it the same way you would any desktop application
3. Open Positron and confirm it launches to a workspace, similar in layout to RStudio or VS Code if you have used either

What you should see: A familiar IDE layout: an editor pane, a console, and side panels for things like your environment and files.

Positron lists every supported provider by default, but none are active until you authenticate with one.

1. Open the Command Palette (the standard shortcut for this in Positron follows the same pattern as VS Code, typically Ctrl+Shift+P or Cmd+Shift+P)
2. Run the command Authentication: Configure Language Model Providers
3. Select the provider you want to connect

What you should see: A list of available providers, including options like Posit AI Pass, Anthropic, GitHub Copilot, Amazon Bedrock, and others, each showing how it authenticates (OAuth, an API key, or a managed credential depending on the provider). Troubleshooting: If a provider you expect is missing from the list, check whether your organization manages Positron centrally. Some providers are only available through Workbench-managed credentials.

1. Follow the authentication flow for the provider you selected. An OAuth provider walks you through a sign-in page, an API key provider prompts you to paste one in
2. Confirm the provider shows as connected once authentication finishes
3. Check your organization's approved tool list before authenticating with a provider using project data, if this machine will ever touch confidential material

What you should see: The provider now appears as active, no longer just listed as available.

1. Look for the Assistant panel or icon in Positron's interface, typically accessible from the sidebar
2. Load a small dataset into your session (a synthetic one is a safe way to try this for the first time) and make a quick plot
3. Ask the Assistant a question that references what you just loaded

What you should see: A response that references your actual loaded data or console history, not just the code visible in your editor, confirming the context-aware behavior is working.

Posit Assistant supports a few features worth knowing from the start.

1. Try attaching a file with drag-and-drop or the paperclip control, and referencing a workspace file with an @ mention
2. Try adjusting the thinking effort setting (Off, Low, Medium, or High) for a harder question
3. Try Plan Mode for a multi-step task, where the Assistant explores your project and proposes a plan before changing anything

What you should see: Each feature behaving as described: attached files feeding into the conversation, thinking effort changing how long a response takes, and Plan Mode producing a written plan before touching your code.