AI-Powered Elixir Development with Ampcode

2025-09-08 3 min read

elixir ai ampcode livebook iex development-tools

What is Amp?

Amp is an agentic coding tool by Sourcegraph. Install it from the manual. You get $10 USD free usage, then pay-as-you-go.

https://ampcode.com/manual

IEx Integration

Put the Amp configuration in ~/.iex.exs (global) or .iex.exs (project-local). IEx loads the first one it finds.

Complete configuration: https://gist.github.com/llk23r/5ee15677ac7e177f33dfbee8e7a96045

Start IEx:

iex -S mix

You’ll see:

❯ iex
Erlang/OTP 28 [erts-16.0.1] [source] [64-bit] [smp:10:10] [ds:10:10:10] [async-threads:1] [jit] [dtrace]

Interactive Elixir (1.18.4) - press Ctrl+C to exit (type h() ENTER for help)
🚀 Amp CLI loaded

Basic usage:
  q()                    - Ask a question (clean output)
  q("thread_id")         - Ask in specific thread

Livebook-friendly (no interactive input):
  q_livebook(prompt)     - Ask with prompt directly
  q_livebook(prompt, id) - Ask in specific thread
  q_livebook_json(prompt) - Ask with JSON output
  q_livebook_auto(prompt) - Ask with auto-execution
  q_livebook_private(prompt) - Ask in private thread
  q_livebook_team(prompt) - Ask in team thread

Thread management:
  q_new()               - Create new thread
  q_continue(id)        - Continue specific thread
  q_fork(id)            - Fork existing thread
  q_list()              - List all threads
  q_share(id, vis)      - Share thread (public/private/team)
  q_compact(id)         - Compact thread
  q_status()            - Show active thread

Tools & Utilities:
  q_tools()             - Show available tools

Quick variants:
  q_json()              - Ask with JSON output
  q_auto()              - Ask with auto-execution
  q_private()           - Ask in private thread
  q_team()              - Ask in team thread

Management functions return {:ok, result} | {:error, reason}.
Main q() function returns :ok for clean output.

iex(1)>

Demo: IEx Usage

Livebook Integration

Start named IEx node:

iex --name test@127.0.0.1 --cookie mycookie -S mix

Start Livebook:

livebook server --port 8080

Connect Livebook to IEx:
- Runtime Settings → Attached node
- Name: test@127.0.0.1
- Cookie: mycookie
Import in first cell:

import AmpIEx

Usage Examples

# Generate documentation
q_livebook("Create a README.md for this project")

# Generate code
q_livebook("Create a GenServer for handling user sessions")

# Generate tests
q_livebook("Generate tests for my UserController module")

# Code improvements
q_livebook("Document this function with proper @doc annotations")
q_livebook("Improve this function's performance and readability")

Livebook-Specific Commands

The AmpIEx module provides several Livebook-optimized functions:

Command	Purpose	Example
`q_livebook(prompt)`	Basic query with direct prompt	`q_livebook("Explain this code")`
`q_livebook_json(prompt)`	Returns structured JSON output	`q_livebook_json("List project dependencies")`
`q_livebook_auto(prompt)`	Auto-executes suggested commands	`q_livebook_auto("Install missing dependencies")`
`q_livebook_private(prompt)`	Creates private thread	`q_livebook_private("Review sensitive config")`
`q_livebook_team(prompt)`	Creates team-visible thread	`q_livebook_team("Share debugging approach")`

Daily Workflow

IEx: Start project with iex -S mix, use q() for AI assistance.

Livebook: Start named node, connect Livebook, import AmpIEx, use q_livebook() for non-interactive queries.

The integration feels seamless. AI assistance is always one function call away.