No Suggestions from Gemini Code Assist? Diagnose It by Symptom

You've installed Gemini Code Assist, but the suggestions aren't showing up. Or maybe the extension is installed but sign-in keeps failing. Or the Outline feature just isn't appearing. Whatever the symptom, this guide walks through the most common Gemini Code Assist issues and exactly how to fix them.

Start Here: Basic Checklist

Before diving into specific symptoms, run through these basics.

1. Check authentication status

Click the Gemini icon in the VS Code sidebar. If you see a prompt to sign in, that's your first stop. Sign in with a Google account that has access to Gemini Code Assist.

2. Verify the extension version

Open the Extensions tab in VS Code, search for "Gemini Code Assist," and make sure you're on the latest version. Older versions may lack features or contain bugs that have since been fixed.

3. Check your network connection

Gemini Code Assist is a cloud service and requires a stable internet connection. Corporate proxy and VPN environments often need extra configuration — covered below.

Symptom-by-Symptom Fixes

Symptom 1: No Inline Suggestions at All

Check the setting state first

Open the Command Palette (Cmd+Shift+P on Mac, Ctrl+Shift+P on Windows/Linux), type "Gemini: Enable/Disable Suggestions," and confirm whether suggestions are currently enabled.

Verify your settings.json

Make sure these entries are present and set to true:

{
  "editor.inlineSuggest.enabled": true,
  "geminiCode.enableInlineSuggestions": true
}

Restart VS Code after any settings change.

Check Tab completion settings

If editor.tabCompletion is set to "off", you may see suggestions appear but not be able to accept them with Tab. Set it to "on" or "onlySnippets".

Still not working? Uninstall the extension, restart VS Code, then reinstall it fresh. Sometimes cached state from a previous install causes persistent issues.

Symptom 2: Can't Sign In to the Extension

Reset the authentication state

1. Run "Gemini Code Assist: Sign Out" from the Command Palette.
2. Clear any cached Google credentials from your OS keychain (Keychain Access on macOS, Credential Manager on Windows).
3. Run "Gemini Code Assist: Sign In" again.

Browser-related sign-in failures

VS Code opens an external browser to complete OAuth authentication. If your default browser blocks popups or has security extensions interfering, try temporarily disabling them.

Google Workspace (enterprise) accounts

If you're using a company Google account, your administrator may not have enabled Gemini Code Assist for your organization. Check with your admin to confirm it's enabled in the Google Workspace Admin Console under "Apps → Additional Google Services → Gemini for Google Cloud."

Symptom 3: Outline Feature Not Showing

The Outline feature in Gemini Code Assist generates a structural overview of your code to help with navigation. Here's what to check when it's missing.

Language support

Outline is currently supported for select languages including Python, JavaScript, TypeScript, Java, and Go. Check the official documentation to confirm support for your language.

Enable the setting explicitly

{
  "geminiCode.enableOutline": true
}

Add this to your settings.json if it's not already there.

Large file processing time

Very large files (several thousand lines) can take time to process. Watch for a spinner in the status bar while Gemini is working. If it eventually appears, the file size is likely the cause of the delay rather than a configuration issue.

Symptom 4: Suggestions Are Off-Topic or Low Quality

Code completion quality depends heavily on the context surrounding your cursor. A few techniques reliably improve it.

Add descriptive comments above your cursor:

# Email address validation function
# Checks format compliance with RFC 5322
def validate_email(email: str) -> bool:
    # ← Gemini will produce much more accurate suggestions here

Declare your stack at the top of the file:

// Framework: Next.js 15 App Router
// State: Zustand
// Styling: Tailwind CSS

This context significantly improves suggestion relevance, especially in files that might otherwise look ambiguous.

Symptom 5: Not Connecting in a Proxy or VPN Environment

Corporate networks often require explicit proxy configuration for VS Code to reach cloud services.

VS Code proxy settings:

{
  "http.proxy": "http://your-proxy-server:port",
  "http.proxyStrictSSL": false,
  "http.proxyAuthorization": null
}

If the VS Code setting isn't enough, try launching VS Code with the environment variable set:

# macOS / Linux
export HTTPS_PROXY=http://your-proxy-server:port
code .
 
# Windows (PowerShell)
$env:HTTPS_PROXY="http://your-proxy-server:port"
code .

If you're on a corporate network with SSL inspection, you may also need to add your company's root CA certificate to VS Code's trusted certificates.

Symptom 6: JetBrains IDE Issues (IntelliJ, PyCharm, etc.)

Gemini Code Assist also supports JetBrains IDEs through the Google Cloud Code plugin.

Verify the plugin is installed and up to date in the JetBrains Marketplace. After installation, a full IDE restart is required.

Find the settings in a different location than VS Code: navigate to "Settings → Tools → Google Cloud Code" to configure Gemini Code Assist for JetBrains.

Authentication in JetBrains works through the same Google account flow, but uses JetBrains' own browser integration. If the browser doesn't open automatically, look for a link in the notification area at the bottom of the IDE.

Finding Root Cause in the Logs

When symptoms don't match the above patterns, the logs usually tell you what's wrong.

VS Code logs:

1. Open "Help → Toggle Developer Tools"
2. In the Console tab, search for "gemini" or "google"

Or use the Output panel (Ctrl+Shift+U) and select "Gemini Code Assist" from the dropdown.

Common Error Messages Decoded

"Authentication failed" means your sign-in state is stale — sign out and sign back in. "Quota exceeded" means you've hit your usage limit for the period; wait a few hours or consider upgrading your plan. "Network error" points to connectivity or proxy issues. "Extension host terminated unexpectedly" is a VS Code crash — fully quit and restart the application.

When Only Agent Mode Won't Work — Separate It from Completion Issues

Gemini Code Assist's agent mode is a different feature from inline completion or chat responses. It can plan and execute multi-step changes across files, suggest commands, and generate tests semi-autonomously. It rolled out gradually from late 2025 and, as of 2026, is available on the Enterprise and Individual Pro plans.

A common report here is that completion works fine but only the agent won't run. The way you isolate the cause is a little different from completion troubleshooting.

First, confirm it's actually enabled

Agent mode doesn't work just because the extension is installed — it needs explicit activation. In VS Code, check whether an "Agent" toggle appears in the chat input area. If it doesn't, one of these usually applies:

• Your license doesn't support it (the Free plan can't use agent mode — you need Pro or Enterprise)
• An organization admin has disabled it (Workspace environments require approval in the admin console)
• The extension is outdated (agent mode is relatively new, so update to the latest version)

When I first started using it for personal development, completion was working, so I assumed it was already enabled — and spent a while before I noticed the toggle. Separating completion from the agent is the fastest first step.

Instructions too broad, so it stalls midway

The agent can reference your whole repository, but there's a limit to how much context it handles at once. Broad instructions like "fix all the bugs in this project" tend to time out or go silent. Narrowing the scope keeps it stable.

# Likely to stall
"Find and fix all the bugs in this project"

# Likely to go through
"Check src/api/auth.ts for issues in JWT token validation and fix them"

@workspace / @file references not resolving

@workspace references the whole project and @file a specific file, but references fail if the workspace index hasn't been built. In VS Code, reloading the window (Command Palette → "Developer: Reload Window") usually rebuilds the index. Files excluded via .gitignore are invisible to the agent too, so check that the files you want to reference aren't excluded.

Agent-specific error messages

• Failed to complete task: context limit exceeded — your instruction is too broad; narrow it to a file or function.
• Agent mode is not available for your plan — your license doesn't include it; check your plan.
• Unable to index workspace — the workspace is too large or there's a permissions issue; check the detailed log in the output panel.

When I used it on the blog-operations code for Dolice Labs in my own development, broad instructions stalled at first, and it went through the moment I split the work file by file. My honest takeaway: the agent is faster when you hand it small, certain pieces than when you expect it to "do everything cleverly."

Wrapping Up

Most Gemini Code Assist problems fall into one of three buckets: authentication issues, configuration settings, or network environment. Working through this guide's checklist in order should resolve the majority of cases. If you're still stuck, the official Gemini Code Assist documentation is worth a visit. We hope this helps you get back to coding quickly.