Pieces for Developers - Smart Code Snippet Manager That Actually Remembers

Pieces for Developers stops you from bookmarking 47 Stack Overflow tabs and forgetting what they were for. Unlike other snippet managers that are basically fancy text files, Pieces actually understands what your code does and can find it when you search for "that auth thing" instead of forcing you to remember the exact variable name.

Long-Term Memory Technology

The Long-Term Memory feature keeps track of your coding context for 9 months, which means you can find that React hook you wrote 6 months ago without scrolling through 500 files. It saves everything you copy/paste automatically. Heads up - when it scans your repos for the first time, your laptop will sound like a jet engine. I thought mine was dying the first time.

It automatically tags your code so you don't have to remember what language that snippet was in:

• Auto-generated titles - usually better than the generic "Untitled" you'd use
• Language detection - knows the difference between TypeScript and regular JavaScript
• Source tracking - remembers it came from that GitHub issue you found at 2am
• Usage stats - shows which snippets you actually use (spoiler: it's like 5 of them)

AI-Powered Code Organization

The AI runs locally on your machine (which means your laptop fans will work overtime), but it actually does suggest useful snippets when you're working on similar problems. It's not perfect - sometimes it suggests your old Django code when you're working in React - but it's better than manually searching through hundreds of snippets.

You can use different AI models (OpenAI, Anthropic, local Ollama) depending on your setup and privacy requirements. Local models are slower but keep everything on your machine. Cloud models are faster but require internet. The on-device processing means it works more like Apple's Siri than ChatGPT.

Cross-Platform Integration

The extensions work across most editors you actually use, though some work better than others:

• IDEs: Visual Studio Code (76k+ installs, works well), JetBrains (solid), Visual Studio, and Sublime Text
• Browsers: Chrome and Edge extensions that break with major browser updates (restart the extension when this happens)
• Command line: Pieces CLI which is actually faster than the GUI once you learn it
• Note-taking: Obsidian plugin if you're into that workflow

Just so you know: the browser extension randomly stops syncing sometimes. When that happens, restart the desktop app and it usually fixes itself. The VS Code extension works the best, better than alternatives like Gist or CodePen for private snippets. Works better than Notion for code storage since it actually syntax highlights properly and doesn't break formatting.

Pieces Drive: Your Central Knowledge Hub

Pieces Drive is where all your saved crap lives. It tries to be smart about organizing everything, which mostly works. The interface shows your stuff through different views:

• Recent: Shows the stuff you actually used recently
• Suggested: Suggests code based on what you're working on
• Alphabetical: Old-school sorting by title
• Language: Groups by programming language

Multiple Input Methods

You can save code in different ways:

Paste from Clipboard: Copy something, paste it in. It figures out what language it is automatically.

Plugin Integration: Save directly from VS Code, JetBrains, or browser extensions without leaving your editor.

Repository Scanning: Scans your repos and finds repeated code patterns. Useful for finding stuff you didn't know you were copying everywhere.

GitHub Gists Import: Imports your existing Gists if you have any worth keeping.

AI Generation: Describe what you want and it'll generate code for you. Hit or miss, but sometimes saves time.

Privacy and Security Architecture

Your code stays on your machine unless you turn on cloud sync (it's off by default, thankfully):

• Local AI processing means your laptop fans sound like a Boeing 747, but nothing leaves your machine
• Cloud sync is optional - you have to actually turn it on
• Works completely offline, which security teams actually love
• Your API keys stay put - no accidental secret leaks

Don't put actual passwords in your code snippets (obviously). But at least you don't have to worry about your proprietary algorithms being fed to someone else's training data like with GitHub Copilot or Tabnine. It's more like having a local search engine for your code.

Model Context Protocol (MCP) Integration

The MCP integration lets you use your snippets with AI tools, though setup requires reading through 47 pages of documentation:

• GitHub Copilot: Copilot suggests your actual code instead of generic examples (when it works)
• Claude Desktop: Share context with Claude without copy-pasting everything
• Cursor: Integrated AI coding experience (still in beta territory)
• Goose: Workflow automation that occasionally works as advertised

Once you get it working, AI suggestions actually reference your coding patterns instead of showing generic Stack Overflow solutions. The setup is a pain but worth it if you use AI assistants daily.

Advanced Search and Retrieval

The search actually finds your code when you search for vague descriptions like "that auth thing":

• Time-based queries: "Show me the API code from last month" works better than you'd expect
• Natural language search: "Find React auth hooks" returns relevant snippets instead of random crap
• Context suggestions: Recommends snippets based on what you're working on (hit-or-miss but improving)
• Semantic search: Understands "database connection" and "DB setup" are the same thing

It's not perfect - sometimes it suggests Python code when you're clearly working in JavaScript - but it's way better than grepping through 500 text files or scrolling through your Gist history for 20 minutes.