Instinct

ByteBuddy's Instinct feature provides AI-powered development intuition that helps you make better coding decisions by understanding patterns, predicting issues, and suggesting improvements based on deep code analysis.

What is Instinct?

Instinct is ByteBuddy's advanced AI feature that:

Analyzes Code Patterns: Identifies common patterns and anti-patterns
Predicts Issues: Foresees potential problems before they occur
Suggests Improvements: Recommends optimizations and best practices
Provides Intuition: Offers development "gut feelings" backed by data
Learns from Experience: Improves suggestions based on usage patterns

Enabling Instinct

Basic Configuration

Enable Instinct in your configuration:

yaml

# .bytebuddy/config.yaml
instinct:
  enabled: true
  level: "standard" # disabled, basic, standard, advanced

Advanced Settings

Fine-tune Instinct behavior:

yaml

instinct:
  enabled: true
  level: "advanced"

  # Analysis settings
  analysisDepth: "deep" # shallow, medium, deep
  realtimeAnalysis: true
  backgroundAnalysis: true

  # Prediction settings
  predictionHorizon: "medium" # short, medium, long
  confidenceThreshold: 0.7 # Only show predictions with 70%+ confidence

  # Learning settings
  learnFromUsage: true
  adaptToPreferences: true
  shareAnonymousData: false # Share anonymized data to improve Instinct

  # Notification settings
  showHints: true
  hintFrequency: "balanced" # low, balanced, high
  hintTypes:
    - "performance"
    - "security"
    - "maintainability"
    - "best-practices"

Instinct in Action

Real-time Suggestions

Instinct provides real-time suggestions as you code:

javascript

// As you type, Instinct might suggest:
// 💡 Consider using a Map instead of an object for better performance
// 🔒 This loop might be vulnerable to injection attacks
// ⚡ This function could be optimized with memoization

function processData(data) {
  const result = {};
  for (const item of data) {
    // Instinct hint: Consider validating item structure here
    result[item.id] = transformItem(item);
  }
  return result;
}

Pattern Recognition

Instinct identifies patterns in your codebase:

yaml

instinct:
  patternRecognition:
    enabled: true
    patterns:
      - name: "repository-pattern"
        description: "Detects repository pattern implementations"
        confidenceThreshold: 0.8

      - name: "observer-pattern"
        description: "Detects observer pattern implementations"
        confidenceThreshold: 0.7

      - name: "anti-pattern-singleton"
        description: "Detects singleton anti-pattern usage"
        severity: "warning"

Issue Prediction

Instinct predicts potential issues:

yaml

instinct:
  issuePrediction:
    enabled: true
    categories:
      - "performance-bottlenecks"
      - "security-vulnerabilities"
      - "maintainability-issues"
      - "scalability-concerns"

    predictionWindow: "30d" # Predict issues up to 30 days in advance

Instinct Levels

Disabled Level

No Instinct features active:

yaml

instinct:
  enabled: false

Basic Level

Essential Instinct features:

yaml

instinct:
  enabled: true
  level: "basic"

  features:
    realtimeHints: true
    simplePatternRecognition: true
    basicIssueDetection: true

Standard Level

Balanced Instinct features:

yaml

instinct:
  enabled: true
  level: "standard"

  features:
    realtimeHints: true
    advancedPatternRecognition: true
    issuePrediction: true
    codeQualityAssessment: true

Advanced Level

Full Instinct capabilities:

yaml

instinct:
  enabled: true
  level: "advanced"

  features:
    realtimeHints: true
    deepPatternRecognition: true
    advancedIssuePrediction: true
    codeEvolutionAnalysis: true
    teamCollaborationInsights: true

Pattern Analysis

Built-in Patterns

Instinct comes with built-in pattern recognition:

yaml

instinct:
  patterns:
    - name: "mvc-architecture"
      detect: true
      suggestImprovements: true

    - name: "microservices-boundaries"
      detect: true
      warnAboutViolations: true

    - name: "clean-code-principles"
      detect: true
      enforce: false # Suggest but don't enforce

    - name: "dependency-injection"
      detect: true
      recommendFrameworks: true

Custom Patterns

Define custom patterns for your codebase:

yaml

instinct:
  customPatterns:
    - name: "company-api-pattern"
      description: "Our standard API implementation pattern"
      definition:
        files:
          - "src/api/**/*.js"
        structure:
          required:
            - "routes/"
            - "controllers/"
            - "middleware/"
            - "validators/"
          optional:
            - "services/"
            - "repositories/"

    - name: "react-component-structure"
      description: "Standard React component organization"
      definition:
        files:
          - "src/components/**/*.jsx"
        patterns:
          - "import React from 'react'"
          - "const .* = .*\\(.*\\) => \\{"
          - "export default .*"

Prediction Engine

Performance Predictions

Predict performance issues:

yaml

instinct:
  predictions:
    performance:
      enabled: true
      categories:
        - "memory-leaks"
        - "cpu-bottlenecks"
        - "database-inefficiencies"
        - "network-latency"

      thresholds:
        memoryGrowthRate: "10%" # Warn if memory grows >10% per hour
        responseTime: "500ms" # Warn if avg response >500ms

Security Predictions

Forecast security vulnerabilities:

yaml

instinct:
  predictions:
    security:
      enabled: true
      categories:
        - "injection-attacks"
        - "authentication-flaws"
        - "authorization-bypass"
        - "data-exposure"

      riskLevels:
        - level: "critical"
          action: "immediate-notification"
        - level: "high"
          action: "code-hint"
        - level: "medium"
          action: "weekly-report"

Learning and Adaptation

Usage Learning

Instinct learns from your usage patterns:

yaml

instinct:
  learning:
    enabled: true
    learnFrom:
      - "accepted-suggestions"
      - "rejected-hints"
      - "manual-refactors"
      - "code-reviews"

    adaptationSpeed: "balanced" # slow, balanced, fast
    personalization:
      enabled: true
      basedOn:
        - "coding-style"
        - "preferred-patterns"
        - "common-mistakes"

Team Learning

Learn from team-wide patterns:

yaml

instinct:
  teamLearning:
    enabled: true
    aggregateData: true
    shareInsights: true

    teamPatterns:
      identify: true
      document: true
      suggest: true

    collaboration:
      peerSuggestions: true
      knowledgeSharing: true

Integration with Other Features

Instinct and RAG

Enhance Instinct with RAG context:

yaml

instinct:
  enabled: true
  ragIntegration:
    enabled: true
    contextSources:
      - "team-knowledge-base"
      - "project-documentation"
      - "best-practices-repository"

    adaptiveLearning:
      enabled: true
      adjustBasedOn:
        - "project-domain"
        - "team-expertise"
        - "technology-stack"

Instinct and Continuous AI

Combine with Continuous AI workflows:

yaml

continuousAI:
  enabled: true
  workflows:
    - name: "instinct-driven-improvement"
      trigger:
        eventType: "instinct-insight"
        confidence: ">0.8"
      actions:
        - action: "create-improvement-ticket"
          system: "jira"
          priority: "based-on-severity"

        - action: "notify-developer"
          message: "Instinct has identified a potential improvement opportunity"

        - action: "schedule-refactor"
          timeframe: "next-sprint"

Notification System

Hint Types

Different types of Instinct hints:

yaml

instinct:
  hints:
    performance:
      enabled: true
      color: "blue"
      icon: "⚡"

    security:
      enabled: true
      color: "red"
      icon: "🔒"

    maintainability:
      enabled: true
      color: "yellow"
      icon: "🔧"

    bestPractices:
      enabled: true
      color: "green"
      icon: "✅"

    innovation:
      enabled: true
      color: "purple"
      icon: "💡"

Delivery Methods

How hints are delivered:

yaml

instinct:
  delivery:
    inlineHints:
      enabled: true
      position: "margin" # margin, inline, floating

    statusBar:
      enabled: true
      showSummary: true

    notifications:
      enabled: true
      channels:
        - "ide-notifications"
        - "email-digest"
        - "slack-alerts"

    reports:
      enabled: true
      frequency: "weekly"
      format: "pdf"

Example Configurations

Developer-Focused Setup

Configuration optimized for individual developers:

yaml

instinct:
  enabled: true
  level: "standard"

  analysis:
    realtime: true
    background: true
    depth: "medium"

  predictions:
    enabled: true
    horizon: "short"
    confidence: 0.6

  learning:
    enabled: true
    personal: true
    team: false

  hints:
    show: true
    frequency: "balanced"
    types:
      - "performance"
      - "security"
      - "bestPractices"

Team-Focused Setup

Configuration optimized for team collaboration:

yaml

instinct:
  enabled: true
  level: "advanced"

  analysis:
    realtime: true
    background: true
    depth: "deep"

  predictions:
    enabled: true
    horizon: "medium"
    confidence: 0.7

  learning:
    enabled: true
    personal: true
    team: true

  teamFeatures:
    enabled: true
    knowledgeSharing: true
    patternDocumentation: true

  hints:
    show: true
    frequency: "high"
    types:
      - "performance"
      - "security"
      - "maintainability"
      - "bestPractices"
      - "innovation"

  delivery:
    inlineHints: true
    statusBar: true
    notifications:
      enabled: true
      channels:
        - "ide-notifications"
        - "team-slack"

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Hints Not Appearing

yaml

# Check if Instinct is enabled
instinct:
  enabled: true

# Verify hint types are enabled
hints:
  performance: { enabled: true }
  security: { enabled: true }

Performance Impact

yaml

# Reduce analysis depth
instinct:
  analysis:
    depth: "shallow" # or "medium"

# Limit background analysis
backgroundAnalysis: false

Too Many Hints

yaml

# Reduce hint frequency
hints:
  frequency: "low"

# Filter hint types
types:
  - "security" # Only show security hints

Debugging Commands

bash

# Check Instinct status
bytebuddy instinct status

# View recent insights
bytebuddy instinct insights

# Force analysis
bytebuddy instinct analyze --force

# Reset learning data
bytebuddy instinct reset-learning

Best Practices

Configuration

Start Conservative: Begin with standard level and basic hints
Customize for Domain: Adjust patterns for your technology stack
Monitor Performance: Keep an eye on system resource usage
Iterate Gradually: Gradually increase sophistication

Usage

Pay Attention to Patterns: Notice recurring Instinct suggestions
Validate Predictions: Test predicted issues to verify accuracy
Provide Feedback: Accept or reject hints to improve learning
Share Insights: Discuss interesting insights with your team

Team Adoption

Educate Team Members: Explain Instinct capabilities and benefits
Establish Norms: Define how the team will use Instinct
Collect Feedback: Gather input on hint quality and usefulness
Measure Impact: Track improvements in code quality and productivity

Next Steps

After setting up Instinct, explore these related guides:

Continuous AI - Automate development workflows
Custom Code RAG - Optimize code context understanding
Plan Mode Guide - Complex task planning and execution

Instinct ​

What is Instinct? ​

Enabling Instinct ​

Basic Configuration ​

Advanced Settings ​

Instinct in Action ​

Real-time Suggestions ​

Pattern Recognition ​

Issue Prediction ​

Instinct Levels ​

Disabled Level ​

Basic Level ​

Standard Level ​

Advanced Level ​

Pattern Analysis ​

Built-in Patterns ​

Custom Patterns ​

Prediction Engine ​

Performance Predictions ​

Security Predictions ​

Learning and Adaptation ​

Usage Learning ​

Team Learning ​

Integration with Other Features ​

Instinct and RAG ​

Instinct and Continuous AI ​

Notification System ​

Hint Types ​

Delivery Methods ​

Example Configurations ​

Developer-Focused Setup ​

Team-Focused Setup ​

Troubleshooting ​

Common Issues ​

Hints Not Appearing ​

Performance Impact ​

Too Many Hints ​

Debugging Commands ​

Best Practices ​

Configuration ​

Usage ​

Team Adoption ​

Next Steps ​

Instinct

What is Instinct?

Enabling Instinct

Basic Configuration

Advanced Settings

Instinct in Action

Real-time Suggestions

Pattern Recognition

Issue Prediction

Instinct Levels

Disabled Level

Basic Level

Standard Level

Advanced Level

Pattern Analysis

Built-in Patterns

Custom Patterns

Prediction Engine

Performance Predictions

Security Predictions

Learning and Adaptation

Usage Learning

Team Learning

Integration with Other Features

Instinct and RAG

Instinct and Continuous AI

Notification System

Hint Types

Delivery Methods

Example Configurations

Developer-Focused Setup

Team-Focused Setup

Troubleshooting

Common Issues

Hints Not Appearing

Performance Impact

Too Many Hints

Debugging Commands

Best Practices

Configuration

Usage

Team Adoption

Next Steps