Tongyi Lingma

Tongyi Lingma is Alibaba Cloud’s coding assistant, built on the Qwen family of code models. It started as an IDE plugin for VS Code and the JetBrains editors and later added an agent mode that can carry out multi-step tasks on its own. For developers in mainland China, it is the most direct substitute for GitHub Copilot.

Its selling point is convenience rather than raw strength: it is reachable from mainland China without network workarounds, it understands questions and comments written in Chinese naturally, and the barrier to personal use is low. Alibaba Cloud users get extra mileage — it answers questions about Alibaba Cloud SDKs and services well — and the enterprise edition adds private knowledge bases and tighter data controls.

In daily use it is solid at the basics: completion, explaining code, writing unit tests. For cross-file refactors in large projects or independently tracking down hard bugs, it still trails leading tools such as Cursor and Claude Code.

Key features

• Code completion: completes single lines or whole blocks from context across mainstream languages.
• Chat: ask questions in the sidebar to explain code, debug errors or look up technical topics.
• Unit test generation: select a function and generate matching test cases in one step.
• Comments and optimisation: writes comments and suggests refactors and improvements.
• Agent mode: describe a task and let it read code, edit several files and run commands.
• Enterprise knowledge base: the enterprise edition can draw on internal coding standards and docs so answers fit your team.

How to use

1. Search for “Tongyi Lingma” in the VS Code or JetBrains plugin marketplace and install it.
2. Sign in to the plugin with an Alibaba Cloud account.
3. Write code as usual; suggestions appear automatically and Tab accepts them.
4. Open the sidebar chat, select code and ask about it, or have it generate tests and comments.
5. Switch to agent mode for larger tasks, and review each proposed change before accepting.

Best for

• Everyday coding for developers in mainland China: works out of the box with no network hassle.
• People who prefer to describe tasks in Chinese: it understands and replies in natural Chinese.
• Repetitive work like adding tests and comments: hand it over in bulk and save time.
• Teams on Alibaba Cloud: more accurate answers about its services and SDKs.

Strengths and limitations

Strengths

• Directly accessible in mainland China, stable, with a low barrier for individuals.
• Natural Chinese-language interaction suits Chinese-speaking teams.
• Covers both the VS Code and JetBrains ecosystems, so you keep your editor.

Limitations

• Weaker than the leading overseas tools on complex tasks and cross-file refactors.
• Limited model choice; it relies mainly on the Qwen family.
• Completion is occasionally over-eager and offers large blocks you didn’t want.
• Private deployment and other enterprise capabilities require the paid edition.