IDE-Style Completions Guide

IDE-Style Completions bring intelligent, context-aware text suggestions to your Obsidian writing experience. Like code completion in programming IDEs, this feature predicts and suggests what you might want to write next.

Table of Contents

• Overview
• Getting Started
• How Completions Work
• Using Completions
• Configuration
• Writing Effectively with Completions
• Advanced Features
• Tips and Tricks
• Troubleshooting

Overview

What are IDE-Style Completions?

Completions provide:

• Real-time text suggestions as you type
• Context-aware predictions based on surrounding content
• Single-keypress acceptance (Tab)
• Seamless integration with your writing flow

Benefits

1. Faster Writing: Complete sentences and paragraphs quickly
2. Consistency: Maintain style and terminology
3. Idea Generation: Get suggestions for what to write next
4. Reduced Typing: Especially helpful for repetitive content
5. Learning Tool: See how AI would continue your thoughts

Getting Started

Enable Completions

1. Open Command Palette (Ctrl/Cmd + P)
2. Search for "Gemini Scribe: Toggle completions"
3. Press Enter
4. See confirmation notice: "Gemini Scribe completions are now enabled." or "Gemini Scribe completions are now disabled."

The toggle isn't saved: completions start off every time Obsidian starts or the plugin reloads, so run the command again to turn them back on.

Quick Test

1. Open any markdown note
2. Type a few words and pause
3. After ~500ms, a gray suggestion appears
4. Press Tab to accept or any other key to dismiss

How Completions Work

The Completion Process

1. You type in your note
2. Pause detected (500ms without typing)
3. Context gathered: the full text of the note, split at the cursor
4. AI generates a short suggestion
5. Suggestion appears in gray text
6. You choose to accept or continue typing

Context Understanding

Each request sends the entire current note — everything before the cursor and everything after it — together with a fixed instruction to continue the text at the cursor with a short continuation (roughly 5–20 words) that matches the note's tone. That means the AI sees:

• Previous paragraphs and the current sentence
• Text that follows the cursor
• The note's structure and Markdown formatting
• The writing style of this note

It does not see other notes, your agent sessions, AGENTS.md, or custom prompts.

Smart Predictions

Completions understand:

• Lists: Continues numbered or bulleted lists
• Headers: Suggests appropriate content
• Links: Completes wiki-links and markdown links
• Tables: Helps with table formatting

These aren't separate engineered features — completions use one fixed, general-purpose prompt (see Integration with Other Features) that reads the surrounding text and continues it naturally, whatever the content looks like. There's no dedicated code-language detection or per-content-type logic.

Using Completions

Basic Usage

1. Start typing normally
2. Pause briefly when you want a suggestion
3. Review suggestion (appears in gray)
4. Accept or dismiss:
   • Tab: Accept the suggestion
   • Any other key: Dismiss and continue

Accepting Completions

Full acceptance: Press Tab once

• Entire suggestion is inserted
• Cursor moves to end
• Continue typing normally

Dismissing: Press any other key

• Suggestion disappears
• Your keypress is processed normally
• No text is inserted

When Completions Appear

A suggestion is requested whenever you stop typing for about 500ms in a Markdown note while completions are on — mid-sentence, after punctuation, at the start of a line, after a list marker, anywhere. There are no special trigger characters; the pause is the only trigger.

Configuration

Settings

Completions are routed and modeled like every other feature: open Settings → Gemini Scribe → Features and select the Completions row. It shows a provider dropdown (all four providers support Completions) and, for Gemini, a searchable model picker offering options such as:

• Gemini Flash Lite Latest (fastest, default)
• Gemini Flash Latest (balanced)
• Gemini 2.5 Pro (highest quality, slower; requires billing)

The dropdown reflects whatever models the bundled list and Model Discovery have surfaced — the names above are today's defaults, but newer Flash / Pro models will appear automatically as Google ships them. See Settings Reference → Features for the full routing model.

Model Comparison

Model	Speed	Quality	Best For
Flash Lite Latest	Fastest	Good	Most writing, note-taking (default)
Flash Latest	Fast	Better	Longer / more nuanced suggestions
Gemini 2.5 Pro	Slowest	Best	Critical content; requires billing

Performance and Cost

• A 500ms debounce means one request per pause, not one per keystroke
• Each request sends the whole note, so long notes use more tokens and respond more slowly
• Suggestions aren't cached — pausing again makes a new request
• The fastest lever is the model: keep Completions on a Flash Lite model

Writing Effectively with Completions

1. Note-Taking

Meeting Notes

Type: "Action items from today's meeting:"
Pause...
Suggestion: "1. Review Q3 budget projections"
Tab to accept, continue with your items

Daily Notes

Type: "Today I learned"
Pause...
Suggestion: "about the importance of consistent documentation practices"

2. Technical Writing

Documentation

Type: "To install the package, run"
Pause...
Suggestion: "`npm install package-name`"

Code Comments

Type: "This function"
Pause...
Suggestion: "handles user authentication and returns a JWT token"

3. Creative Writing

Story Continuation

Type: "The old lighthouse keeper"
Pause...
Suggestion: "watched the storm clouds gather on the horizon"

Descriptions

Type: "The room was"
Pause...
Suggestion: "dimly lit by a single candle flickering in the corner"

4. Academic Writing

Research Notes

Type: "The study demonstrates that"
Pause...
Suggestion: "increased exposure to natural light improves cognitive performance"

Citations

Type: "According to Smith (2023),"
Pause...
Suggestion: "the correlation between these variables is statistically significant"

Advanced Features

1. List Completion

Start a list and let AI continue:

1. First step
2. [pause]
   AI suggests: "Second step in the process"

2. Markdown Formatting

Bold/Italic

Type: "This is **important"
Pause...
Suggestion: "** because it affects all users"

Links

Type: "See [[Project"
Pause...
Suggestion: " Notes]] for more details"

3. Table Assistance

| Column 1 | Column 2 |
|----------|----------|
| Data     | [pause]
Suggestion: "More Data |"

4. Template Expansion

Create shortcuts:

Type: "mtg"
Pause...
Suggestion: "Meeting Notes - [Date]"

Tips and Tricks

1. Completion Patterns

Sentence Starters

• "The main advantage is"
• "In conclusion,"
• "For example,"
• "This means that"

Transition Phrases

• "Furthermore,"
• "On the other hand,"
• "As a result,"

2. Speed Techniques

Partial Acceptance

• Type the beginning
• Let AI complete
• Edit if needed

Rapid Documentation

• Start sections
• Accept completions
• Refine later

3. Learning from Suggestions

Observe how AI:

• Structures sentences
• Uses transitions
• Maintains consistency
• Formats markdown

4. Custom Patterns

Completions don't learn over time, but the note itself steers them. Guide the AI by:

• Using consistent formats within the note
• Repeating structures it can pick up on
• Building templates

5. Efficient Workflows

Outlining

1. Type main points
2. Let AI expand
3. Reorganize as needed

Brainstorming

1. Start ideas
2. See AI suggestions
3. Build on interesting ones

Troubleshooting

Completions Not Appearing

1. Check if enabled

   • Run toggle command
   • Look for confirmation
   • Remember completions switch off after every restart or plugin reload

2. Verify file type

   • Must be an open Markdown view (.md file)

3. Check timing

   • Wait full 500ms
   • Don't type too quickly

4. API issues

   • Verify API key
   • Check internet connection

Poor Quality Suggestions

Too generic

• Provide more context
• Write clearer beginnings
• Use specific terminology

Wrong style

• Be consistent in document
• Use clear formatting
• Maintain tone

Irrelevant

• Check document structure
• Ensure logical flow
• Provide better context

Performance Issues

Slow suggestions

• Switch to Gemini Flash Lite Latest (the default)
• Check network speed
• Reduce document size

Disrupting flow

• Type without pausing
• Disable for focused writing
• Adjust mental timing

Conflicts

With other plugins

• Disable conflicting completions
• Check for keybinding conflicts
• Report compatibility issues

With templates

• Completions work alongside templates
• May suggest template syntax
• Edit suggestions as needed

Best Practices

1. Context is Key

Write clear beginnings:

• ❌ "The thing is"
• ✅ "The main challenge with this approach is"

2. Pause Strategically

Pause when you:

• Need the next idea
• Want formatting help
• Seek specific information
• Feel stuck

3. Edit and Refine

Completions are suggestions:

• Review before accepting
• Edit after accepting
• Don't accept blindly
• Maintain your voice

4. Use for First Drafts

Completions excel at:

• Getting ideas flowing
• Overcoming blank pages
• Rapid prototyping
• Rough drafts

5. Disable When Needed

Turn off for:

• Final editing
• Precise writing
• Personal journaling
• Sensitive content

Common Patterns

Email Templates

"Thank you for" → "your email regarding..."
"I hope this" → "message finds you well"
"Please let me know" → "if you have any questions"

Technical Documentation

"To configure" → "the settings, follow these steps:"
"The API returns" → "a JSON response containing..."
"Error handling" → "is implemented using try-catch blocks"

Academic Writing

"This research" → "contributes to the existing literature by..."
"The findings suggest" → "a strong correlation between..."
"Further investigation" → "is needed to determine..."

Note Organization

"## Summary" → [AI provides section structure]
"### Key Points" → [AI suggests bullet points]
"Related:" → "[[Note 1]], [[Note 2]]"

Integration with Other Features

With Custom Prompts

• Completions use a fixed, dedicated prompt template and do not read the session's active custom prompt
• Suggestions are based only on the surrounding document text, not any custom prompt's style or persona
• Custom prompts affect Chat, Rewrite, and selection features, not completions

With Chat

• Completions and chat are independent: completions only see the current note, not your agent session or its context files
• Use completions for drafting in place and chat for questions, research, and multi-step edits

With Rewrite

• Completions for drafting
• Rewrite for major edits
• Combined for efficiency

Conclusion

IDE-Style Completions transform your writing experience by providing intelligent, context-aware suggestions exactly when you need them. By understanding how to use this feature effectively, you can:

• Write faster without sacrificing quality
• Maintain consistency across documents
• Overcome writer's block
• Learn new writing patterns
• Focus on ideas rather than mechanics

Start with completions enabled during regular note-taking, observe how the AI understands your context, and gradually incorporate suggestions into your workflow. Remember: completions are a tool to enhance, not replace, your unique writing voice.

The key is finding the right balance—knowing when to accept suggestions and when to write freely. With practice, completions become an invisible assistant that helps you express your thoughts more efficiently.