Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about Mouse. Can't find your answer? Contact us at support@hic-ai.com
💡General
What is Mouse?
Mouse is a precision file-editing toolkit for AI coding agents. It provides coordinate-based editing, atomic batching, and full rollback capabilities that eliminate Execution Slop—when an agent makes the right plan, calls the right tool, but still produces the wrong output.
What is Execution Slop?
Execution Slop is when an AI coding agent understands the task, selects the correct editing operation, but the edit still fails—wrong line, mangled syntax, corrupted file. It's the gap between intent and outcome. Mouse's precision tools close this gap.
How is Mouse different from an AI coding agent's built-in file-editing tools?
Mouse is the only tool that offers coordinate-based addressing (edit by line/column without echoing content), zero content-echo (70% fewer tokens), atomic batching (all-or-nothing operations), and in-place refinement (adjust staged edits without starting over). See our Features page for a full comparison.
Does Mouse work with my coding assistant?
Mouse is compatible with a range of integrated development environments, AI coding clients, and models via the Model Context Protocol (MCP), including GitHub Copilot, Cursor, Claude Code, and more. Please see our Features page for a complete compatibility summary.
🔧Installation & Setup
How do I install Mouse?
To install Mouse, navigate to the VS Code Marketplace or Open VSX inside your IDE, search for “Mouse” by HIC AI, Inc., and click “Install”. Then, open the Command Palette (Ctrl-Shift-P on a PC), enter “Mouse: Initialize Workspace”, and select your coding assistant from the dropdown menu. Click on the popup button to refresh your Developer Window, and Mouse will be automatically added to your MCP config file (or one will be generated automatically for you if you don't have one already), and your agent is all set to begin using Mouse for precision file navigation and editing! Please see our /docs page for full details.
What IDEs does Mouse support?
Mouse currently supports VS Code, Cursor, and Kiro. The installation and setup process is identical across all of them.
Does Mouse work offline?
Yes! Mouse operates entirely locally on your device. It only needs internet connectivity for initial license activation and periodic validation.
What are the system requirements?
Mouse requires a supported IDE along with Node.js 20+. The extension uses approximately 1.3MB of disk space. There are no special hardware requirements.
💳Pricing & Billing
How much does Mouse cost?
Individual: $15/month ($150/year, save $30). Business: $35/seat/month ($350/seat/year). Both plans include a 14-day free trial. All prices exclude applicable taxes.
Is there a free trial?
Yes! Individual plans include a 14-day free trial with no credit card required. You get full access to all features during the trial.
Can I use Mouse for commercial projects?
Yes! Both Individual and Business plans permit commercial use, subject to our Terms of Service.
What counts as a device?
Each VS Code installation on a unique machine or container counts as one device. Individual plans allow 3 concurrent devices; Business plans allow 5 concurrent devices per seat. You can deactivate old devices anytime from your portal to free up slots.
Example: You maintain two repositories on your local laptop at ~/source/repos/my-repo-1 and ~/source/repos/my-repo-2, and you initialize Mouse in both workspaces in VS Code. This counts as one device.
Example: While working on ~/source/repos/my-repo-1 inside VS Code, you decide to spin up a GitHub Codespaces container and work in the browser on ~/source/repos/my-repo-2 at the same time. This will count as two devices.
Can I switch plans?
Unfortunately, we are unable to permit Individual subscriptions to convert to Business or vice versa at this time through our self-checkout process. If you would like to upgrade from Individual to Business or downgrade from Business to Individual, please contact billing@hic-ai.com for assistance. You can always switch at any time from monthly to annual payment schedules (or vice versa), update your payment information, and (for Business subscriptions) add or remove seats.
Do you offer refunds?
Yes. If you're not satisfied within the first 30 days of your initial purchase, contact us at billing@hic-ai.com for a full refund. No questions asked. See our Refund & Cancellation Policy for full details.
What payment methods do you accept?
We accept all major credit cards, as well as numerous local payment methods depending on your region. Payments are processed securely by our payment vendor, Stripe, and handled by our merchant of record, Stripe Managed Payments.
How will charges appear on my card statements?
Charges for your Mouse subscription will appear as: HIC AI INC.
Are there volume discounts?
Yes, we provide volume discounts for 100 or more licenses. Please contact sales at sales@hic-ai.com for more information.
🔒Privacy & Security
Does Mouse send my code to your servers?
No. Mouse operates exclusively locally on your device. We do not collect, transmit, or store your source code, file contents, AI prompts, AI responses, or keystrokes. See our Privacy Policy for details.
What data does Mouse collect?
We collect only: account/payment information, license validation requests, and device identifiers (for activation limits). We never see your code or AI conversations.
Is Mouse SOC 2 compliant?
We are currently pursuing SOC 2 Type II certification. Enterprise customers can request our security documentation and complete a security questionnaire. Contact enterprise@hic-ai.com.
⚙️Technical
What tools does Mouse provide?
Mouse provides 10 tools: 6 file reading tools (read_first_n_lines, read_last_n_lines, read_lines, jump_to_line_n, find_in_file, get_file_metadata), 2 editing tools (quick_edit, batch_quick_edit), and 2 staging tools (save_changes, cancel_changes).
What editing operations are supported?
Mouse supports INSERT (add lines), REPLACE (find/replace), DELETE (remove lines), REPLACE_RANGE (character-level), FOR_LINES (columnar editing), and ADJUST (relocate content). All operations can be batched atomically.
What is atomic batching?
Atomic batching groups multiple edits into a single operation. Either all changes succeed or none do—if any edit fails, Mouse automatically rolls back all changes. Your codebase is never left in a broken intermediate state.
What is coordinate-based addressing?
Instead of matching text patterns (which can fail or match wrong locations), Mouse edits by exact line and column numbers. This eliminates ambiguity and the need to echo file content back in tool calls.
What is in-place refinement?
When an agent catches its own mistake in staged edits, it can adjust pending changes without starting over. This enables self-correction without human intervention—a capability unique to Mouse.
🤝Support
How do I get help?
Individual plan: Community support via GitHub Issues. Enterprise plan: Priority email support at support@hic-ai.com with 24-hour response time.
Where can I report bugs?
Please report bugs on our GitHub Issues page. Include your VS Code version, Mouse version, and steps to reproduce the issue.
Is there documentation?
Yes! Visit our Docs page for installation guides, tool reference, best practices, and troubleshooting guides.
Can I request features?
Absolutely! Submit feature requests on GitHub Issues. We prioritize based on community feedback and alignment with our roadmap.
Still Have Questions?
We're here to help. Reach out and we'll get back to you as soon as possible.