I keep thinking about the idea of an "everything app" for legal work.
Lawyers are building incredible personalized tools right now. With the cost of software going down, we're entering an era of hypercustomization.
What if these custom apps could live in the same open-source interface I've been exploring over the past few weeks? VS Code.
VS Code has a whole ecosystem of "extensions". Portable JS/TS apps with a Node.js backend plus a sandboxed browser for custom UIs.
Extensions are packaged as a single compressed file you can share via email or message. One-click install in VS Code and it works. No Git clone. No environment setup. No terminal.
And there's a public marketplace for sharing them. Active since 2015. Imagine the legal community sharing tools there.
Looking for a tabular review app? Search the marketplace (most are open-source, inspectable). Don't find what you want? Build it with Claude.
What's more: your AI agents already live in VS Code (Claude, Codex, Gemini all have their extension). Your custom app could leverage them using the subscription you're already paying for. No extra API keys. No pay-per-token.
That's exactly how I made Claude talk to SuperDoc for the live Word editing — not straightforward in VS Code as extensions don't natively communicate, but doable with some tricks.
This obviously won't replace deploying an app online. VS Code extensions have many limitations (no real-time collaboration, no shared database).
But for a solo practitioner or small team that just needs a tool running locally? This could definitively be a viable alternative.
So I keep wondering if:
AI agents
- Portable workflows (Skills)
- Full Word editing (SuperDoc)
- Personalized UIs (VS Code extensions)
= The Everything App for Legal?