diff --git a/packages/kilo-vscode/README.md b/packages/kilo-vscode/README.md
index 17ee739bb1e..8b636361149 100644
--- a/packages/kilo-vscode/README.md
+++ b/packages/kilo-vscode/README.md
@@ -46,6 +46,19 @@
 
 If you want to contribute or modify the extension locally, see the [DEVELOPMENT.md](/DEVELOPMENT.md) file for build and setup instructions.
 
+### Snapshot Builds
+
+To build and share a development snapshot of the extension:
+
+```bash
+# Build only (outputs VSIX to system temp dir)
+bun run snapshot:build
+
+# Build and install directly into VS Code
+bun run snapshot:install
+```
+
+
 ## Contributing
 
 We welcome contributions from developers, writers, and enthusiasts!
diff --git a/packages/kilo-vscode/package.json b/packages/kilo-vscode/package.json
index e6325d4377b..efa67d7afbf 100644
--- a/packages/kilo-vscode/package.json
+++ b/packages/kilo-vscode/package.json
@@ -692,6 +692,8 @@
   },
   "scripts": {
     "prepare:cli-binary": "bun script/local-bin.ts",
+    "snapshot:build": "bun script/dev-snapshot.ts build",
+    "snapshot:install": "bun script/dev-snapshot.ts install",
     "compile": "bun run prepare:cli-binary && bun run rebuild-sdk && bun run typecheck && bun run lint && node esbuild.js",
     "watch": "bun run rebuild-sdk && bun run --parallel watch:esbuild watch:tsc",
     "watch:esbuild": "bun run prepare:cli-binary && node esbuild.js --watch",
diff --git a/packages/kilo-vscode/script/dev-snapshot.ts b/packages/kilo-vscode/script/dev-snapshot.ts
new file mode 100755
index 00000000000..e5953ce0092
--- /dev/null
+++ b/packages/kilo-vscode/script/dev-snapshot.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,68 @@
+#!/usr/bin/env bun
+import { $ } from "bun"
+import { join } from "node:path"
+import { tmpdir } from "node:os"
+import { rmSync, mkdirSync, existsSync } from "node:fs"
+
+const mode = process.argv[2] ?? "install"
+const shouldInstall = mode === "install"
+
+const root = join(import.meta.dir, "..")
+const pkgPath = join(root, "package.json")
+
+const pkg = await Bun.file(pkgPath).json()
+const sha = (await $`git rev-parse --short HEAD`.text()).trim()
+const user = (await $`git config user.name`.text()).trim().toLowerCase().replace(/\s+/g, "-")
+const snapshotVersion = `${pkg.version}-snapshot+${sha}.${user}`
+
+console.log(`Building snapshot version: ${snapshotVersion}`)
+console.log(`Base version: ${pkg.version}`)
+console.log(`Commit: ${sha}`)
+console.log(`Mode: ${mode}\n`)
+
+console.log("🧹 Cleaning build directories...")
+for (const dir of ["bin", "dist"]) {
+  const dirPath = join(root, dir)
+  if (existsSync(dirPath)) {
+    rmSync(dirPath, { recursive: true, force: true })
+    console.log(`  ✓ Cleaned ${dir}/`)
+  }
+}
+
+const outDir = join(tmpdir(), "kilo-vscode-snapshots")
+mkdirSync(outDir, { recursive: true })
+
+console.log("\n📦 Rebuilding SDK...")
+await $`bun run --cwd ../sdk/js build`.cwd(root)
+
+console.log("\n🔧 Preparing CLI binary...")
+await $`bun script/local-bin.ts`.cwd(root)
+
+console.log("\n✅ Type-checking...")
+await $`bun run check-types`.cwd(root)
+
+console.log("\n🔍 Linting...")
+await $`bun run lint`.cwd(root)
+
+console.log("\n🏗️  Building extension...")
+await $`node ${join(root, "esbuild.js")} --production`.cwd(root)
+
+console.log("\n📦 Packaging VSIX...")
+const vsixPath = join(outDir, `kilo-vscode-snapshot-${sha}.vsix`)
+await $`bunx vsce package ${snapshotVersion} --no-update-package-json --no-dependencies --skip-license -o ${vsixPath}`.cwd(
+  root,
+)
+
+console.log(`\n✅ VSIX created: ${vsixPath}`)
+
+if (shouldInstall) {
+  const execPath = process.env.VSCODE_EXEC_PATH ?? ""
+  const cli = execPath.toLowerCase().includes("insiders") ? "code-insiders" : "code"
+  console.log(`\n🚀 Installing to ${cli}...`)
+  await $`${cli} --force --install-extension ${vsixPath}`
+
+  console.log(`\n✨ Successfully installed snapshot extension!`)
+  console.log(`   Version: ${snapshotVersion}`)
+} else {
+  console.log(`\n📍 VSIX path: ${vsixPath}`)
+}