How to Use AI Coding Tools Without Leaking Source Code (opens in new tab)

Every major AI coding tool sends your code to an external server. Every single one. Cursor uploads your active file on each autocomplete request. GitHub Copilot sends your context window to GitHub/Microsoft servers. Claude Code transmits conversation history and file contents to Anthropic's API. Amazon Q Developer sends code to AWS. This is by design — the AI model lives in a datacenter, not on your laptop. But it means every keystroke, every highlighted function, every pasted snippet crosses...