Swimm
Swimm AI is a code documentation tool that helps streamline the process of documenting code and enhancing understanding and collaboration a...
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What is Swimm?
Swimm is an AI-augmented code documentation platform that helps software engineering teams create, maintain, and discover documentation that stays synchronized with their codebase. The tool generates interactive documents with live code snippets, code explanations, and visual diagrams that automatically update when code changes. Swimm integrates directly into developers' IDEs (VS Code and JetBrains), allowing teams to write, read, and chat with documentation without leaving their coding environment.
Key features include AI-powered document creation that suggests doc structures based on code context, automatic code explanation generation using /generate, doc visibility rules that surface relevant knowledge before mistakes occur, and PR-based documentation that analyzes pull requests to generate cohesive documentation stories. Swimm also offers code flow visualization with auto-updating diagrams, an IDE plugin with patented Auto-sync technology, and a contextual AI chatbot (/ask Swimm) that answers questions about your specific codebase.
Swimm is designed for software engineering teams of all sizes, from small startups to large enterprises with complex legacy codebases. It's particularly valuable for teams struggling with onboarding new developers, maintaining documentation for complex systems, working with mainframe code (COBOL), or looking to improve AI tool effectiveness by providing application-wide context beyond just a few files.
Swimm pricing
Pricing model: Freemium
Swimm offers a Free plan for up to 5 users with 1 private repository and unlimited documents. The Teams plan costs $16/month per user (from 5 to 30 seats) with unlimited private repos, AI doc creation assistance, and 10% discount on annual billing. The Enterprise Starter plan is $28/month per user and includes chat personalized to your codebase, automatic doc generation, self-hosted git support, CI/CD integration, pull request summaries, and enterprise-grade security. Enterprise plans offer custom integrations, enhanced analytics, tailored dashboards, flexible deployment options, bespoke content generation, and a dedicated success team. Pricing for mainframe modernization is based on the number of lines of code to understand. Proof of Concept options are available. Contact [email protected] for system integrator project-based pricing.
Swimm pros
- Interactive document creation with AI-suggested structures based on code context
- Patented Auto-sync feature automatically updates docs when code changes
- IDE integration for VS Code and JetBrains plugins
- Generate code explanations effortlessly with /generate command
- Create documentation directly from pull requests and commits
- Doc visibility rules proactively surface knowledge to prevent mistakes
- Live code snippets in documentation stay synchronized with source code
- Code flow diagrams and visualizations auto-update as code changes
- Contextual AI chatbot (/ask Swimm) personalized to your codebase
- Eliminates 100% of time searching for code documentation in IDE
- 80% of AI-generated documents are accepted by users
- Supports multiple repositories in a single workspace
- Language agnostic - supports all programming languages
- SOC 2 and ISO 27001 compliant with enterprise-grade security
- Documents saved as .swm.md files in your repository for version control
- Works with on-prem, cloud, and air-gapped deployments
- Supports internal LLM instances like Azure OpenAI Service
- Gartner Cool Vendor 2024 for AI-Augmented Development
Swimm cons
- Limited free tier restricts to 1 private repository
- Free tier only supports up to 5 users
- Learning curve for new users to fully utilize all features
- Not open source - closed source codebase
- Search functionality can be challenging within large projects
- Occasional slowdowns when loading extensive documentation or large repositories
- Limited support for repositories outside GitHub or GitLab
- Robust feature set may be overkill for solo developers or very small projects
- AI-generated content requires human validation for accuracy
- Primarily built for engineering documentation, not enterprise-wide knowledge bases
- Requires Git - does not support other VCS like Mercurial or Perforce
- Non-technical contributors face steeper learning curve than general knowledge tools
Frequently asked questions about Swimm
How much time do I need to invest in creating content on Swimm before I see value?
Very little. From experience, with a few hours of work, you can help your developers save days to weeks in ramp-up time. You can also easily incorporate content creation into your workflow by creating documentation from pull requests and commits that encapsulate parts of the code you need to document.
What's the difference between Swimm content and regular documentation?
Swimm allows you to build documentation that includes live snippets from your code, managed by the autosync algorithm that keeps snippets up-to-date. Coupling documentation with code makes it more focused, easy to find while working, and gives you visibility into documentation coverage. You get far better internal documentation with far less time investment.
Is Swimm like comments in code?
No, Swimm doesn't replace comments - it augments them. Comments help understand specific lines of code they're associated with, but understanding complex code usually requires following a flow across different files and repos, which comments don't help with. Also, if you forget to update a comment, you get no notification. Swimm puts the narrative right where you need it in your IDE, visible to your team when they need it.
How can Swimm help with setting up a new hire's environment?
Clients use Swimm in two ways: First, create an organized set of steps onboardees should take and validate themselves, linked to code snippets like MAKEFILEs or devops scripts. Second, create hands-on Swimm docs that explain parts of the deployment, build, or debugging process.
What about security? What do you store online and what stays on our servers?
All content created using Swimm is stored as .swm files on your repository. Only users with access to your repository can access this content. Swimm does not have outside access to your code or these files. Swimm does store some metadata such as workspace names, user names, and usage information. Swimm is SOC 2 and ISO 27001 compliant.
We use multiple repos. Does Swimm support that?
Yes. You can set up a Workspace on Swimm with multiple repositories and create playlists that include steps from multiple repositories.
What languages does Swimm support? What about version control systems?
Swimm is language agnostic and supports all programming languages. Swimm's continuous integration tools work on all Git hosting platforms. However, Swimm relies on Git and currently does not support other version control systems like Mercurial or Perforce.
How does pricing work for Swimm?
For mainframe modernization, pricing is based on the number of lines of code you want to understand. For the documentation platform, pricing is per user per month with different tiers: Free (up to 5 users, 1 private repo), Teams ($16/month, 5-30 seats), and Enterprise Starter ($28/month) with custom Enterprise plans available.
Does Swimm offer trials or proof of concept options?
Yes, Proof of Concept options are available. Contact Swimm at [email protected] to get started with a trial or POC.
Does Swimm support on-prem, cloud-based, and air-gapped deployments?
Yes. Swimm supports all deployment models including highly secure environments. This includes on-premises, cloud-based, and air-gapped deployments for organizations with regulatory constraints or security requirements.