Visual Studio Code v1.121 Changelog
What changed in VS Code v1.121 — explained in plain English.
- You can now preview HTML files and Mermaid diagrams without installing extra add-ons.
- AI "agents" can now run on remote computers, meaning they can keep working even if you close your laptop.
- You get more control over which AI models do small background tasks, like writing commit messages.
- The terminal tool for AI agents uses less memory and fewer "tokens" (chunks of text the AI reads).
Want a heads-up when Visual Studio Code updates?
We email you the moment a new Visual Studio Code version drops — plus plain-English release notes like these. No spam.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
This update is a big step forward for developers using AI to help them code. While everyday coders will appreciate the new built-in previews for HTML and diagrams, the major focus is on "agents"—AI assistants that can do complex tasks for you. This release makes those agents smarter, lets them run safely in the background on remote computers, and gives you more control over how they use AI models.
What's new
- Built-in HTML preview: You can now right-click an HTML file and open it directly inside VS Code's Integrated Browser. You no longer need to download an extension just to see what your webpage looks like.
- Mermaid diagram preview: Mermaid is a tool that turns text into charts and diagrams. VS Code can now automatically draw these diagrams for you in Markdown files and notebooks.
- Remote agents (Preview): You can now tell an AI agent to run on a different, remote computer (using SSH or dev tunnels). Because it runs on the remote machine, the agent keeps working on your tasks even if you close your laptop and disconnect.
- Agent Auto permission mode (Preview): When using the Claude AI agent, you can turn on "Auto mode." This lets the AI do tasks without asking you for permission every single time. It still has a background safety check to stop it from doing anything dangerous or outside your original request.
- Custom AI endpoints (Insiders only): If you bring your own AI API key (BYOK), there is a new way to connect custom AI models to VS Code's chat feature.
Improvements
- Terminal tool optimizations: When AI agents use the terminal (the text-based command screen), they now compress the output and clean up background processes. This means the AI uses fewer "tokens" (chunks of text it has to process, which usually cost money) and less computer memory.
- Customize background AI models: VS Code uses AI in the background for small chores, like generating titles or summarizing code. You can now choose exactly which AI models handle these lightweight tasks, instead of just using the default.
- Agent monitoring: For developers running complex AI agents, you can now use tools like OpenTelemetry and Grafana to track exactly how the AI is performing, how many tokens it uses, and how fast it responds.
Fixes
- The release notes do not mention specific bug fixes for this version.
Breaking changes
No breaking changes in this release.
This is our plain-language summary. Read the complete, official notes on the Visual Studio Code official changelog ↗.
Google Calendar