Visual Studio Code v1.129 Changelog

This release is all about making AI coding assistants (which VS Code calls "agents") much smarter, more organized, and easier to work with. If you use AI tools like GitHub Copilot to help you write code, this update makes your workflow smoother by letting the AI manage tasks in the background, run commands for you, and show its work in a much cleaner layout.

What's new

• The Agent Host: AI assistants (like Copilot, Claude, and Codex) now run in a separate background process. Because the AI session lives on its own, you can open multiple VS Code windows and they can all talk to the same AI chat at the same time.
• Run Commands with !: If you type ! before a message in the AI chat, VS Code will run it directly as a terminal command, saving you from having to copy and paste it into the command line.
• Modern UI Preview: You can get an early look at a redesigned, modern look for the VS Code window by turning on the workbench.experimental.modernUI setting.
• Bring Your Own Key (BYOK): If you have your own personal API keys for custom AI models, you can now use them with the Copilot agent host.

Improvements

• New Editor Panel for Agents: When the AI writes or changes code, you can review those changes (called "diffs," which highlight what was added or deleted) in a neat, split-screen panel right next to your chat. It even remembers your open tabs and panel sizes if you switch projects or restart the app.
• AI Session Management: AI agents can now help organize your work. They can look at your other active chats, read them for context, or start a new sub-chat to handle a smaller task so your main chat doesn't get cluttered. (Don't worry, the AI will always ask for your permission before sending messages to other chats).
• Simpler Settings for AI Sessions: VS Code now remembers your favorite settings when starting a new AI session. It also replaced a confusing dropdown menu with a simple "New Worktree" checkbox, which keeps the AI's code changes in a separate folder so they don't mess up your main files until you are ready to review them.
• Migrate Prompts to Skills: If you have custom prompt files (instructions you wrote to guide the AI), VS Code now helps you easily convert them into "skills" so they work across different AI setups.
• Quickly Switch File Views: If a file can be opened in different ways (like raw code versus a visual preview), you can now switch views directly from a menu in the top toolbar instead of searching through menus.
• GitHub Enterprise Support: If you use a school or work account with GitHub Enterprise, you can now log in and use Copilot on the new agent host.

Breaking changes

No breaking changes in this release.