Iteration Plan for July 2025

[kieferrm]

This plan captures our work in July 2025. This is a 4-week iteration. We will ship in early August.

Endgame

• July 28, 2025: Endgame begins
• August 1, 2025: Endgame done

The endgame details for this iteration are tracked here.

Plan Items

Below is a summary of the top level plan items.

Legend of annotations:

Mark	Description
🏃	work in progress
✋	blocked task
💪	stretch goal for this iteration
🔴	missing issue reference
🔵	more investigation required to remove uncertainty
⚫	under discussion within the team
⬛	a large work item, larger than one iteration

Accessibility

• Accessibility issues, see query Megan Rogge (@meganrogge) team
• Explore testing VS Code for accessibility via playwright vscode#250767 Megan Rogge (@meganrogge)
• Chat link contrast vscode#18548 Kaitlin Brooks (@kkbrooks)

UX

• ✋ Remove all hard-coded styles with variables vscode#248725 Lee Murray (@mrleemurray)
• 🏃 Improve VS Code Figma design resources vscode#249227 Kaitlin Brooks (@kkbrooks)
• Release Notes Refresh vscode-docs#8484 Elijah King (@eli-w-king)
• UX pass over PR description header area vscode#253317 Lee Murray (@mrleemurray) Alex Ross (@alexr00) Brigit Murtaugh (@bamurtaugh)

Workbench

• Support a multi-level tree structure in Quick Pick for tools use case vscode#250638 vscode#252054 TylerLeonhardt
• Support Windows package identity to preserve device permissions vscode#254613 Robo (@deepak1556)

Getting started

• Improve #new getting started experience to support additional templates and entry points vscode#256739 Bhavya U (@bhavyaus)

Code Editor

• Render screen reader content as rich HTML vscode#251619 Aiday Marlen Kyzy (@aiday-mar)
• Explore rendering "AI impact" vscode#255655 Henning Dieterichs (@hediet) Lee Murray (@mrleemurray)

Notebook Editor / Jupyter Notebooks

• Improve inline chat for notebook (with inlineChat.enableV2) vscode#255807 Aaron Munger (@amunger)
• 🏃 Improve next edit suggestions for notebooks vscode#255704 Don Jayamanne (@DonJayamanne)
• Jupyter kernel: support environments created by uv vscode-jupyter#16783 Don Jayamanne (@DonJayamanne)

Source Control

• Git: Copilot powered conflict resolutions vscode#255801 Ladislau Szomoru (@lszomoru)
• Support drag-and-drop of commits from the Graph view to Chat vscode#254903 Ladislau Szomoru (@lszomoru)
• Support for Git Worktrees vscode#68038 Christy 🦦 (@nguyenchristy) Ladislau Szomoru (@lszomoru)

Settings

• Roll out AI settings search vscode#255486 Raymond Zhao (@rzhao271)
• Use /download/latest API when turning on sync vscode#255368 Sandeep Somavarapu (@sandy081)

Extensions

• Default settings should reload when exp service reloads vscode#255797 Sandeep Somavarapu (@sandy081)

Languages

TypeScript and JavaScript

• Ship TypeScript 5.9 vscode#258302 Matt Bierner (@mjbvz)

Python

• 🏃 Roll out Python Environments Extension as bundled by default with the Python Extension vscode-python-environments#190 Eleanor Boyd (@eleanorjboyd) Courtney Webster (@cwebster-99)
• 🏃 Build "Diagnose with AI" flow for Python Environment Extension vscode-python-environments#592 Eleanor Boyd (@eleanorjboyd)
• Improve experience for people opting into PyREPL for Python >= 3.13 vscode-python#25240 vscode-python#25241 vscode-python#25296 Anthony Kim (@anthonykim1)

Terminal

• ⬛ Ship shell-agnostic terminal intellisense by default in stable vscode#226562 Megan Rogge (@meganrogge)
• onTerminal activation event proposed API vscode#252413 Megan Rogge (@meganrogge)
• onTerminalShellIntegration activation event proposed API vscode#252412 Megan Rogge (@meganrogge)
• LSP documentation in terminal suggest vscode#252317 Anthony Kim (@anthonykim1)
• Bugs in terminal env collection query Anthony Kim (@anthonykim1)
• 🏃 Bugs in terminal shell integration query Anthony Kim (@anthonykim1)

Tasks

• Expose terminal on taskExecution as proposed API vscode#234440 Megan Rogge (@meganrogge)

API

• API proposals: query Matt Bierner (@mjbvz) Alex Ross (@alexr00)
• API finalization: query Matt Bierner (@mjbvz) Alex Ross (@alexr00)
• 🏃 BYOK API vscode#250007 Logan Ramos (@lramos15)

Extension Contributions

GitHub Pull Requests

• Default to @copilot as a placeholder in comments in Padawan PRs vscode-pull-request-github#7284 Alex Ross (@alexr00)
• Wait to get timeline after commenting on Padawan PRs vscode-pull-request-github#7231 Alex Ross (@alexr00)
• Ability to open commits in VS Code without checking out the PR vscode-pull-request-github#7346 Alex Ross (@alexr00)
• Show Copilot Coding Agent tasks overall progress vscode-pull-request-github#7148 Alex Ross (@alexr00)
• Improve PR list view performance vscode-pull-request-github#7141 Alex Ross (@alexr00)

AI

MCP

• Revisit MCP tool refresh UX vscode#248010 Connor Peet (@connor4312) Joanna Oikawa (@jo-oikawa)
• 🏃 Polish MCP client experience, see query Sandeep Somavarapu (@sandy081)

Prompt and Instruction Files

• None.

Chat

• 🏃 Support desktop notifications when in agent mode vscode#251621 Benjamin Pasero (@bpasero)
• Improve terminal inline chat experience in sub-shells vscode#254462 Anthony Kim (@anthonykim1)
• 🏃 Support for CoT tokens vscode#257104 Karthik Nadig (@karthiknadig) Justin Chen (@justschen)
• 🏃 Support math (Katex) syntax rendering in Chat vscode#255243 Matt Bierner (@mjbvz)
• 🏃 Explore supporting Mermaid diagram rendering in Chat vscode-copilot-release#7440 Matt Bierner (@mjbvz)
• 💪 Explore offering inline completions in the chat input box vscode#255818 Aiday Marlen Kyzy (@aiday-mar)
• 🏃 Explore Auto mode vscode#252795 Logan Ramos (@lramos15) Isidor Nikolic (@isidorn) Kaitlin Brooks (@kkbrooks)
• 🏃 Explore transparency around token use vscode#249983 Kaitlin Brooks (@kkbrooks) Isidor Nikolic (@isidorn)
• Explore pre-selection of tools vscode#248021 Connor Peet (@connor4312)
• Support chat participants in Agent mode vscode#255921 roblourens
• Explore rendering checkpoints in SCM vscode#254458 Aiday Marlen Kyzy (@aiday-mar) Ladislau Szomoru (@lszomoru)
• 💪 Explore rendering unaccepted files in SCM vscode#254456 Aiday Marlen Kyzy (@aiday-mar) Ladislau Szomoru (@lszomoru)
• Render Copilot agent PRs in chat view vscode#255383 Alex Ross (@alexr00)
• 💪 Explore showing most recent chat history entries in empty chat vscode#251187 Justin Chen (@justschen)
• Improve checkpoints and message editing vscode#256071 Justin Chen (@justschen) Joanna Oikawa (@jo-oikawa)

Terminal/task tools

• Move run in terminal tool into core vscode#252650 Daniel Imms (@Tyriar)
• Investigate run in terminal tool hanging issues vscode#255396 Daniel Imms (@Tyriar)
• Investigate run in terminal output read issues vscode#257439 Daniel Imms (@Tyriar)
• Terminal auto approve
  • Refine the setting vscode#253314, vscode#253472 Daniel Imms (@Tyriar)
  • Allow matching against full command line vscode#256280 Daniel Imms (@Tyriar)
  • Support flags in regular expression matchers vscode#256742 Daniel Imms (@Tyriar)
  • 🏃 ✋ Tell the user why or why not something was auto approved vscode#256793 Daniel Imms (@Tyriar)
  • UI entry point to auto-approve future commands vscode#253268 Daniel Imms (@Tyriar)
  • Opt-in to LLM-based approval vscode#253267 Daniel Imms (@Tyriar)
• Copilot Terminal Awareness for Long-Running or Error-Prone Commands vscode#251653 Megan Rogge (@meganrogge)
• 🏃 Auto handling and announcing Y/N terminal confirmations vscode#258252 Megan Rogge (@meganrogge)
• Track all terminals in agent context vscode#254495 Megan Rogge (@meganrogge)
• Move run in task tool into core vscode#257100Megan Rogge (@meganrogge)

NES / Completions

• Adopt NES provider onchange event vscode#256458 Henning Dieterichs (@hediet)
• Experiment: Increase the NES debounce times vscode#255727 Ulugbek Abdullaev (@ulugbekna)
• 🏃 Experiment: Re-invoke NES with a larger edit window after replies with "no edits" vscode#255728 Ulugbek Abdullaev (@ulugbekna)
• Optimize caching for TypeScript context provider vscode#255371 Dirk Bäumer (@dbaeumer)
• Monitor the current TypeScript context provider experiment vscode#255373 Dirk Bäumer (@dbaeumer)

Integrations

• Improve the integration with the GH Coding Agent (aka Padawan) vscode#255483 Peng Lyu (@rebornix) Alex Ross (@alexr00) team
  • GitHub Pull Requests extension improvements (query) Alex Ross (@alexr00)
  • Explore bringing Copilot Agents command center into VS Code vscode#256987 Osvaldo Ortega (@osortega)
  • Explore integrated chat view for Coding Agent session vscode#256988 joshspicer Matt Bierner (@mjbvz)
  • 🏃 Chat session provider api vscode#256396 Matt Bierner (@mjbvz)
  • Add docs for Coding Agents vscode-docs#8561 Brigit Murtaugh (@bamurtaugh)
  • Share instruction.md files between Coding Agent and VS Code vscode#255913 Peng Lyu (@rebornix) Chuck Lantz (@Chuxel)

Engineering

• ✋ Explore a better Windows update flow vscode#249239 Robo (@deepak1556)
• Move to GitHub Actions for Code OSS vscode#257093 Ladislau Szomoru (@lszomoru)
• 🏃 STest cache explorer vscode#255803 João Moreno (@joaomoreno)

Electron

• Electron 37 update vscode#252152 Robo (@deepak1556)

Documentation

• Investigate updates needed for Python Environments extension vscode-docs#8603 Courtney Webster (@cwebster-99)

Website

• 🏃 Improve width of ToC, and overall the width of a docs page that's available vscode-docs#8485 Hawk Ticehurst (@hawkticehurst)
• Support headings (H2, H3) inside a <details> tag vscode-docs#8486 Hawk Ticehurst (@hawkticehurst)
• Enable showing an expanded version of a table (useful for wide tables) vscode-docs#8488 Hawk Ticehurst (@hawkticehurst)
• Include telemetry for ToC click behavior vscode-docs#8489 Hawk Ticehurst (@hawkticehurst)

---

Deferred

• Collapse consecutive file edits of the same file Connor Peet (@connor4312)
• Explore supporting a selection of CLI agents roblourens
• Improve rendering of prompt file usage in Chat vscode#253014 Martin Aeschlimann (@aeschli) Justin Chen (@justschen)
• 💪 Improve tool picker for toolsets vscode#252054 roblourens TylerLeonhardt
• Support Copilot Chat in web vscode#245860 Benjamin Pasero (@bpasero)
• 💪 Explore anchored quick widget for mouse interactions to attach context vscode#238095 TylerLeonhardt
• Suggest to user to move app to /Applications on startup vscode#213909 Robo (@deepak1556)

[iwangbowen]

Always looking forward to new updates

[wadamczyk-insolutions]

Kai Maetzel (@kieferrm) Is there any chance of looking at #117862 in this or next iteration? Please 🥺 . This is a simple change that's been waiting for merging since February 2025 and is a known bug in VS Code for 4+ years, all checks have passed, from what I understand it only needs to be reviewed by 2 people from the core VS Code team, and the problem is very frustrating when working on large codebases with deep directory structures. This simple change would bring immense happiness to my small team, because now after every VS Code update we have to patch the internal CSS just to be able to work on our projects.

I know that there were plans for the new UI of the quick widget, but... since it's been already 4 years and the change in the existing UI is only a few CSS lines...

Thanks!

[teuxnkha619-design]

#253268