Iteration Plan for May 2025 #248627

This plan captures our work in May 2025. This is a 5-week iteration. We will ship in early June.

Endgame

• June 2, 2025: Endgame begins
• June 6, 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:

Accessibility

• Accessibility issues, see query Megan Rogge (@meganrogge) team

UX

• 🏃 Remove all hard-coded styles with variables vscode#248725 Lee Murray (@mrleemurray)

Workbench

• 💪 Support JSON file as a policy backend on Linux vscode#148945 joshspicer
• 💪 Explore anchored quick widget for mouse interactions to attach context vscode#238095 TylerLeonhardt
• Support custom menus with native titlebar vscode#229053 Benjamin Christopher Simmonds (@benibenj)
• 🏃 Suggest to user to move app to /Applications on startup vscode#213909 Robo (@deepak1556)

Code Editor

• Enable EditContext by default on Stable vscode#248893 Aiday Marlen Kyzy (@aiday-mar)
• 🏃 Add support for multiple fonts in the editor vscode#237346 Aiday Marlen Kyzy (@aiday-mar)
• 🏃 Investigation: Use tree-sitter for grammar colorization vscode#210475 Alex Ross (@alexr00) Henning Dieterichs (@hediet)

Notebook Editor / Jupyter Notebooks

• Auto reveal on cell execution/editing vscode#248546 Michael Lively (@Yoyokrazy) Aaron Munger (@amunger)
• 💪 Explore rendering outputs in separate pane/view/editor vscode#143244 Michael Lively (@Yoyokrazy) Aaron Munger (@amunger)

Languages

LSP

• Adopt to new vscode log output channel API vscode#1116 Dirk Bäumer (@dbaeumer)

Python

• Add builtin support for following python env managers vscode-python-environments#79 Karthik Nadig (@karthiknadig)
  • Pyenv
  • Poetry
• 💪 Get python for users with no python installed vscode-python#24963 Karthik Nadig (@karthiknadig)
• "New project" for python work Eleanor Boyd (@eleanorjboyd)
  • use built-in templates, uv, poetry, conda to create new project templates for python package, and pep 723 style script vscode-python-environments#390 Eleanor Boyd (@eleanorjboyd)
  • Fix outstanding bugs in existing "new project" flow and multiroot scenarios vscode-python-environments#399 Eleanor Boyd (@eleanorjboyd)
  • connect "New Project" to /new for copilot vscode-python-environments#286 Eleanor Boyd (@eleanorjboyd) Bhavya U (@bhavyaus)
• Python Environment Tools (pet) improvments (e.g., conda) Don Jayamanne (@DonJayamanne) vscode-python-environment-tools#220

Source Control

• Support OOTB git commit message generation action vscode#248697 Ladislau Szomoru (@lszomoru)
• Support list of files in SCM graph vscode#248696 Ladislau Szomoru (@lszomoru)
• Support commits as context vscode#248699 Ladislau Szomoru (@lszomoru)
• Git: Support repository discovery API vscode#248698 Ladislau Szomoru (@lszomoru)

Terminal

• Terminal REPL completions using LSP vscode#241167 Anthony Kim (@anthonykim1)

Tasks

• Add a task instance limit policy to task runOptions vscode#90125 Megan Rogge (@meganrogge)
• Improve problem matcher error debugging with Copilot vscode#192811 Megan Rogge (@meganrogge)
• Add setting to gracefully kill tasks vscode#206607 Megan Rogge (@meganrogge)

API

• API proposals: query Johannes Rieken (@jrieken) Matt Bierner (@mjbvz)
• API finalization: query Johannes Rieken (@jrieken) Matt Bierner (@mjbvz)

Extensions

• Warn about installed extensions that are no longer available in Marketplace vscode#181248 joshspicer
• 💪 Add support for bulk actions in extensions list view vscode#48616 joshspicer
• 💪 Make Workspace Extensions more intuitive to find and activate vscode#216433 joshspicer
• Support local secret scanning vscode-vsce#1136 Benjamin Christopher Simmonds (@benibenj)
• Prevent .env files from being bundled in the VSIX vscode-vsce#1135 Benjamin Christopher Simmonds (@benibenj)

Extension Contributions

• Investigate various module load failures with ESLint and flat configs vscode-eslint#2015 vscode-eslint#1994 vscode-eslint#2006 vscode-eslint#1992 Dirk Bäumer (@dbaeumer)
• GHPRI: URL handler for PR and Issues, to open them within VS Code vscode-pull-request-github#6869 Alex Ross (@alexr00)
• GHPRI: Support images from private repos in comments vscode-pull-request-github#6175 Alex Ross (@alexr00)

AI

Architecture

• 🏃 Open-source AI functionality provided by the Copilot Chat extension vscode#249031 Kai Maetzel (@kieferrm) Alexandru Dima (@alexdima)
• 🏃 Support Copilot Chat in web vscode#245860 Benjamin Pasero (@bpasero)

MCP

• Rework MCP tool prefixing behavior vscode#249281 Connor Peet (@connor4312)
• Support MCP prompts vscode#244173 Connor Peet (@connor4312)
• Explore support MCP resources vscode#244159 Connor Peet (@connor4312)
• Explore support for MCP sampling vscode#244162 Connor Peet (@connor4312)
• 🏃 MCP: Better discovery/registry and one-click installation flow vscode#245717 Sandeep Somavarapu (@sandy081)
• Explore MCP Server Authentication according to MCP OAuth Spec vscode#247759 TylerLeonhardt

Prompt and Instruction Files

• Support definition of modes using prompt files vscode-copilot-release#9452 Martin Aeschlimann (@aeschli) Oleg Solomko (@legomushroom) Harald Kirschner (@digitarald)
• Improve frontmatter support in prompt files vscode#249271 Martin Aeschlimann (@aeschli) Oleg Solomko (@legomushroom) Harald Kirschner (@digitarald)
• Allow to reuse the chat tool picker from within frontmatter vscode#249272 Johannes Rieken (@jrieken) Martin Aeschlimann (@aeschli) Oleg Solomko (@legomushroom) Harald Kirschner (@digitarald)

Chat

• Make it easier to distinguish & trigger chat completion types vscode#249249 Johannes Rieken (@jrieken)
• Support the concept tool sets in the UI and API vscode#247860 Johannes Rieken (@jrieken) roblourens
• Chat editing UX should adjust to the editing strategy vscode#249083 Johannes Rieken (@jrieken)
• 🏃 Improve checkpoint experience in chat vscode#249229 Joanna Oikawa (@jo-oikawa) Justin Chen (@justschen) roblourens
• Support a /list command to list all registered tools vscode#249237 roblourens
• 🏃 Improve recovering from response errors: auto retry, let user click to continue vscode-copilot-release#9496 roblourens Justin Chen (@justschen)
• Improve ease of keyboard use for attachment management vscode#249304 Justin Chen (@justschen) roblourens
• 🏃 Support Katex syntax rendering in Chat vscode-copilot-release#978 Matt Bierner (@mjbvz)
• 🏃 Support Mermaid diagram rendering in Chat vscode-copilot-release#7440 Matt Bierner (@mjbvz)

NES / Completions

• 🏃 Improve next edit suggestions Alexandru Dima (@alexdima) team
• Make language-specific context available to Copilot inline completions Dirk Bäumer (@dbaeumer)

Engineering

• 💪 🏃 Support building the monaco-editor AMD variant from new sources vscode#234114 Henning Dieterichs (@hediet) Alexandru Dima (@alexdima)
• Investigation: Explore a more stable Windows update story vscode#249239 Robo (@deepak1556)

Electron

• Electron 35 update vscode#245420 Robo (@deepak1556)

Documentation

• Add guidance to API docs about running MCP server in extension vscode-docs#8216 Nick Trogh (@ntrogh)
• Include AI guidance in terminal docs vscode-docs#8275 Nick Trogh (@ntrogh)
• Make chat context more visible and discoverable in docs vscode-docs#8362 Nick Trogh (@ntrogh)

Deferred

• Improve VS Code Figma design resources vscode#249227 Kaitlin Brooks (@kkbrooks)
• Support fetching history as tool vscode-copilot-release#9471 Ladislau Szomoru (@lszomoru)
• Support mcp servers as a first class resource vscode#248401 Sandeep Somavarapu (@sandy081)
• 🏃 Update Conpty in VS Code vscode#224488 Daniel Imms (@Tyriar) Robo (@deepak1556)
• 🏃 Explore GPU rendering of the code editor vscode#221145 Daniel Imms (@Tyriar) Henning Dieterichs (@hediet)
• 💪 Finalize Related code vscode#126932 Connor Peet (@connor4312)
• VSCode freezing when adding folder to workspace while working on remote Linux machine vscode-remote-release#10168 joshspicer
• 💪 Resolve unique connection issues vscode-remote-release#10412, vscode-remote-release#6319, vscode-remote-release#6600 joshspicer