Iteration Plan for August 2025 #260895

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

Endgame

• September 1, 2025: Endgame begins
• September 5, 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) Anthony Kim (@anthonykim1) team

UX

• None.

Workbench

• Allow extensions to contribute views to the secondary side bar vscode#151681 Benjamin Christopher Simmonds (@benibenj)

Getting started

• None.

Code Editor

• Ship Monaco Editor with only ESM support vscode#262871 Henning Dieterichs (@hediet)
• 🏃 Allow configuring font family, font size and line height via syntactic tokens vscode#263545 Aiday Marlen Kyzy (@aiday-mar)

Notebook Editor / Jupyter Notebooks

• Improve next edit suggestions for notebooks vscode#255704 Don Jayamanne (@DonJayamanne) Henning Dieterichs (@hediet)

Source Control

• 🏃 Git: Copilot powered conflict resolutions vscode#255801 Ladislau Szomoru (@lszomoru)
• Support previewing and merging changes from worktrees into current workspace vscode#260708 Christy 🦦 (@nguyenchristy)

Settings

• 🏃 Re-evaluate settings and defaults throughout VS Code vscode#260404 Courtney Webster (@cwebster-99)

Extensions

• None.

Languages

TypeScript and JavaScript

• None.

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)
• Add pipenv support to Python Environments Extension vscode-python-environments#686 Eleanor Boyd (@eleanorjboyd)

Terminal

• ⬛ 🏃 Ship shell-agnostic terminal intellisense by default in stable vscode#226562 Megan Rogge (@meganrogge) Daniel Imms (@Tyriar)
• Improve discoverability and UX of terminal windows vscode#260362 Daniel Imms (@Tyriar)
• Inject Python activate hooks into shell integration scripts vscode#259637 Anthony Kim (@anthonykim1)
• 🏃 Take ownership of terminal-links, terminal-find, terminal-layout, terminal-sticky-scroll, terminal-local-echo, terminal-external vscode#261683 Anthony Kim (@anthonykim1)
• Enable terminal sticky scroll by default in stable vscode#209003 Anthony Kim (@anthonykim1)

Tasks

• None.

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)
• Model providers should be community driven vscode#249605 Isidor Nikolic (@isidorn)

Extension Contributions

GitHub Pull Requests

• Guide users to sign in better vscode-pull-request-github#7614 Alex Ross (@alexr00)
• Improve the pull request card in Chat View vscode#258595 Alex Ross (@alexr00)
• Compact view for narrow window vscode-pull-request-github#7383 Alex Ross (@alexr00)
• Reload window should persist the PR view vscode-pull-request-github#7378 Alex Ross (@alexr00)
• Reference PR as context in Chat vscode-pull-request-github#7332 Alex Ross (@alexr00)

AI

MCP

• 🏃 Polish MCP client experience, see query Sandeep Somavarapu (@sandy081)

Prompt, Instruction and Mode Files

• 🏃 Support completions for tools in text vscode#262159 Martin Aeschlimann (@aeschli)
• Improve ghost text completions in front matter vscode#262160 Martin Aeschlimann (@aeschli)
• 🏃 Identify and close gaps needed to implement multi-step modes such as TDD vscode#261542 Harald Kirschner (@digitarald) Martin Aeschlimann (@aeschli) roblourens
• 💪 Explore expressing MCP or extension dependencies within prompt and mode files vscode#262161 Martin Aeschlimann (@aeschli)
• 💪 Improve /save for reusable prompts vscode#262163 Martin Aeschlimann (@aeschli)

Chat

• 🏃 Support for CoT tokens vscode#257104 Justin Chen (@justschen) Karthik Nadig (@karthiknadig) Joanna Oikawa (@jo-oikawa)
• Support Responses API vscode#262760 roblourens Connor Peet (@connor4312) Logan Ramos (@lramos15)
• 🏃 Handle temporary model issues based on server response vscode#259713 Logan Ramos (@lramos15)
• Explore Auto mode vscode#252795 Logan Ramos (@lramos15) Isidor Nikolic (@isidorn)
• 🏃 Review and address Chat UX feedback from social channels vscode#26703 Justin Chen (@justschen) Joanna Oikawa (@jo-oikawa) Benjamin Pasero (@bpasero) Isidor Nikolic (@isidorn)
• Explore showing most recent chat history entries in empty chat vscode#251187 Elijah King (@eli-w-king) Justin Chen (@justschen)
• 🏃 Polish Todo list UI vscode#253518 Bhavya U (@bhavyaus) Harald Kirschner (@digitarald)
• 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 transparency around token use vscode#249983 Isidor Nikolic (@isidorn)

Tools and tools management

• 🏃 Improve pre-selection of tools vscode#263272 Connor Peet (@connor4312) yufanhuang-ms
• Provide multi-edit tool for Claude models vscode#263274 Connor Peet (@connor4312)
• Investigate the performance of a TodoWrite tool vscode#260687 Bhavya U (@bhavyaus) Harald Kirschner (@digitarald)
• Improve file editing tool use for notebook (gpt/claude/gemini) vscode#260233 Don Jayamanne (@DonJayamanne) Aaron Munger (@amunger)
• 🏃 💪 Improve editing model to correctly reflect file renames vscode#263275 Connor Peet (@connor4312)

Terminal/task tools

• 🏃 Terminal tool UX refresh vscode#257468 Daniel Imms (@Tyriar) Joanna Oikawa (@jo-oikawa)
• Terminal auto approve
  • Improve auto approve defaults vscode#259668 Daniel Imms (@Tyriar)
  • UI entry point to auto-approve future commands vscode#253268 Daniel Imms (@Tyriar)
  • Tell the user why or why not something was auto approved vscode#256793 Daniel Imms (@Tyriar)
  • Policy controls vscode#255789 Daniel Imms (@Tyriar)
• 💪 Re-routing of calls to terminal tool to appropriate native tools vscode#253884 Daniel Imms (@Tyriar)
• Auto handling and announcing Y/N terminal confirmations vscode#258252 Megan Rogge (@meganrogge)
• Allow agent to run compound tasks vscode#258241 Megan Rogge (@meganrogge)

NES / Completions

• Experiment: invoke NES with a larger edit window after it's just been accepted vscode#261618 Ulugbek Abdullaev (@ulugbekna)
• Experiment: do not delay cached NES when the user edited in a way which agrees or accepted parts of the suggestion vscode#263269 Ulugbek Abdullaev (@ulugbekna)
• 🏃 Create an npm package which contains NES as a library vscode-copilot-chat#216 Christof Marti (@chrmarti)
• Experiment: show both Copilot and IntelliSense suggestions when they differ vscode#261620 Henning Dieterichs (@hediet)

Integrations

• 💪 Improve the integration with the GH Coding Agent (aka Padawan)
  • 💪 Support generating copilot-setup-steps.yml pvscode#260225 Osvaldo Ortega (@osortega)
• 🏃 Chat session provider api vscode#256396 Matt Bierner (@mjbvz)
• Chat Editor
  • Support creating a new chat session/editor for Coding Agent vscode#260221 joshspicer
  • Support checkout/apply-changes directly from the chat view vscode#260227 joshspicer
  • Hot reload support for chat sessions vscode#259967 joshspicer
• Chat Sessions View
  • Improve Chat Sessions View visual presentation vscode#260167 Osvaldo Ortega (@osortega) Joanna Oikawa (@jo-oikawa)
  • Explore improvements to Chat Sessions View interactions (open chats in new window, f2 rename chat) vscode#260170 Osvaldo Ortega (@osortega)
  • Progress/Status tracking for Chat Sessions vscode#260206 Osvaldo Ortega (@osortega) Joanna Oikawa (@jo-oikawa)
• 🏃 Explore supporting a selection of CLI agents vscode#262756 roblourens

Authentication

• Support MFA requirements for upcoming changes to Azure RM write actions vscode#260156 TylerLeonhardt
• Adopt new version of msal-node-extensions with macOS and Windows ARM broker support vscode#260158 TylerLeonhardt

Engineering

• Explore a better Windows update flow vscode#249239 Robo (@deepak1556)
• Issue Reporter: Add Create/Preview option + repo routing choices vscode#260182 Michael Lively (@Yoyokrazy)
• 🏃 Investigate leveraging Playwright MCP with vscode codebase vscode#262164 TylerLeonhardt
• Allow to disable all Code Review features using a group policy vscode#261653 Christof Marti (@chrmarti)

Electron

• None.

Documentation

• 💪 🏃 Doc updates for Python Environments extension vscode-docs#8603 Courtney Webster (@cwebster-99)
• Add security article to agent mode docs vscode-docs#8571 Nick Trogh (@ntrogh)
• Update AI tutorials to showcase agent mode scenario vscode-docs#8741 Nick Trogh (@ntrogh)
• Split Copilot customization article vscode-docs#8742 Nick Trogh (@ntrogh)
• 💪 🏃 Create agent mode cookbook vscode-docs#8743 Nick Trogh (@ntrogh) Harald Kirschner (@digitarald)
• Add docs for auto mode language model vscode-docs#8744 Nick Trogh (@ntrogh) Isidor Nikolic (@isidorn)

Website

• 💪 Improve width of ToC, and overall the width of a docs page that's available vscode-docs#8485 Hawk Ticehurst (@hawkticehurst)
• Include telemetry for ToC click behavior vscode-docs#8489 Hawk Ticehurst (@hawkticehurst)

Deferred

• Allow using LSP in the Monaco Editor vscode#262872 Henning Dieterichs (@hediet)
• Inline Chat V2 for notebooks improvement vscode#259903 Aaron Munger (@amunger)
• Explore moving notebook tools into core vscode#260234 Don Jayamanne (@DonJayamanne) Aaron Munger (@amunger)
• Improve how the terminal tool deals with multiple terminals vscode#253263 Daniel Imms (@Tyriar)
• Explore Optimistic Next Edit Suggestions vscode-copilot-chat#222 Christof Marti (@chrmarti)
• Support to approve agent mode confirmations from desktop notifications vscode#251621 Benjamin Pasero (@bpasero)
• Explore layouts for Chat session + Multi File Diff vscode#260226 joshspicer
• Explore Builtin create pull request tool / integration in Copilot Chat vscode#255387 Alex Ross (@alexr00)
• Improve Delegate to Coding Agent button workflow vscode#260228 joshspicer Joanna Oikawa (@jo-oikawa)
• ✋ 💪 Support MCP registries Connor Peet (@connor4312)
• ✋ Remove all hard-coded styles with variables vscode#248725 Lee Murray (@mrleemurray)
• Improve VS Code Figma design resources vscode#249227 Kaitlin Brooks (@kkbrooks)
• Monitor the current TypeScript context provider experiment vscode#255373 Dirk Bäumer (@dbaeumer)
• Improve rendering of prompt file usage in Chat vscode#253014 Martin Aeschlimann (@aeschli) Justin Chen (@justschen)
• 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)
• 💪 Opt-in to LLM-based approval vscode#253267 Daniel Imms (@Tyriar)
• 💪 Explore offering inline completions in the chat input box vscode#255818 Aiday Marlen Kyzy (@aiday-mar)
• 💪 Explore rendering unaccepted files in SCM vscode#254456 Aiday Marlen Kyzy (@aiday-mar) Ladislau Szomoru (@lszomoru)
• STest cache explorer vscode#255803 João Moreno (@joaomoreno)