VS Code Insiders: November-December 2025 Release Notes

This page provides comprehensive release notes for the VS Code Insiders builds, detailing updates from November and December 2025. For a complete overview of all monthly updates, please refer to the archives spanning from April 2023 through October 2025.

November 2025 Insiders (version 1.107)

Last updated: December 3, 2025

These release notes continuously evolve as new features are integrated into the Insiders build of VS Code. To experience the very latest advancements, we encourage you to download Insiders.

You can access these release notes online at code.visualstudio.com/updates. For more granular progress tracking, explore our Commit log and the list of Closed issues.

Please note: These release notes were generated using GitHub Copilot and may contain inaccuracies.

Happy Coding!

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Daily Updates

December 3, 2025

Stash timestamps are now displayed on the right side of stash items in the Source Control Repositories view, offering improved alignment and readability consistent with how timestamps are shown for branches and tags. Consecutive stashes with identical relative timestamps feature a subtle vertical line indicator instead of duplicate text, and hovering over them reveals the full timestamp. (#280608)

December 2, 2025

You can now disable restoring the active chat session on VS Code restart using the new chat.restoreLastPanelSession setting. This allows you to start with a clean chat state when VS Code opens, preventing automatic restoration of previous chat conversations. (#280402)

Prompts, agents, and instruction files now automatically trigger IntelliSense suggestions for top-level entries in their front matter without requiring manual activation (Ctrl+Space). This makes it easier to discover and configure available options when authoring these files. (#279466)

Improved chat model lifecycle management includes enhanced session handling capabilities. Chat models can now exist independently of chat widgets, support background session creation, and provide clearer observable state for monitoring response progress and confirmation states, significantly improving overall chat session reliability and performance. (#277318)

Next Edit Suggestions now display predictions that are further away from the current cursor position within the same file using a new "jump to" control. This control shows the location of the next predicted edit and allows you to quickly navigate to that position to accept the suggestion. (#277816)

December 1, 2025

You can now access custom agents shared at the Enterprise/Organization level through the .github-private repository. Custom agents configured in your organization's .github-private/agents folder now appear in VS Code, matching the web version functionality. (#274341)

Git tags can now be pushed directly from the Source Control view using the new Push Tags option in the Tags menu, making tag management more accessible without relying on the Command Palette. (#279793)

Ability to hide the welcome banner and icon in empty chat windows using a new chat.welcome.enabled setting. You can toggle this setting from the context menu when right-clicking in an empty chat. (#280287)

The experimental TypeScript native version can now be selected from the version picker. The Select TypeScript Version command includes an option for experimental TypeScript native when available, simplifying the discovery and use of experimental TypeScript features. (#280206)

Agent mode now properly respects the listDirectory tool even when built-in tools are disabled. Previously, directory structure and filenames were passed to the LLM even when search and listDirectory tools were turned off. (#280183)

The Git extension now provides an API to support Copilot CLI scenarios for Git worktrees, enabling creation, migration of changes between repository and worktrees, and deletion of worktrees. (#277163)

VS Code can now read Claude Skills files (.claude/skills/<skill-name>/SKILL.md) to support organizations using both Claude Code and GitHub Copilot, allowing for reuse of existing Claude Skills within VS Code with GitHub Copilot. (#275621)

The source control sync indicator is always shown in the Source Control view. Hovering over the icon displays the sync status (incoming/outgoing changes) in the tooltip. (#275303)

November 27, 2025

The chat prompt text can now be set using a URL handler. The chat URL handler supports a new prompt query parameter that allows external applications to pre-populate the chat input field when opening VS Code. (#279701)

November 26, 2025

The Git Repositories explorer view now includes a Stashes node (requires scm.repositories.explorer setting) that displays all stashes with relative timestamps and branch names. You can create, view, apply, pop, and drop stashes directly from the context menu. (#279605)

The fetch tool now uses network traffic tracking heuristics to wait for client-side rendered pages (like React apps) to fully load before extracting content, improving reliability for dynamic websites that fetch data asynchronously. (#248453)

The fetch tool now caches error responses (e.g., 404s) for only 5 minutes instead of 24 hours, allowing it to detect when previously unavailable pages become accessible without waiting for full cache expiration. (#268104)

The new inline chat UI is now enabled by default for all users. The inlineChat.enableV2 setting now only controls backend behavior, and files modified outside the current editor are automatically opened in a side editor group. (#278054)

November 25, 2025

The Agents View now displays detailed progress information for running agent sessions, showing the last tool call progress instead of just a generic "working..." message. This provides better visibility into what the agent is currently doing, especially when the editor is closed during session execution. (#278469)

November 24, 2025

VS Code on Windows now utilizes a versioned resource update mechanism inspired by Chromium's updater. This significantly improves update reliability by using versioned package paths instead of atomic in-place replacements, preventing broken installations in edge cases such as OS force shutdowns that the previous updater couldn't handle. (#249239)

November 23, 2025

Added a Command Palette entry and an editor toolbar button to create new Copilot CLI agent sessions, aligning with the workflow for local chat agents and eliminating the need to navigate through the Agent Session view. (#273441)

November 22, 2025

Chat terminal output now renders using an embedded xterm.js terminal instance instead of plain HTML text, providing proper terminal formatting, ANSI color support, and accurate text rendering for command output. (#276946)

November 21, 2025

Microsoft Authentication now supports the MSAL authentication broker on Linux x64 for enrolled machines that opt-in, enabling enhanced authentication security and compliance features on Linux platforms. (#278688)

The Microsoft Authentication extension now supports MSAL Broker authentication on Intel-based Macs, enabling enhanced security through system-level credential management for enrolled devices that opt in to broker support. (#278687)

Recently used commands in the Command Palette can now be individually removed using an "X" button that appears next to each entry, allowing users to better curate their command history without affecting other command sections. (#277311)

Custom chat modes now support keyboard shortcuts, allowing users to configure keybindings for extension-contributed chat modes through the keyboard shortcuts editor, matching the functionality previously available only for built-in modes. (#270662)

Chat Sessions view now supports a unified single-view mode that displays all chat and agent sessions from different providers in one place, with enhanced capabilities for filtering, searching, and managing session state at a glance. (#270945)

The "Open Recent" window picker now visually highlights workspaces and folders that are already open in other windows, making it easier to identify and switch to existing instances when working with multiple projects simultaneously. (#268277)

Added a new "Close Other Windows" command that allows users to close all VS Code windows except the currently active one, improving window management when working with multiple open instances. (#233635)

The fetch tool now supports fine-grained URL approval options, allowing you to automatically approve fetches based on specific URLs or domains (e.g., "Always approve URLs from bing.com"). This provides more granular control similar to terminal command auto-approval, replacing previous session/workspace-level permissions. (#265850)

November 20, 2025

The built-in GitHub extension now includes the GitHub MCP Server, providing Copilot with tools to interact with GitHub repositories, issues, pull requests, and organizations directly through chat. (#254836)

Updated the Tree-sitter WASM library to the latest version, improving syntax parsing performance and capabilities for language grammars used in VS Code. (#274547)

Upgraded the PowerShell tree-sitter grammar to improve parsing reliability and add support for && and || operators in PowerShell 7, with enhanced command rewriting capabilities for both PowerShell 5 and 7. (#274548)

November 19, 2025

VS Code now supports private extension marketplaces/galleries, allowing enterprises to host and distribute internal extensions. (#21839)

November 18, 2025

GitHub Enterprise policies are now enforced when using VS Code in Codespaces, ensuring that organization-level security and compliance settings are properly applied in remote development environments. (#278127)

The chat terminal tool now displays exit code, start time, and execution duration for terminal commands, making it easier to identify stuck or long-running commands during agent sessions. (#272575)

The chat agent's textSearch tool now respects the search.useIgnoreFiles setting when searching code, allowing it to search files in .gitignore and other excluded directories when explicitly queried by the agent. (#270857)

November 17, 2025

The default formatter dropdown in Settings now filters and prioritizes extensions that actually provide formatting capabilities, rather than listing all installed extensions indiscriminately. (#277783)

November 15, 2025

Added editor.inactiveLineHighlightBackground theme color to independently control the background color of the current line in unfocused editor groups, improving visual distinction between active and inactive editors in multi-editor workflows. (#277272)

Terminal commands suggested by Copilot can now be allowed for the current chat session only, providing a temporary permission option alongside workspace-level settings for running riskier commands during specific tasks without permanently changing your configuration. (#260819)

November 13, 2025

MCP server requests now include a proper User-Agent header (e.g., VSCode/x.x.x (darwin arm64)) instead of just node, enabling MCP server developers to distinguish VS Code traffic from other Node.js applications for analytics, monitoring, and debugging purposes. (#264502)

Keybindings can now be configured to focus chat terminal sessions and expand their output, improving keyboard navigation accessibility when working with terminal commands executed by Copilot Chat. (#274411)

November 12, 2025

URLs explicitly mentioned in chat messages are now automatically approved, eliminating the need for manual URL approval when users paste URLs directly into the chat interface. (#276955)

Added keyboard shortcut support (Cmd/Ctrl+Enter) for the "wait for task" confirmation dialog in the terminal output monitor, improving consistency with other confirmation dialogs and enabling faster workflow when Copilot detects that tasks require user input. (#276833)

Terminal command output is now serialized and persisted when using the chat terminal tool, allowing you to view command results even after the terminal instance has been closed or killed. (#274870)

AI-related code actions (such as "Generate Documentation") are now shown directly in the Quick Fix menu (Ctrl/Cmd + .) and lightbulb hover by default, providing instant access to AI assistance features without requiring the Copilot extension to be installed first. (#260136)

Comment thread gutter icons now display a distinct draft icon when the thread contains draft comments, improving visibility of unpublished feedback alongside existing resolved and unresolved comment indicators. (#179162)

MCP servers can now return resources using https:// URIs instead of embedding content as base64 blobs, reducing context size when serving images and other web-accessible resources. (#259253)

November 11, 2025

A new Go To Offset command was added to improve discoverability of offset mode in the Quick Open picker, which pre-populates the input with :: (similar to how Go To Line/Column pre-populates with :) to help users navigate to a specific byte offset in a file. (#275317)

Terminal inline output is now accessible to screen readers, with content rendered as text instead of HTML in screen reader mode to improve navigation and readability for users relying on assistive technologies. (#274220)

When Copilot requests permission to edit sensitive files (like settings.json), an inline diff preview is now shown instead of raw JSON tool call data, making it easier to review proposed changes before approval. (#266574)

The "Move Editor into Previous Group" command now automatically creates a new editor group to the left when invoked from the left-most group (if it contains multiple editors), mirroring the behavior of "Move Editor into Next Group" and improving keyboard-driven workflow for arranging editors. (#262817)

November 10, 2025

The recently opened picker now visually indicates which folders and workspaces are currently open in other windows, making it easier to identify and manage multiple workspace instances. (#276460)

Terminal suggest widget now groups argument suggestions separately from options and flags, making it easier to distinguish between command arguments and flags in the suggestions list. (#272352)

You can now disable automatic hover popups while retaining the ability to trigger hover information on-demand using Ctrl+hover, reducing visual distractions during text selection while preserving quick access to contextual information when needed. (#72025)

November 9, 2025

Reinstated the workbench.editor.swipeToNavigate setting on macOS, enabling users to navigate between editor history using three-finger swipe gestures on trackpads. (#204812)

November 7, 2025

Git Bash terminal profiles now display a dedicated Git Bash icon instead of the generic terminal icon, improving visual identification in the terminal dropdown and tabs. (#275568)

The Settings editor now supports wildcard filtering using the @id: prefix, allowing you to filter settings by ID pattern using @id:settingIdPrefix.* syntax. (#242231)

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We greatly appreciate our community for trying out new features as soon as they're ready. Check back often to stay updated on what's new in VS Code Insiders!