Iteration Plan for October 2025

[kieferrm]

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

Endgame

• November 4, 2025: Endgame begins
• November 7, 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 @meganrogge @anthonykim1 team

Workbench

• Support JSON file as a policy backend on Linux vscode#148945 @pwang347 @joshspicer

Code Editor

• Allow using LSP in the Monaco Editor vscode#262872 @hediet

Notebook Editor / Jupyter Notebooks

• Support next/previous find matches (F3) in notebook vscode#235762 @dineshc-msft
• 🏃 Inline Chat V2 for notebooks improvement vscode#259903 @amunger

Source Control

• SCM: Support single repositories only vscode#245346 @lszomoru
• SCM: Improve Repositories view vscode#271097 @lszomoru
• Git: Support deep link to continue working on PR in VS Code vscode#271101 @alexr00

Settings

• Configuration: Advanced settings support vscode#270142 @sandy081

Languages

Python

• 🏃 Roll out Python Environments Extension as bundled by default with the Python Extension vscode-python-environments#190 @eleanorjboyd
  • 🏃 Add Support for Python Environments Extension API in the Python Debugger vscode-python-debugger#835 @eleanorjboyd
  • ✋ 🏃 Create setting to toggle using uv for venvs and support new uv specific environment tag from PET vscode-python-environments#938 @eleanorjboyd

Terminal

• Ship shell-agnostic terminal intellisense by default in stable vscode#226562 @meganrogge @Tyriar
• Take ownership of terminal-links, terminal-find, terminal-layout, terminal-sticky-scroll, terminal-local-echo, terminal-external vscode#261683 @anthonykim1
  • Exiting out of alt buffer brings the scroll to the top vscode#224750 @anthonykim1
  • Unify timeout setting under terminal.integrated.shellIntegration to use in runCommand vscode#270813 @anthonykim1
• 🏃 Ramp up on terminal-process @anthonykim1
  • 🏃 Investigate issues integrating conpty on Windows 25H2 vscode#243584, vscode#241978 vscode#274372 @anthonykim1 @Tyriar
  • ✋ 🏃 Investigate issues around cwd and remotes Investigate all cwd/remote issues #272892 @anthonykim1 @Tyriar

API

• 🏃 API proposals: query @mjbvz @alexr00
• 🏃 API finalization: query @mjbvz @alexr00

AI

Chat

• 🏃 Support for CoT tokens vscode#257104 @justschen @karthiknadig @jo-oikawa
• 🏃 Review and address Chat UX feedback from social channels vscode#26703 @justschen @jo-oikawa @bpasero @isidorn
• Improvements to Auto model selection vscode#265906 @lramos15
• Model picker models should be cached for reload vscode#268856 @lramos15
• 🏃 Improve chat empty state with context clearing and active tasks vscode#270465 @eli-w-king @isidorn @bpasero
• Add context menus for welcome prompts vscode#266374 @benvillalobos @eli-w-king @eleanorjboyd
• 🏃 Chat: Support contributable chat context resources vscode#271104 @alexr00
• 🏃 Chat: Improve model management UI vscode#270143 @sandy081

MCP

• Support Client Id Metadata Document auth flow vscode#270811 @TylerLeonhardt
• Support MCP registry endpoint as org-policy to allow-list MCP vscode#272247 @sandy081

Prompt, Instruction and Mode Files

• Identify and close gaps needed to implement multi-step modes such as TDD vscode#261542 @digitarald @aeschli @roblourens @jo-oikawa
  • Chat modes can define handoffs to the next mode/prompt vscode#272211 @digitarald @aeschli @bhavyaus
  • Enable runSubagent tool for spawning isolated agent loops by default vscode#270841 @digitarald @roblourens
  • Built-in Plan Mode vscode#272211 @digitarald
• Improve /save for reusable prompts vscode#262163 @aeschli

Inline Chat

• None.

Tools and tools management

• Improve pre-selection of tools vscode#263272 @connor4312 @yufanhuang-ms
• Improve editing model to correctly reflect file renames vscode#263275 @connor4312
• Support post-tool call approvals for inspecting incoming context vscode#270618 @connor4312

Terminal/task tools

• Implement tree sitter-based parser for terminal auto approve vscode#261794 @Tyriar
• Shell-specific instructions vscode#262386 @Tyriar
• Fix terminal tool hanging when zsh+powerlevel10k is used vscode#271897 @Tyriar
• Redirection file write detection vscode#272984 @Tyriar
• Run in terminal: Show terminal inline inside the chat view vscode#257468 @meganrogge

NES / Completions

• Offer completions from the chat extension vscode#272672 @benibenj @alexdima @dbaeumer @chrmarti
• Trigger NES when switching files vscode#268115 @ulugbekna
• Explore offering next cursor location predictions vscode#271269 @ulugbekna
• 🏃 Explore UX for next cursor location or cross-file next edits vscode#271133 @benibenj @hediet @mrleemurray
• Create an npm package which contains NES as a library vscode-copilot-chat#216 @chrmarti
• 🏃 Explore Optimistic Next Edit Suggestions vscode-copilot-chat#222 @chrmarti
• 🏃 Revive TypeScript context provider experiment vscode#255373 @dbaeumer

Integrations

• 🏃 Improve GH Coding Agent (aka Padawan) integration vscode#270856 @osortega @rebornix
• 🏃 Integrate GH Copilot CLI vscode#270852 @rebornix @DonJayamanne
• Support Agent/Mode/Model picker for new session creation vscode#270855 @joshspicer
• 🏃 Chat Sessions: Support single view vscode#270945 @bpasero @osortega
• 🏃 Chat session provider/editor api vscode#256396 @mjbvz @roblourens

Electron

• 🏃 Support a better Windows update flow vscode#249239 @deepak1556
• Deprecate macOS 11.0 vscode#268375 @deepak1556

Engineering

• 🏃 Engineering: Restructure project npm dependencies vscode#252171 @deepak1556
• 🏃 Engineering: ESM restore support for ASAR vscode#228064 @deepak1556
• 🏃 Explore leveraging Playwright MCP to "record a demo" as part of pull request review vscode#272529 @TylerLeonhardt

Documentation

• Add support info to Copilot docs vscode-docs#895 @ntrogh
• Consolidate built-in chat modes content (agent/edit/ask) vscode-docs#8952 @ntrogh
• 🏃 Test-driven development user guide vscode-docs#8951 @ntrogh @digitarald
• 💪 Working with large codebases user guide vscode-docs#8932 @digitarald @ntrogh
• 💪 Refresh Source Control overview vscode-docs#8964 @ntrogh

Website

• None

---

Deferred

• Update Profiles UI to include AI features vscode#270130 @sandy081 @eli-w-king
• Support MCP metadata verion updates vscode#271137 @sandy081
• Link MCP servers with Marketplace extensions vscode#271138 @sandy081
• 🔴 Unify the intent prompts by reusing the edit mode @jrieken
• Explore task-oriented workflow for chat/agent sessions vscode-pr#8076 @mjbvz
• 🏃 Allow configuring font family, font size and line height via syntactic tokens vscode#263545 @aiday-mar
• ✋ Support to approve agent mode confirmations from desktop notifications vscode#251621 @bpasero
• ✋ Remove all hard-coded styles with variables vscode#248725 @mrleemurray
• Improve rendering of prompt file usage in Chat vscode#253014 @aeschli @justschen
• Support Copilot Chat in web vscode#245860 @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 @deepak1556
• 💪 Opt-in to LLM-based approval vscode#253267 @Tyriar
• 💪 Explore offering inline completions in the chat input box vscode#255818 @aiday-mar
• 💪 Explore rendering unaccepted files in SCM vscode#254456 @aiday-mar @lszomoru
• STest cache explorer vscode#255803 @joaomoreno
• Explore moving notebook tools into core vscode#260234 @DonJayamanne @amunger
• 💪 Improve width of ToC, and overall the width of a docs page that's available vscode-docs#8485 @hawkticehurst
• Explore Builtin create pull request tool / integration in Copilot Chat vscode#255387 @alexr00
• 💪 Support generating copilot-setup-steps.yml vscode#260225 @osortega
• 🏃 Terminal tool UX refresh vscode#257468 @Tyriar @jo-oikawa
• Improve how the terminal tool deals with multiple terminals vscode#253263 @Tyriar
• 💪 Re-routing of calls to terminal tool to appropriate native tools vscode#253884 @Tyriar
• Explore layouts for Chat session + Multi File Diff vscode#260226 @joshspicer
• Build "Diagnose with AI" flow for Python Environment Extension vscode-python-environments#592 @eleanorjboyd
• 🏃 Support Mermaid diagram rendering in Chat vscode-copilot-release#7440 @mjbvz

[iwangbowen]

Always looking forward to new updates