In this episode James sits down with Ben and Peng from the VS Code team to unpack a year of AI evolution inside the editor — from Copilot Free to the new agent sessions UI. They explain the three agent flavors (interactive local, background, cloud), why agent orchestration matters, and how VS Code is reshaping UX so you can run parallel sessions, delegate work, and treat agent outputs like inbox items to triage. Key takeaways: build context in local chats then delegate to background/cloud, harden projects with linting/tests to improve agent reliability, and expect session results to include artifacts beyond code (tests, screenshots, videos). If you want practical tips for embedding agents into your workflow and a peek at where VS Code is headed, this conversation is a must-listen.

Links:
v1.108 Release Notes: https://code.visualstudio.com/updates/v1_108
Agents Overview: https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/copilot/agents/agents-tutorial
Background Agents: https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/copilot/agents/background-agents
Cloud Agents: https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/copilot/agents/cloud-agents

Chapters:
00:00:00 Intro & Team Introductions
00:05:00 Agents History & Evolution
00:10:00 Agent Types: Local, Background, Cloud
00:16:00 UX & Session Management
00:22:30 Testing, Artifacts, and Code Review
00:28:00 Using Sessions Today 
00:37:00  Wrap‑up

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- Overcast: https://overcast.fm/itunes1833924784/vs-code-insiders-podcast
- Pocket Casts: https://pca.st/itunes/1833924784
- and more: https://www.vscodepodcast.com/subscribe

Follow VS Code:
* X: https://x.com/code
* Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/vscode.dev
* YouTube: https://youtube.com/code
* LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/104107263
* GitHub: https://github.com/microsoft/vscode

#vscode #ai #githubcopilot #agents

Visual Studio Code is a lightweight and powerful code editor developed by Microsoft, offering built-in support for multiple programming languages, debugging, and extensions. From this resource developers can learn about VSCode's features, extensions, and customization options to enhance their coding productivity and workflow.

Visual Studio Code

VS Code engineers Ben and Peng discuss the evolution of AI agent orchestration in VS Code over the past year. They explain three types of agents: local foreground (interactive, responsive), background (autonomous with file isolation), and cloud (fully remote). The team has unified agent management in the chat view, allowing developers to run multiple sessions in parallel. Key challenges include helping users understand when to use each agent type, improving code review workflows for AI-generated changes, and making projects 'AI-ready' with proper linting, testing, and documentation. The conversation emphasizes treating agent sessions like email—triaging, archiving, and responding as needed—while the team continues refining the UX based on dogfooding and user feedback.

Orchestrating Multiple Agents in VS Code with Ben & Peng