VS Code Memory Tool: Local Memory meets GitHub Copilot Memory

VS Code now ships two complementary memory systems for GitHub Copilot: the new local Memory tool and the existing GitHub-hosted Copilot Memory. The Memory tool stores notes on your local filesystem across three scopes — user (global preferences), repository (project-specific conventions), and session (ephemeral task context). It works offline, requires no GitHub repo, and is enabled by default. Copilot Memory, by contrast, is GitHub-hosted, repository-scoped only, shared across all Copilot surfaces (coding agent, code review, CLI), and auto-populated by agents. A side-by-side comparison clarifies when to use each: the Memory tool for personal preferences and workspace-specific context you control manually; Copilot Memory for repository knowledge that should propagate across GitHub's ecosystem. The two systems are complementary, not competing, though a unified management view is still missing.