Feature Request: Improve Copilot Chat Debug View Usability

[iwangbowen]

Type: Feature Request

Feature Request: Improve Copilot Chat Debug View Usability

Background

The recent Copilot Chat Debug tool in VS Code’s GitHub Copilot extension is very helpful. It allows users to see each Copilot request along with its context, making the entire interaction process transparent and easier to understand.

Problem

Currently, the Copilot Chat Debug view is quite basic and could be improved for better usability, especially as the context grows longer. Some issues include:

• Entries are not displayed in reverse chronological order, making it harder to find the most recent interactions.
• Each chat view lacks an overall structure panel or summary, which would help users quickly locate specific sections within a long context.
• As the context becomes lengthy, it becomes increasingly difficult to navigate and find relevant information.
• The tool aggregates all chat interactions together without clear separation by session. This makes it difficult to distinguish between different chat sessions and to review the flow of a single session.

Suggestions

• Display chat debug entries in reverse chronological order (most recent first).
• Add a structure panel or summary view for each chat, allowing users to quickly jump to specific sections.
• Consider additional navigation or filtering features to help users manage long interaction histories.
• Group chat interactions by session, so that each session is clearly separated in the debug view.
• Within each session, display the individual chat exchanges in order, making it easy to review the conversation flow for a specific session.

These improvements would make the Copilot Chat Debug tool much more user-friendly and efficient, especially for users working with complex or lengthy chat sessions.

VS Code version: Code - Insiders 1.102.0-insider (6e85500, 2025-07-02T05:06:38.879Z)
OS version: Windows_NT x64 10.0.26100
Modes: