Setting to allow external browser to authorize the client

[rozmansi]

Does this issue occur when all extensions are disabled?: Yes

• VS Code Version: 1.98.2
• OS Version: macOS, Windows

Steps to Reproduce:

1. Attempt to sign-in
2. An internal popup appears to perform authentication with Microsoft/GitHub account

Is there a way to configure VSCode to open Microsoft/GitHub OAuth2 authentication in my preferred browser vs. this annoying in-app popup? Like it used to work for a while, and now some months back this in-app popup appeared.

I have my passwords saved in the browser I trust. Normally, I am already signed in with my Microsoft account in that browser. Authenticating VSCode used to be such a seamless experience.

Now, this popup appears inside VSCode, I have to go to my password manager, get my credentials, go back to the VSCode, go get my phone, do the 2FA. The UX is horrible.

Prefer to stay signed out when possible now.

Please, consult the RFC6749, The OAuth 2.0 Authorization Framework, section 9, before denying this feature request: https://www.rfc-editor.org/rfc/rfc6749#section-9.

[TylerLeonhardt]

You see this for GitHub auth? We just use your browser for that.

[rozmansi]

Right, GitHub auth is perfect! Still opens my browser to authorize the client.

This appears to be the problem for Microsoft account sign-in only.

[TylerLeonhardt]

This is by-design. Microsoft Identity has requested that as many authentication calls as possible go through the native broker.

See this blog post for more information:

https://devblogs.microsoft.com/blog/securing-developer-tools-with-authentication-brokers

This is the future and reality of where Microsoft Identity wants to move and we are a client of their APIs.

[rozmansi]

Thank you. I was afraid of that.

Well, maybe I can migrate my VSCode settings to my GitHub account. For a while, until Microsoft imposes similar policy to the GitHub sign on. 😉