Auto-persist Imported Chat State

[cmopp]

Feature Request: Auto-persist Imported Chat State

Summary

When importing a previously exported chat into VS Code, the chat state should be automatically persisted by the IDE, just as it is for chats created in regular chat windows.

Problem

Currently, when a chat is imported from an exported file, its state is not automatically saved. This creates a critical data loss risk:

• If the editor crashes before the user exports the chat again, all changes are lost
• If the user forgets to manually export the chat and closes the editor, the state is lost
• The imported chat behaves inconsistently with regular chats, which are auto-saved

Current Behavior

1. User exports a chat to a file (e.g., exported-chat.json)
2. User imports that chat in another workspace/session
3. User continues the conversation, making modifications
4. State is not persisted — unless the user manually exports again
5. Any unexpected closure (crash, accidental exit) results in data loss

Expected Behavior

1. User exports a chat to a file
2. User imports that chat in another workspace/session
3. VS Code automatically saves the chat state, treating imported chats the same as regular chats
4. Chat persistence works transparently without requiring manual export steps

Use Case

• Backup & Restore: Users want to back up important chats and resume them later without data loss
• Multi-workspace Usage: Users want to move chats between different VS Code workspaces and maintain state continuity
• Multi-session Continuation: Users want to close the editor and resume an imported chat later with full state intact

Proposed Solution

Extend VS Code's chat persistence mechanism to include imported chats, using the same auto-save strategy applied to regular chats. This would:

• Eliminate manual export/import cycles
• Provide consistent data persistence regardless of chat origin
• Reduce user friction when working with exported chats

Additional Context

• This is particularly important for users who collaborate on chats or need to preserve chat history across sessions
• The existing persistence mechanism for regular chats proves VS Code can handle this; imported chats should follow the same pattern

[aiwonderland]

???

[vs-code-engineering]

This feature request is now a candidate for our backlog. The community has 60 days to upvote the issue. If it receives 20 upvotes we will move it to our backlog. If not, we will close it. To learn more about how we handle feature requests, please see our documentation.

Happy Coding!