[Regression] [Error] chatagenterror-Authorization failed. Please sign into GitHub and try again.

[vs-code-engineering]

Error Message

chatagenterror-Authorization failed. Please sign into GitHub and try again.

Stack Trace

    at tQ.handleRequestImpl (../src/extension/chatSessions/vscode-node/copilotCLIChatSessionsContribution.ts:1387:10)
    at async tQ.handleRequest (../src/extension/chatSessions/vscode-node/copilotCLIChatSessionsContribution.ts:1289:10)
    at async i.$invokeAgent (./src/vs/workbench/api/common/extHostChatAgents2.ts:998:10)

Raw Stack Trace (minified)

Error: Authorization failed. Please sign into GitHub and try again. 	at tQ.handleRequestImpl (\extensions\copilot\dist\extension.js:2679:23741) 	at async tQ.handleRequest (\extensions\copilot\dist\extension.js:2679:22023) 	at async i.$invokeAgent (out/vs/workbench/api/node/extensionHostProcess.js:531:20598)

Details

Property	Value
Bucket ID	2ca40578-556a-6455-be46-0e06e13afd54
Version	1.118.0-insider
Commit	659d444a
Last Seen	Thu Apr 23 2026 23:11:20 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
Platforms	Windows
Product	Agents

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This issue was automatically created from the VS Code Errors Dashboard

[vs-code-engineering]

Regression Details

• Product: Agents
• Regression type: new
• Last release without this error: 1.117.0-insider (7f0183b, Apr 21)
• First release with this error: 1.118.0-insider (102df5b, Apr 22)
• Commit range: 7f0183b5...102df5b5

Deminified Stack (top frames)

#	Source	Line
1	copilotCLIChatSessionsContribution.ts	1387
2	copilotCLIChatSessionsContribution.ts	1289
3	extHostChatAgents2.ts	998

The error Authorization failed. Please sign into GitHub and try again. started appearing in 1.118.0-insider builds (Apr 22). It occurs in copilotCLIChatSessionsContribution.handleRequestImpl during Agents session handling. Note: the bucket ID differs in earlier builds (0d531391) due to minification drift, but the logical error is the same. Currently only affects Windows users.

Generated by errors-agents-regression-scan · ● 6.1M · ◷

[vs-code-engineering]

🔍 Error Investigation

Summary

The error "Authorization failed. Please sign into GitHub and try again." is thrown by the Copilot extension (not VS Code core) when a chat request fails authentication in the Agents product on Windows. The extension's handleRequestImpl in copilotCLIChatSessionsContribution.ts throws this error, which VS Code catches and reports via the chatAgentError telemetry pipeline. With 69 hits across 49 users on Apr 23, the error first appeared in insider build 46e64ce9 — the first build after the Account Policy Gate feature (PR #311487) was merged. The most likely scenario is either the policy gate disrupts the auth state the Copilot extension relies on during transient states, or this is a user-facing auth error that should be suppressed from error telemetry (similar to rate-limit errors, per #311582).

Culprit Commit

Field	Value
Commit	f67b2976
Author	@joshspicer
PR	#311487
Message	Account policy access restrictions: gate AI features behind approved-org sign-in
Why	This commit introduces an Account Policy Gate that restricts AI features based on org sign-in. It uses setForceHidden(true), policy restrictedValue enforcement, and the chatAccountPolicyGateActive context key. The commit has 25+ iterative fixup commits addressing timing races (noAccount at boot, policyNotResolved transients, gate stuck states). This was merged Apr 23 at 03:17 UTC; the error first appeared at 08:49 UTC in the first subsequent insider build.

Note: No narrowed commit range was available from regression analysis. The correlation above is based on temporal analysis of the bucket history (error first appeared in the first insider build after this commit) and the commit's direct impact on auth gating. It's also possible the error is an expected user-facing condition (like rate limits) that should be suppressed from chatAgentError telemetry rather than being a bug.

Code Flow

sequenceDiagram
    participant User as User Action
    participant Main as mainThreadChatAgents2.ts
    participant ExtHost as extHostChatAgents2.ts
    participant Copilot as copilotCLIChatSessions<br/>Contribution.ts (Extension)
    participant Gate as AccountPolicyService<br/>+ AccountPolicyGate

    User->>Main: Chat request
    Main->>ExtHost: $invokeAgent (RPC)
    ExtHost->>Copilot: agent.invoke() [line 998]
    Copilot->>Copilot: handleRequest [line 1289]
    Copilot->>Copilot: handleRequestImpl [line 1387]
    Note over Copilot: ⚠️ Root cause:<br/>GitHub auth check fails
    Copilot-->>ExtHost: 💥 Error: "Authorization failed.<br/>Please sign into GitHub and try again."
    ExtHost->>ExtHost: catch(e) → packErrorForTelemetry
    ExtHost-->>Main: IChatAgentInvokeResult { errorCallstack, errorDetails }
    Main->>Main: publicLogError2('chatAgentError')
    Note over Main: 💥 Error reported to telemetry<br/>(not suppressed like rate limits)
    Note over Gate: Policy gate may force<br/>setForceHidden(true) or<br/>restrictedValue during<br/>transient auth states

Loading

Affected Files

File	Role
extensions/copilot/.../copilotCLIChatSessionsContribution.ts	Crash site — handleRequestImpl at line 1387 throws the auth error
src/vs/workbench/api/common/extHostChatAgents2.ts	Error capture — catches the error at line 1021, packages callstack
src/vs/workbench/api/browser/mainThreadChatAgents2.ts	Telemetry — reports chatAgentError event (line 373); does NOT suppress auth errors
src/vs/workbench/services/policies/common/accountPolicyService.ts	Potential trigger — computeGateInfo() can set Restricted state during auth transitions
src/vs/workbench/services/chat/common/chatEntitlementService.ts	Potential trigger — setForceHidden(true) hides chat UI when gate is restricted

Repro Steps

1. Use VS Code Insiders 1.118.0+ (Agents product) on Windows
2. Be in a state where GitHub auth is pending, expired, or disrupted (e.g., managed org user where account policy gate transitions through noAccount → policyNotResolved)
3. Attempt a chat request while the extension's auth check fails
4. The error "Authorization failed. Please sign into GitHub and try again." is thrown

Note: This appears to be non-deterministic. It may depend on the timing of the account policy gate evaluation relative to the extension's auth check. The 49 affected users out of total Agents insiders suggests this hits a meaningful subset of users (possibly those in managed orgs or with specific auth timing).

Fix Proposal

There are two complementary fixes:

Fix 1 (Telemetry suppression): src/vs/workbench/api/browser/mainThreadChatAgents2.ts → invoke()
Approach: Add an isAuthorizationFailure check alongside the existing isRateLimited / isQuotaExceeded suppression (line 362). "Authorization failed" is an expected user-facing error instructing sign-in, not a bug — it should not pollute error telemetry. The Copilot extension should set a flag on errorDetails (similar to isRateLimited) or the suppression can check for errorName.

Fix 2 (Root cause): If the Account Policy Gate is causing auth disruption during transient states, the fix should go in src/vs/workbench/services/policies/common/accountPolicyService.ts → computeGateInfo() or in the extension's handleRequestImpl. The gate has special handling for policyNotResolved (skips restricted values), but the extension may still see an inconsistent auth state during noAccount → resolved transitions.

Fix location: The Copilot extension's copilotCLIChatSessionsContribution.ts → handleRequestImpl() should ideally handle this as a non-error condition (return error details without throwing), preventing it from being caught as an unhandled error.

Recommended Owner

@TylerLeonhardt — current assignee, owns the Copilot extension's CLI chat sessions code (copilotCLIChatSessionsContribution.ts) where the error originates. Coordination with @joshspicer may be needed if the account policy gate is disrupting auth state.

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