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sessions: quick chats (workspace-less sessions) in the Agents window#323972

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sandy081 merged 18 commits into
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Jul 2, 2026
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sessions: quick chats (workspace-less sessions) in the Agents window#323972
sandy081 merged 18 commits into
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agents/quick-chats-support-plan-f10b0626

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@sandy081 sandy081 commented Jul 2, 2026

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Quick chats (workspace-less sessions) in the Agents window

Adds quick chats to the Agents window: lightweight chats that are not scoped to a workspace, backed by an agent-host session. A quick chat is a single-chat session with workspace === undefined, created fresh from the composer and surfaced in an always-visible "Chats" section in the sessions list.

What changed

Feature (sessions layer)

  • New workspace-less session kind: single-chat, normal session presentation (Done/archive hidden), rendered in the in-list "Chats" section (with a "No chats" placeholder when empty).
  • Create paths: the "+" on the Chats section header and the New Quick Chat command (Cmd/Ctrl+K Cmd/Ctrl+N). The inline composer session-type picker chooses the harness.
  • Cmd/Ctrl+N always creates a new session (never a quick chat); quick chats are created only via the dedicated affordances above.
  • Changes/Files aux-bar containers are gated on the session having a workspace; the aux bar and Toggle Side Panel are disabled for quick chats (chat renders full-width).
  • Untitled quick-chat title falls back to "New Chat" everywhere (titlebar, header, list hover, sessions picker) via a shared getUntitledSessionTitle(isQuickChat) helper.

Agent host (platform layer)

  • The host infers "workspace-less" from an absent workingDirectory (forks excluded) and runs the session in a stable per-session scratch dir (workspacelessScratchDir.ts, shared by the Copilot and Claude agents).
  • The workspaceless marker rides the generic _meta bag — no AHP schema change.
  • The AH service is the sole owner of the workspaceless marker: AgentService persists it centrally (agentHost.workspaceless) at create/materialize and overlays it onto every agent's summary _meta on listSessions and restore. Agents no longer persist or re-emit it; Copilot only reads the AH key for its resume system prompt + scratch cleanup. This fixes restored quick chats for every agent (Copilot, Claude, and Codex) with no per-agent code.
  • Agent-host code/prompt use "workspace-less" terminology (the workbench UI keeps the term "Quick Chat").

Notes for reviewers

  • ISessionsProvider.createQuickChat is a mandatory method (throws when unsupported); callers gate on the supportsQuickChats capability.
  • isQuickChat is sourced from the _meta tag, not from workspace === undefined (which can be transiently undefined for workspace sessions).
  • Incorporates ~30 rounds of iterative UX feedback and multiple code-review passes (fork tagging, DB-key clearing, Claude/Codex restore, reactive title rendering, API shape).

Validation

typecheck-client (0 errors), valid-layers-check, agent-host node suites (2448), and the affected sessions suites (provider, management, list, layout, quick-chat) all pass.

sandy081 and others added 17 commits July 1, 2026 19:13
@sandy081
sessions: quick chats — workspace-less single-chat sessions
a04e46a 
Adds quick chats to the Agents window: lightweight chats not scoped to a
workspace, backed by an agent-host session. The host infers workspace-less
from an absent workingDirectory (forks excluded) and assigns a stable scratch
dir; the workspaceless tag rides the generic _meta bag. Quick chats are
single-chat, use the normal session presentation (Done hidden), render in an
always-visible in-list "Chats" section, and persist across reloads.

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
@sandy081
Merge remote-tracking branch 'origin/main' into agents/quick-chats-su…
e29f1e9 
…pport-plan-f10b0626
@sandy081
sessions: New from a quick chat opens another quick chat (Round 23)
78f26ad 
The primary "New" action gated quick-chat routing on `isCreated &&
isQuickChat`, but a quick-chat draft is Untitled (isCreated=false), so it
fell through to the workspace composer seeded with a throwaway scratch dir
(no session-type picker, "No models available").

Route on `isQuickChat` alone so a quick chat — draft or committed — opens
another quick chat mirroring its harness. Extract the routing into a pure,
side-effect-free `openNewChatOrQuickChat` helper so it is unit-testable
(chat.contribution.ts is not test-importable). Supersedes Round 14(2) and
updates Round 22(3); the Round 14(2) discard branch and Round 17 picker
re-parent are kept as internal defense.

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
@sandy081
sessions: quick-chat list & layout polish (Round 22 items 1-2)
be64859 
- Suppress the redundant per-row chat icon when a quick chat is rendered
  under the always-visible "Chats" section (the section header already
  carries a chat icon); keep it in Pinned/custom/date groups where the
  chat identity is useful.
- Disable the "Toggle Side Panel" command for quick chats via
  precondition IsQuickChatSessionContext.negate(), since a quick chat has
  no side pane (the empty aux bar is hidden and the chat is full-width).

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
@sandy081
agentHost: persist empty peer-chat catalog sentinel to avoid re-runni…
92af526 
…ng legacy migration

When a session has no legacy peer chats, write an empty catalog so
_readPersistedPeerChatCatalog returns [] on subsequent restores and
_migrateLegacyPeerChats never re-runs.

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
@sandy081
sessions: Cmd+N always creates a new session; New Quick Chat gets Cmd…
d107c5d 
…+K Cmd+N (Round 24)

Per user feedback, Cmd+N must always open a NEW SESSION — never a quick
chat. Drop the context-aware quick-chat routing from
NewChatInSessionsWindowAction (rename its title "New Chat" -> "New Session",
keep the id) so it unconditionally calls openNewSession from the active
session; the helper is renamed openNewChatOrQuickChat -> openNewSessionFromActive.

Quick chats are created only via the Chats-section "+" (NewQuickChatAction),
which now has a default Cmd+K Cmd+N chord. The peer-chat "+" (Cmd+T) is
unaffected. Supersedes the Round 22(3)/23 mirror routing; the Round 14(2)
discard branch and Round 17 picker re-parent are untouched.

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
@sandy081
sessions: Cmd+N never inherits a quick chat's folder into the workspa…
bea080c 
…ce composer (Round 25)

New from a quick chat must always land on the clean New Session composer with
a visible session-type picker. Gate openNewSessionFromActive's folder
inheritance on isQuickChat so a quick chat never carries a (possibly leaked
scratch) workspace URI into openNewSession.

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
@sandy081
sessions: re-seed workspace draft when composer swaps out of quick-ch…
66e4819 
…at mode (Round 25b)

Cmd+N from a quick chat reuses the new-session composer and only
_activate(undefined), leaving it session-less. The session-type picker hides
itself when it has no folder types (no active session), so no picker showed.
Re-run the constructor's workspace-draft seed from an autorun when the composer
transitions out of quick-chat mode with no active session, matching a freshly
opened new-session composer (folder + visible picker).

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
@sandy081
sessions: quick-chat untitled title falls back to "New Chat" via shar…
41ded35 
…ed helper (Round 26)

An untitled quick chat's titlebar showed "New Session" because the empty-title
fallback was hardcoded and not quick-chat aware. Add getUntitledSessionTitle(isQuickChat)
to the common layer and route all 5 fallback sites (titlebar, session header x2,
list hover, sessions picker) through it.

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
@sandy081
sessions: track isQuickChat in titlebar re-render autorun (Round 27)
018a07b 
The SessionsTitleBarWidget re-render autorun read the active session's
title and workspace but not isQuickChat, which _render() consumes for the
untitled title fallback. Track it as a reactive dependency for
forward-safety and consistency with other reactive render sites.

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
@sandy081
agentHost: move workspace-less marker ownership to the AH service
41bc2d4 
Each agent used to persist and re-emit its own workspace-less (quick chat)
marker (copilot.workspaceless / claude.workspaceless) in the shared session
database, and agents that persist nothing (Codex) lost the marker on restart.

Make the AH service the single owner: AgentService persists a single
agentHost.workspaceless key at create/materialize (from the value it already
infers in _buildInitialSummary) and overlays _meta.workspaceless onto every
agent's summary in listSessions. Agents no longer write or namespace the
marker; Copilot reads the shared key for its resume system prompt, and the
now-dead workspace-less plumbing is removed from the Claude session. This
fixes restored quick chats for every agent (including Codex) with no
per-agent code.

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
@sandy081
sessions/agentHost: address review feedback (naming + inline)
36e4c86 
- Rename the workspace-less launch-plan flag from isQuickChat to
  workspaceless in CopilotSessionLaunchPlan and IAgentHostPromptContext (and
  the disposeSession local) so the flag matches the workspaceless marker it
  flows from throughout the AH layer. Feature-descriptive names
  (COPILOT_AGENT_HOST_QUICK_CHAT_INSTRUCTIONS, _quickChatScratchDir) are kept.
- Inline openNewSessionFromActive back into NewChatInSessionsWindowAction.run
  and remove the single-caller seam module + its test.

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
@sandy081
agentHost: make the AH service the sole owner of the workspaceless ma…
951eb86 
…rker

Following the earlier ownership move, the agents still read + re-emitted
_meta.workspaceless in their metadata projections, which was redundant on the
listSessions path (AgentService overlays it centrally) and only load-bearing
on the single-session restore path.

Centralize the restore overlay in AgentService.restoreSession (reads
agentHost.workspaceless in its existing batch metadata read and merges it into
the restored summary _meta), then drop the per-agent re-emit: remove it from
the Claude metadata store entirely (Claude has no runtime need) and from the
Copilot listSessions/getSessionMetadata projections. Copilot keeps reading the
AH key for its resume system prompt and scratch-dir cleanup. Codex is now
covered centrally with no Codex code.

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
@sandy081
sessions: inline openQuickChatAndFocus into NewQuickChatAction
6abcb7b 
Single-caller helper folded into the action's run().

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
@sandy081
sessions: make ISessionsProvider.createQuickChat mandatory
3b1c728 
Replace the optional createQuickChat with a mandatory method that throws when
the provider does not support quick chats; callers now gate solely on the
supportsQuickChats capability instead of probing for the method. Workspace-bound
providers (Copilot chat, local chat) get an explicit throwing implementation.

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
@sandy081
agentHost: use "workspace-less chat" terminology instead of "quick chat"
5ca4470 
Rename the agent-host-internal quick-chat identifiers, prompt tags, and prose to
workspace-less: COPILOT_AGENT_HOST_QUICK_CHAT_INSTRUCTIONS ->
COPILOT_AGENT_HOST_WORKSPACELESS_INSTRUCTIONS, the <quick_chat> system-message
tag -> <workspaceless_chat>, and the scratch-dir helpers
(_quickChatScratchDir/_ensure*/_cleanup*/_withQuickChatScratch). The workbench
UI term "Quick Chat" is kept only where the agent host documents that mapping.

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
@sandy081
Merge remote-tracking branch 'origin/main' into agents/quick-chats-su…
c193ac7 
…pport-plan-f10b0626

# Conflicts:
#	src/vs/platform/agentHost/node/agentService.ts
#	src/vs/platform/agentHost/node/claude/claudeAgent.ts
#	src/vs/sessions/contrib/providers/agentHost/browser/baseAgentHostSessionsProvider.ts
#	src/vs/sessions/contrib/providers/agentHost/test/browser/localAgentHostSessionsProvider.test.ts
Copilot AI review requested due to automatic review settings July 2, 2026 00:10
@sandy081 sandy081 self-assigned this Jul 2, 2026
@sandy081
sandy081 enabled auto-merge (squash) July 2, 2026 00:10
@vs-code-engineering

vs-code-engineering Bot commented Jul 2, 2026

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📬 CODENOTIFY

The following users are being notified based on files changed in this PR:

@benibenj

Matched files:

  • src/vs/sessions/browser/parts/sessionHeader.ts
  • src/vs/sessions/contrib/layout/browser/baseSessionLayoutController.ts
  • src/vs/sessions/contrib/layout/browser/desktopSessionLayoutController.md
  • src/vs/sessions/contrib/layout/browser/desktopSessionLayoutController.ts
  • src/vs/sessions/contrib/layout/test/browser/desktopSessionLayoutController.test.ts
  • src/vs/sessions/contrib/layout/test/browser/layoutControllerTestUtils.ts

@lszomoru

Matched files:

  • src/vs/sessions/services/sessions/browser/sessionsManagementService.ts
  • src/vs/sessions/services/sessions/browser/sessionsService.ts
  • src/vs/sessions/services/sessions/browser/visibleSessions.ts
  • src/vs/sessions/services/sessions/common/session.ts
  • src/vs/sessions/services/sessions/common/sessionContextKeys.ts
  • src/vs/sessions/services/sessions/common/sessionsManagement.ts
  • src/vs/sessions/services/sessions/common/sessionsProvider.ts
  • src/vs/sessions/services/sessions/test/browser/sessionNavigation.test.ts
  • src/vs/sessions/services/sessions/test/browser/sessionsManagementService.test.ts
  • src/vs/sessions/services/sessions/test/common/session.test.ts

Copilot AI reviewed Jul 2, 2026
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Pull request overview

Adds Quick Chats (workspace-less sessions) to the Agents window by introducing a first-class “quick chat” session kind (tracked via _meta.workspaceless → ISession.isQuickChat), surfacing them in an always-visible Chats section in the sessions list, and ensuring the agent host consistently restores and runs these sessions in stable per-session scratch directories.

Changes:

  • Introduces quick-chat capabilities and creation APIs across sessions providers/management/service layers, plus UI actions and list grouping (“Chats” section + placeholder row).
  • Updates Agents window layout and aux-bar containers to hide/disable workspace-scoped surfaces for quick chats (full-width chat; Toggle Side Panel disabled).
  • Implements agent-host workspaceless inference (absent workingDirectory, forks excluded), centralized persistence/restore of the marker, shared scratch dir utilities, and prompt wiring/tests.
Show a summary per file
File Description
src/vs/sessions/SESSIONS.md Documents quick-chat contract
src/vs/sessions/SESSIONS_LIST.md Documents Chats section behavior
src/vs/sessions/services/sessions/test/common/session.test.ts Adds title-fallback unit tests
src/vs/sessions/services/sessions/test/browser/sessionsManagementService.test.ts Adds createQuickChat tests
src/vs/sessions/services/sessions/test/browser/sessionNavigation.test.ts Updates mock service interface
src/vs/sessions/services/sessions/common/sessionsProvider.ts Adds quick-chat capabilities + API
src/vs/sessions/services/sessions/common/sessionsManagement.ts Adds quick-chat management APIs
src/vs/sessions/services/sessions/common/sessionContextKeys.ts Adds quick-chat context key binding
src/vs/sessions/services/sessions/common/session.ts Adds isQuickChat + title helper
src/vs/sessions/services/sessions/browser/visibleSessions.ts Propagates isQuickChat to wrappers
src/vs/sessions/services/sessions/browser/sessionsService.ts Adds openQuickChat + routing tweaks
src/vs/sessions/services/sessions/browser/sessionsManagementService.ts Implements createQuickChat + storage
src/vs/sessions/LAYOUT_CONTROLLER.md Specifies D10 empty-aux behavior
src/vs/sessions/contrib/sessions/test/browser/sessionsList.test.ts Tests Chats section grouping
src/vs/sessions/contrib/sessions/browser/views/sessionsViewActions.ts Adds New Quick Chat action/keys
src/vs/sessions/contrib/sessions/browser/views/sessionsView.ts Minor sessions view state rename
src/vs/sessions/contrib/sessions/browser/views/sessionsList.ts Renders Chats section + placeholder
src/vs/sessions/contrib/sessions/browser/sessionsTitleBarWidget.ts Uses quick-chat-aware title fallback
src/vs/sessions/contrib/sessions/browser/sessionsActions.ts Uses quick-chat-aware picker titles
src/vs/sessions/contrib/sessions/browser/sessionHoverContent.ts Uses quick-chat-aware hover titles
src/vs/sessions/contrib/sessions/browser/media/sessionsList.css Styles Chats header + placeholder
src/vs/sessions/contrib/providers/localChatSessions/browser/localChatSessionsProvider.ts Throws for createQuickChat
src/vs/sessions/contrib/providers/copilotChatSessions/browser/copilotChatSessionsProvider.ts Throws for createQuickChat
src/vs/sessions/contrib/providers/agentHost/test/browser/localAgentHostSessionsProvider.test.ts Adds quick-chat provider tests
src/vs/sessions/contrib/providers/agentHost/browser/localAgentHostSessionsProvider.ts SupportsQuickChats + capability event
src/vs/sessions/contrib/providers/agentHost/browser/baseAgentHostSessionsProvider.ts Implements createQuickChat drafts
src/vs/sessions/contrib/providers/agentHost/browser/agentHostSessionConfigPicker.ts Hides repo config for quick chats
src/vs/sessions/contrib/providers/agentHost/AGENT_HOST_SESSIONS_PROVIDER.md Documents host-side quick chats
src/vs/sessions/contrib/layout/test/browser/layoutControllerTestUtils.ts Adds aux-container gating harness
src/vs/sessions/contrib/layout/test/browser/desktopSessionLayoutController.test.ts Tests D10 empty-aux behavior
src/vs/sessions/contrib/layout/browser/desktopSessionLayoutController.ts Implements reactive empty-aux hiding
src/vs/sessions/contrib/layout/browser/desktopSessionLayoutController.md Documents D10 behavior
src/vs/sessions/contrib/layout/browser/baseSessionLayoutController.ts Disables toggle for quick chats; guards aux
src/vs/sessions/contrib/files/browser/files.contribution.ts Gates Files container on workspace
src/vs/sessions/contrib/chat/test/browser/sessionWorkspacePicker.test.ts Updates provider mock API
src/vs/sessions/contrib/chat/test/browser/sessionTypePicker.test.ts Tests quick-chat type sourcing
src/vs/sessions/contrib/chat/browser/sessionTypePicker.ts Uses quick-chat type list when needed
src/vs/sessions/contrib/chat/browser/newChatWidget.ts Adds quick-chat composer mode
src/vs/sessions/contrib/chat/browser/newChatInput.ts Adds host for type picker in controls
src/vs/sessions/contrib/chat/browser/media/chatWidget.css Adds quick-chat composer styling
src/vs/sessions/contrib/chat/browser/chat.contribution.ts Cmd+N now “New Session” semantics
src/vs/sessions/contrib/changes/browser/changes.contribution.ts Gates Changes container on workspace
src/vs/sessions/common/contextkeys.ts Adds IsQuickChatSessionContext
src/vs/sessions/browser/parts/sessionHeader.ts Uses quick-chat-aware title fallback
src/vs/platform/agentHost/test/node/copilotAgent.test.ts Tests scratch dir + workspaceless behavior
src/vs/platform/agentHost/test/node/claudeAgent.test.ts Tests scratch-dir fallback for Claude
src/vs/platform/agentHost/test/node/agentService.test.ts Tests marker overlay + inference
src/vs/platform/agentHost/test/node/agentHostPromptRegistry.test.ts Tests workspaceless prompt append
src/vs/platform/agentHost/test/common/sessionWorkspacelessMeta.test.ts Adds meta helper unit tests
src/vs/platform/agentHost/node/workspacelessScratchDir.ts New shared scratch-dir helper
src/vs/platform/agentHost/node/copilot/prompts/systemMessage.ts Adds workspaceless instructions block
src/vs/platform/agentHost/node/copilot/prompts/promptRegistry.ts Appends workspaceless instructions
src/vs/platform/agentHost/node/copilot/copilotSessionLauncher.ts Threads workspaceless into prompt context
src/vs/platform/agentHost/node/copilot/copilotAgent.ts Stable scratch dir + cleanup on delete
src/vs/platform/agentHost/node/claude/claudeAgent.ts Scratch dir fallback for missing cwd
src/vs/platform/agentHost/node/agentService.ts Persists/overlays workspaceless marker
src/vs/platform/agentHost/common/state/sessionState.ts Adds workspaceless meta helpers + DB key
.github/skills/sessions/SKILL.md Adds quick-chat review guidance

Review details

  • Files reviewed: 58/58 changed files
  • Comments generated: 3
  • Review effort level: Low

Comment thread src/vs/sessions/contrib/sessions/browser/views/sessionsList.ts Outdated
Comment thread src/vs/sessions/services/sessions/common/sessionContextKeys.ts Outdated
Comment thread src/vs/sessions/contrib/sessions/browser/views/sessionsViewActions.ts
@sandy081
sessions: address Copilot Code Review feedback on quick chats
51b92aa 
- sessionsList: select the row chat icon from isQuickChatSession(), not from
  workspace === undefined, so a workspace session with a transiently-undefined
  workspace no longer briefly shows the chat icon.
- sessionContextKeys: correct the isQuickChat comment to reflect that the key
  is sourced from the isQuickChat tag, never inferred from workspace absence.
- Agents window accessibility help: document the New Quick Chat command
  (Cmd/Ctrl+K Cmd/Ctrl+N) and the Chats section plus button, and note that the
  workspace picker does not apply and Toggle Side Panel is disabled for quick chats.

Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
@sandy081
sandy081 merged commit e63efae into main Jul 2, 2026
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@sandy081
sandy081 deleted the agents/quick-chats-support-plan-f10b0626 branch July 2, 2026 00:38
@vs-code-engineering vs-code-engineering Bot added this to the 1.128.0 milestone Jul 2, 2026
@sandy081 sandy081 mentioned this pull request Jul 5, 2026
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