403 and 401 error trying to open github codespaces

[jeremymeng]

🏷️ Discussion Type

Bug

Body

I am getting the following error in VS Code Codespaces extension, either when trying to open codespace from VS Code, or clicking the option to open repository in VS Code from github.com. No helpful warnings/errors or information on how to resolve the issue.

[Client I] GitHub Codespaces version 1.18.13
[Client I] isRunningInWeb: "false"
[Client V] Initializing authentication
[API I] Successfully signed in
[API E] getSupportedClientVersion unexpected status 403
[API E] listCodespaces error. Correlation ID: 8104:1E426B:11D4ED0:1203D60:6A398744
[CodespaceInfo E] Failed to fetch codespaces> object #0: list codespaces request failed with status 401
  at throwCommandError (c:\Users\yumeng\.vscode\extensions\github.codespaces-1.18.13\src\api\githubApi.ts:388:19)
  at c:\Users\yumeng\.vscode\extensions\github.codespaces-1.18.13\src\api\githubApi.ts:418:33
  at throwStub (c:\Users\yumeng\.vscode\extensions\github.codespaces-1.18.13\src\api\githubApi.ts:1494:5)
  at GitHubApi.<anonymous> (c:\Users\yumeng\.vscode\extensions\github.codespaces-1.18.13\src\api\githubApi.ts:418:17)
  at Generator.next (<anonymous>)
  at fulfilled (c:\Users\yumeng\.vscode\extensions\github.codespaces-1.18.13\out\bundle\extension-node.js:355:31671)
  at processTicksAndRejections (node:internal/process/task_queues:104:5)
[API E] featureFlags: listCodespaces error. Correlation ID: 9E63:1E426B:11D4EEC:1203D74:6A398744
[Client:extension:b461 I] initializing
[Client:extension:b461:resolver I] created with protocol "codespaces"
[RemoteExplorer I] Updating codespace performance info
[Client E] Failed to update codespaces list: list codespaces request failed with status 401> object #0: list codespaces request failed with status 401
  at throwCommandError (c:\Users\yumeng\.vscode\extensions\github.codespaces-1.18.13\src\api\githubApi.ts:388:19)
  at c:\Users\yumeng\.vscode\extensions\github.codespaces-1.18.13\src\api\githubApi.ts:418:33
  at throwStub (c:\Users\yumeng\.vscode\extensions\github.codespaces-1.18.13\src\api\githubApi.ts:1494:5)
  at GitHubApi.<anonymous> (c:\Users\yumeng\.vscode\extensions\github.codespaces-1.18.13\src\api\githubApi.ts:418:17)
  at Generator.next (<anonymous>)
  at fulfilled (c:\Users\yumeng\.vscode\extensions\github.codespaces-1.18.13\out\bundle\extension-node.js:355:31671)
  at processTicksAndRejections (node:internal/process/task_queues:104:5)
[DevContainerJsonSupport I] Initializing devcontainer.json support package
[DevContainerJsonSupport V] [2026-06-22T19:04:37.287Z] Internal initialization of dev container support package...

[ProtocolHandler I] Received connect event: vscode://github.codespaces/connect?name%3Danimated-guacamole-xg96rx974626pvr
[ProtocolHandler I] Connecting to codespace animated-guacamole-xg96rx974626pvr
[Command:Connect I] Decorator starting: ErrorNotification
[Command:Connect I] Decorator starting: Telemetry
[API:retries-left-2 I] making GET request for "https://api.github.com/user/codespaces/animated-guacamole-xg96rx974626pvr"
[Client I] Jupyter API registered? false
[API:retries-left-2 E] getCodespace error. Correlation ID: 71D0:21BB8B:107B5A4:10AA34D:6A398745
[API:retries-left-1 I] making GET request for "https://api.github.com/user/codespaces/animated-guacamole-xg96rx974626pvr?internal=true&refresh=true&t=1782155077298"
[API:retries-left-1 E] getCodespace error. Correlation ID: C4EF:BFEC:105FEB1:108F158:6A398746
[API:retries-left-0 I] making GET request for "https://api.github.com/user/codespaces/animated-guacamole-xg96rx974626pvr?internal=true&refresh=true&t=1782155077298?internal=true&refresh=true&t=1782155077856"
[API:retries-left-0 E] getCodespace error. Correlation ID: 2B60:234BEA:105395C:10839A3:6A398747
[Command:Connect E] Command [Connect to Codespace]: Connect to Codespace Failure: get codespace request failed with status 401 (2257ms)
[Command:Connect I] Decorator finishing: Telemetry. Duration: 5ms (0 + 5)
[Command:Connect I] Decorator finishing: ErrorNotification. Duration: 0ms (0 + 0)
[API E] listCodespaces error. Correlation ID: FF16:25E9C3:10CCDEA:10FC0D4:6A39875F

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[Amitabh-Phule]

Hi,

Based on the logs, authentication appears to succeed initially ("Successfully signed in"), but subsequent Codespaces API requests are returning 401 Unauthorized and 403 Forbidden responses.

A few things I would check:

1. Sign out of GitHub in VS Code and sign back in.

Sometimes the VS Code authentication token becomes stale even though the extension reports a successful sign-in.

2. Remove and re-authorize the GitHub authentication provider.

In VS Code:

• Accounts → Sign Out
• Reload VS Code
• Sign in again

3. Verify that the account signed into VS Code is the same account that owns or has access to the Codespace.

4. Check whether the Codespace can be opened successfully from the GitHub web interface.

If it works in the browser but not in VS Code, the issue is likely related to local authentication or the extension.

5. Try updating or reinstalling the GitHub Codespaces extension.

The logs show:

GitHub Codespaces version 1.18.13

so confirming you're on the latest extension version may help.

6. If you're using GitHub Enterprise, verify that Codespaces is enabled for your account and organization.

7. Check whether a VPN, proxy, firewall, or corporate network policy is interfering with GitHub API requests.

The combination of:

• Successful sign-in
• 401 when accessing /user/codespaces/*
• 403 on feature/version requests

suggests either a token permission issue, account access issue, or an extension-side authentication problem rather than a problem with the Codespace itself.

Could you confirm:

• Whether Codespaces opens from github.com
• Whether this affects all Codespaces or only one
• Whether you're using GitHub.com or GitHub Enterprise Cloud

That would help narrow down the cause.

[jeremymeng]

Whether Codespaces opens from github.com

The web interface worked fine. I wasn't getting any codespaces listed in VS Code remote tab

Whether this affects all Codespaces or only one

I didn't see any codespaces listed under the remote tab

Whether you're using GitHub.com or GitHub Enterprise Cloud

just github.com

[jeremymeng]

yes sign out github account then re sign in fixed it

[Farhan71140]

This error usually points to an authentication or client version mismatch between the VS Code Codespaces extension and GitHub’s API. The 401/403 responses mean the extension isn’t able to fetch your codespaces list even though you’re signed in.

Steps you can try:

1. Update VS Code and the GitHub Codespaces extension to the latest version — older builds often trigger version errors like getSupportedClientVersion unexpected status 403.
2. Sign out and back into GitHub in VS Code (Accounts menu → Sign Out → Sign In again).
3. Make sure the GitHub Codespaces extension has the correct permissions in your account settings.
4. If you’re using multiple accounts, confirm that the email/username linked to your codespaces is the same one authenticated in VS Code.
5. Check GitHub’s status page (https://www.githubstatus.com/) to rule out any ongoing service issues.
6. If the problem persists, open a support ticket with GitHub and include the correlation IDs from the error log — this helps their engineering team trace the failed requests.

In short: update the extension, re‑authenticate, and escalate with correlation IDs if the issue continues.