vscode.env.openExternal - Inconsistent URL encoding between open and copy options

[bmingles]

Type: Bug

When using the vscode.env.openExternal api in an extension, URLs are inconsistently encoded between the "Open" and "Copy" options.

It looks like the copy feature is passing skipEncoding = true to Uri.toString().

vscode/src/vs/workbench/contrib/url/browser/trustedDomainsValidator.ts

Line 97 in 9e4fa92

this._clipboardService.writeText(typeof originalResource === 'string' ? originalResource : resourceUri.toString(true));

Presumably the code that opens the link may not be doing the same?

Steps to Reproduce

const url = new URL('https://www.google.com/search');
url.searchParams.append('q', encodeURIComponent('x+y'));
vscode.env.openExternal(vscode.Uri.parse(url.toString()));

A dialog opens asking "Do you want Code to open the external website?"

Expected Results

Clicking the "Open" button should produce the same URL as clicking "Copy"

Actual Results

Clicking the "Open" button seems to have different URI encoding than the link provided by "Copy"

• Open - https://www.google.com/?key=x%252By
• Copy - https://www.google.com/?key=x%2By

VS Code version: Code 1.97.2 (Universal) (e54c774, 2025-02-12T23:20:35.343Z)
OS version: Darwin arm64 24.3.0
Modes:
Remote OS version: Linux x64 5.14.0-503.21.1.el9_5.x86_64

System Info

Item	Value
CPUs	Apple M1 Max (10 x 2400)
GPU Status	2d_canvas: enabled canvas_oop_rasterization: enabled_on direct_rendering_display_compositor: disabled_off_ok gpu_compositing: enabled multiple_raster_threads: enabled_on opengl: enabled_on rasterization: enabled raw_draw: disabled_off_ok skia_graphite: disabled_off video_decode: enabled video_encode: enabled webgl: enabled webgl2: enabled webgpu: enabled webnn: disabled_off
Load (avg)	3, 3, 3
Memory (System)	64.00GB (18.96GB free)
Process Argv
Screen Reader	no
VM	0%

Item	Value
Remote	SSH: jxn-saml-sanluis.int.illumon.com
OS	Linux x64 5.14.0-503.21.1.el9_5.x86_64
CPUs	AMD EPYC 7B13 (8 x 0)
Memory (System)	62.29GB (45.95GB free)
VM	0%

Extensions (42)

Extension	Author (truncated)	Version
vscode-sqlite	ale	0.14.1
tsl-problem-matcher	amo	0.6.2
astro-vscode	ast	2.15.4
color-info	bie	0.7.2
ruff	cha	2025.14.0
path-intellisense	chr	2.10.0
esbuild-problem-matchers	con	0.0.3
vscode-eslint	dba	3.0.10
vscode-deephaven	dee	0.1.26
gitlens	eam	16.3.2
RunOnSave	eme	0.2.7
prettier-vscode	esb	11.0.0
copilot	Git	1.275.0
copilot-chat	Git	0.24.1
vscode-pull-request-github	Git	0.104.1
go	gol	0.46.0
vscode-drawio	hed	1.9.0
rest-client	hum	0.25.1
rainbow-csv	mec	3.17.0
code-point	med	1.12.0
vscode-scss	mrm	0.10.0
vscode-docker	ms-	1.29.4
vscode-dotnet-runtime	ms-	2.2.8
playwright	ms-	1.1.13
debugpy	ms-	2025.0.1
python	ms-	2025.0.0
vscode-pylance	ms-	2025.2.1
jupyter	ms-	2025.1.0
jupyter-keymap	ms-	1.1.2
jupyter-renderers	ms-	1.1.0
vscode-jupyter-cell-tags	ms-	0.1.9
vscode-jupyter-slideshow	ms-	0.1.6
remote-containers	ms-	0.397.0
remote-ssh	ms-	0.117.1
remote-ssh-edit	ms-	0.87.0
remote-explorer	ms-	0.4.3
vscode-github-issue-notebooks	ms-	0.0.130
vscode-versionlens	pfl	1.16.2
LiveServer	rit	5.7.9
vscode-stylelint	sty	1.4.0
react-ts-css	vii	3.2.7
explorer	vit	1.16.0

(1 theme extensions excluded)

[vs-code-engineering]

Thanks for creating this issue! We figured it's covering the same as another one we already have. Thus, we closed this one as a duplicate. You can search for similar existing issues. See also our issue reporting guidelines.

Happy Coding!

[bmingles]

@jrieken I don't see this specific issue (mismatch between copy / open) represented in the other URI related tickets. Can you provide any more details as to why this was marked as a duplicate?

[mofojed]

Looks like this is related to a previous fix that needed to be reverted due to extensions relying on broken behaviour: #140907 (comment)