Always open diff in new window

[curlychoi]

Background
Currently, VS Code (and Cursor IDE) displays all file diffs inside editor tabs by default. There is no setting to automatically open diff views in a separate OS window, so users must manually move each diff into its own window.

Proposal
Add a new configuration option:

• "diffEditor.openInNewWindow": boolean — when true, diff views open in a new OS window.
• Or flexibly:

  "diffEditor.openLocation": "tab" | "split" | "newWindow"

Benefits & Example Usage

• Isolates diff views for better focus during code reviews.
• Enables side‑by‑side comparison across multiple windows.
• Aligns VS Code with IntelliJ‑style workflows.
• Example settings:

  // settings.json
  {
    "diffEditor.openInNewWindow": true
  }

Additional Context
JetBrains IDEs (IntelliJ IDEA, PhpStorm) already support this out of the box. Adding it to VS Code would meet user expectations and streamline reviews.

Labels: feature-request

[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!

[vs-code-engineering]

This feature request has not yet received the 20 community upvotes it takes to make to our backlog. 10 days to go. To learn more about how we handle feature requests, please see our documentation.

Happy Coding!

[vs-code-engineering]

🙁 In the last 60 days, this feature request has received less than 20 community upvotes and we closed it. Still a big Thank You to you for taking the time to create this issue! To learn more about how we handle feature requests, please see our documentation.

Happy Coding!