You open VS Code, start an agent session, and then sit there waiting for it to fully load before you can even think about the next task. Meanwhile, your coffee gets cold and your focus breaks.
VS Code 1.124, released on June 10, 2026, is designed to fix exactly that. This update sharpens the AI agent experience in ways that actually matter — smarter task completion, background sessions, full session recovery, and a browser history feature that should have been there from day one.
If you work with AI agents inside VS Code, this release deserves more than a glance. Let's walk through every meaningful change. 👀
What Is VS Code 1.124?
VS Code 1.124 is the June 2026 release of Visual Studio Code — the free, open-source code editor from Microsoft that millions of developers use daily.
This version is heavily focused on the Agents window, VS Code's dedicated interface for running and managing AI coding sessions. Think of it like a control room for your AI assistant — you can start sessions, switch between tasks, review changes, and monitor what the agent is doing.
Version 1.124 makes that control room faster, smarter, and far less annoying to navigate.
Why This Update Matters
AI agents in VS Code aren't experimental anymore. Developers are using them for real work every day — writing code, debugging, refactoring, running terminal commands, and browsing documentation.
The friction was still real, though. You had to wait for a session to load before composing the next one. Switching between sessions meant clicking around. And it was genuinely hard to tell whether the agent had actually finished its job or just… stopped.
VS Code 1.124 targets all of this directly. Less waiting. Better navigation. Smarter judgment. This update respects your time and your workflow.
What's New in VS Code 1.124
1. Autopilot Is Now On by Default ⚡
Autopilot is the mode that lets your AI agent act autonomously — completing tasks without asking you to approve every single step.
Previously, you had to enable it manually. Now it's on by default.
This is a meaningful shift. If you're in a trusted environment and want the agent to just get on with the job, you no longer have to configure anything to make that happen.
You can still adjust the permission level anytime using chat.permissions.default, and organizations can manage Autopilot access centrally via chat.tools.global.autoApprove.
2. Advanced Autopilot: Smarter Task Completion 💡
Here's a tricky problem: how does an AI agent know when it's truly done?
Stop too early and the task is incomplete. Keep looping and you burn time and tokens. VS Code 1.124 introduces Advanced Autopilot, which solves this with a small utility model that reads the conversation transcript and decides whether the task is actually finished — instead of relying on fixed rules.
There's also a tooltip above the chat that shows exactly what objective the agent is working toward, so you're never left guessing. And to keep things bounded, the agent loops a maximum of three times before stopping.
Enable it by setting chat.autopilot.advanced.enabled to true.
3. Background Sessions: Queue Tasks Without Waiting 🔧
This one is immediately useful.
Before 1.124, starting a new agent session meant waiting for it to fully load before you could compose the next request. Now, you can press Alt+Enter (or hold Alt and select Send) to send a request in the background.
The view resets instantly. Your model and context stay selected. Only the query text clears — so you can keep queuing up tasks without interruption. Each session appears in the list once it commits.
It's like sending an email while already typing the next one. Once you use it, going back feels painful.
4. Session Navigation: Find and Switch Fast
If you run multiple agent sessions in parallel, finding the right one used to involve a lot of scrolling. VS Code 1.124 adds proper keyboard-driven navigation:
-
Sessions Picker — Press
Ctrl+R(orCmd+Ron macOS) to open a searchable Quick Pick. Sessions are grouped as recently opened and others. Search by title or folder name. -
Back and Forward —
Ctrl+Tab/Ctrl+Shift+Tabmoves through sessions in most-recently-visited order. -
Previous / Next Session —
Alt+↑/Alt+↓steps through sessions in the order they appear in the list. -
Jump by Position —
Ctrl+1throughCtrl+9focuses the Nth visible session directly.
If you've ever lost track of which session was handling what task, these shortcuts will feel like a lifesaver.
5. Restore Sessions on Reload
Reloading the Agents window used to wipe your layout. You'd have to manually reopen everything and figure out where you left off.
VS Code 1.124 restores your full session layout automatically on reload — which sessions were open, their order, the active session, pinned sessions, per-session layouts, and open editors.
It sounds like a small detail. It doesn't feel small when you're in the middle of five things at once.
6. Close All Sessions
Simple and useful: there's now a Close All Sessions command.
Use Ctrl+K Ctrl+W (or Cmd+K Cmd+W on macOS) while a session has focus. It closes everything in one step — exactly like "Close All Editors" but for agent sessions.
When you've got eight sessions open and want a clean start, this is the command you'll reach for.
7. Browser History in the Integrated Browser
The integrated browser now remembers where you've been.
Previously visited pages appear as suggestions when you type in the URL bar, making it easy to jump back to documentation, APIs, or any page you've already opened. You can manage history from within a browser tab, and the maximum number of entries is configurable via workbench.browser.maxHistoryEntries.
If you spend any time bouncing between MDN, package docs, and Stack Overflow inside VS Code, this is a quiet improvement you'll notice immediately.
8. Improved Browser Toolbar Customization
Before 1.124, only two actions could be pinned to the browser toolbar. Now, you can right-click the toolbar area to the right of the URL bar and toggle any overflow action to be persistently visible.
More control. Less hunting through menus.
9. Faster Agentic Text Entry
When an agent needed to type text into a page and press Enter, it previously required two separate tool calls. The typeInPage tool now supports a submit parameter, combining both actions into one.
This is a small change that reduces round-trips during common text-entry tasks and makes the agent just a bit faster — which adds up when you're running a long workflow.
10. Create Folders from the Simple File Dialog
A clean quality-of-life addition: when you open a folder using the simple file dialog (files.simpleDialog.enable), you can now type a new folder name and press Enter to create it on the spot.
No more switching to your system file explorer just to make a new directory.
11. Single-File Diff in the Changes View
By default, selecting a file in the Changes view opens the multi-file diff editor. If you'd rather focus on one file at a time, enable sessions.changes.openSingleFileDiff.
It keeps the view focused and removes the distraction of other files sitting alongside the one you're reviewing.
12. Enterprise: Centralized Copilot Plugin Policies
For developers in larger organizations, VS Code 1.124 gives admins centralized control over which Copilot plugins and marketplaces are available.
A single policy file now governs both VS Code and Copilot CLI, so configurations don't need to be managed separately. Three new policy-backed settings handle the specifics:
-
chat.plugins.enabledPlugins— allowlist or blocklist specific plugin IDs -
chat.plugins.extraMarketplaces— add organization-approved marketplaces -
chat.plugins.strictMarketplaces— trust only policy-supplied marketplaces
Plugins blocked by policy stay visible but appear disabled, so developers can see what's restricted without confusion.
Before vs After: Quick Comparison
| Feature | Before 1.124 | After 1.124 |
|---|---|---|
| Autopilot | Off by default | On by default |
| Task completion detection | Fixed rules | Utility model decides |
| New session startup | Wait to load, then type | Send in background immediately |
| Session recovery on reload | Layout lost | Fully restored |
| Browser history | Not available | Available with URL suggestions |
| Toolbar customization | 2 pinnable actions | All overflow actions pinnable |
| Folder creation in dialog | Not supported | Supported |
| Typing + submitting in browser | Two tool calls | One tool call |
Best Tips for VS Code 1.124
✅ Use Alt+Enter for background sessions. It genuinely changes how you work with multiple tasks. Queue them up and let the agents run.
✅ Enable Advanced Autopilot with chat.autopilot.advanced.enabled: true if you want the agent to make smarter decisions about when it's done.
✅ Learn the session keyboard shortcuts. Ctrl+R for the picker and Ctrl+1–9 for position jumps are the two most useful ones. Build the habit early.
✅ Set workbench.browser.maxHistoryEntries to a comfortable limit if you're concerned about privacy or memory.
✅ Try sessions.changes.openSingleFileDiff if you find the multi-file diff view too noisy when reviewing agent changes.
❌ Don't leave Autopilot on without checking chat.tools.global.autoApprove in team or enterprise environments. Understand what permissions you're granting before relying on it.
❌ Don't manually reopen sessions after a reload. Let VS Code restore them. You might be doing extra work for no reason.
❌ Don't assume Advanced Autopilot will loop forever. It has a three-loop maximum. For longer tasks, you may need to continue manually after that point.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
1. Thinking Autopilot can't be turned off
"Enabled by default" does not mean forced. You can change the permission level at any time in the chat input box. It's fully configurable.
2. Still manually reopening sessions after a reload
Old habit. VS Code 1.124 handles this automatically. Your layout is restored right where you left it.
3. Ignoring the session picker
A lot of developers still scroll through the sessions list with their mouse. Ctrl+R opens a searchable picker in half a second. It's worth learning.
4. Not setting a history limit for the integrated browser
Browser history grows over time. If you're particular about privacy or lightweight performance, configure workbench.browser.maxHistoryEntries early rather than after it's already grown large.
5. Overlooking single-file diff
If you review agent changes frequently, the default multi-file diff can feel cluttered. sessions.changes.openSingleFileDiff narrows the focus to one file at a time. Many developers who discover it don't go back.
Conclusion
VS Code 1.124 is a focused, practical update. It doesn't reinvent the editor — it tightens up the parts that were causing the most friction in real AI-assisted workflows.
Autopilot on by default. Smarter task detection. Background sessions. Full session recovery. Better browser tools. Every change in this release is aimed at one thing: letting you move faster without losing context.
If you haven't updated yet, open VS Code and use Check for Updates. The rollout is live for all users now.
Want more VS Code breakdowns, developer tools, and frontend content? Head over to hamidrazadev.com — new posts go up regularly. If this saved you the time of reading the full changelog, share it with a teammate. They'll thank you. 😊