The Future of Coding Agents in VS Code: Insights from VS Code Insiders Podcast

Brigit and Josh from the VS Code team discuss the future of coding agents in Visual Studio Code, sharing insights and updates for developers in this VS Code Insiders Podcast episode.

The Future of Coding Agents in VS Code: VS Code Insiders Podcast Episode 6

Guests: Brigit and Josh (VS Code Team)

Overview

In this episode, Brigit and Josh dive into the latest features and advancements in coding agents, also known as background agents or background tasks, within Visual Studio Code. They discuss why coding agents matter for developer productivity, explore their evolution, and preview future enhancements.

Key Topics

• What are Coding Agents?
  • Also referred to as background agents or background tasks, coding agents automate and assist with repetitive development workflows directly in VS Code.
  • They enable developers to offload tasks to the background, freeing up focus for core coding activities.
• How to Use Coding Agents
  • The episode details how to activate and configure coding agents within VS Code.
  • Practical scenarios for leveraging agents to improve everyday development tasks are explored.
• Technical Enhancements
  • Discussion of updates available in VS Code version 1.104, focusing on experimental collaboration features with coding agents.
  • Integration examples like the GitHub Copilot Coding Agent.
• Extensions & Links Mentioned
  • Sharp Solarized Theme
  • Copilot Coding Agent Documentation
  • v1.104 Updates: Collaborate with Coding Agents (Experimental)
  • GitHub Pull Requests Extension

Upcoming Features

• The future roadmap for coding agents, including deeper integration with AI (e.g. GitHub Copilot), collaborative workflows, and enhanced automation capabilities.
• Insights into how these features will streamline development in Visual Studio Code.

Where to Listen

Subscribe to the VS Code Insiders Podcast on:

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• Spotify
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Key Takeaways

• Coding agents are evolving to become integral to the VS Code developer experience, particularly with the integration of AI tools like GitHub Copilot.
• The VS Code team is actively exploring new features to make agents smarter, more collaborative, and more useful for automating development tasks.

For a hands-on overview, check out the linked documentation and release notes.