Visual Studio Code (VS Code)

Visual Studio Code (VS Code) is a free, open source code editor built by Microsoft, available for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It has been a widely used editor for over a decade and has evolved into what the VS Code team describes as "your home for multi-agent development," combining a world-class editing experience with deeply integrated AI agent capabilities.

What It Is

VS Code is a lightweight but powerful source code editor that supports nearly every major programming language. It ships with built-in support for JavaScript, TypeScript, CSS, and HTML, and extends to virtually any language through its marketplace of over 80,000 extensions. The editor integrates GitHub Copilot for AI-powered inline suggestions and completions, and now features a full agent harness for autonomous task execution.

Agent-First Development Model

The current version of VS Code centers on multi-agent development. Users can hand off tasks to AI agents that autonomously plan, make code changes, run commands, and iterate until a job is done. Agents can use MCP servers, browser tools, and extension-provided skills to interact with external services.

• Local agents: Run directly in the editor terminal with full filesystem access
• Cloud agents: Execute in hosted environments and open pull requests on completion
• Autopilot mode: Agents operate with minimal interruption until the task is complete
• Third-party model support: Use Claude, OpenAI, or bring your own API key alongside GitHub Copilot

Agents Window (Preview)

The Agents window is a dedicated companion window the docs describe as purpose-built for agent-driven development — a place to explore, iterate on, and review agent sessions across multiple projects and machines. As of VS Code 1.123 (June 3, 2026), it lets you work with multiple sessions side by side: open a second session next to the active one via Open to the Side, drag-and-drop from the sessions list, or Alt-click. You can pin a session so it isn't replaced when you select another, or maximize one to focus on it while the rest stay open. The release notes state that only one session is active at a time, and the Terminal, Files, and Changes views all follow whichever session that is.

Research Agent (Preview)

The research agent, introduced in VS Code 1.123, runs deep research on a topic and produces a report instead of editing code. The docs describe it as gathering and synthesizing information from your codebase, relevant GitHub repositories, and the web into a thorough, well-cited Markdown report. It has read-only access and is optimized for depth over speed, so it investigates and reports rather than making changes — you run it by typing /research followed by a topic in the chat input. The release notes state it is currently limited to Copilot CLI (local) sessions in the Insiders build.

Extension and MCP Ecosystem

VS Code's extension marketplace hosts over 80,000 extensions covering language support, debuggers, linters, themes, and agent tools. The editor also supports Model Context Protocol (MCP) servers, allowing agents to connect to external tools and data sources. Extensions like Python, C/C++, Jupyter, GitLens, MongoDB, and GitHub Copilot for Azure ship as first-party or partner extensions. Developers can build custom extensions or agent plugins to power team-specific workflows.

Core Editor Capabilities

Beyond AI, VS Code delivers a rich editing experience:

• Integrated terminal: Supports zsh, PowerShell, git bash, and other shells
• Built-in Git and source control: Native support for Git with additional providers via extensions
• Debugging: Run and debug code without leaving the editor
• Local history: Automatically tracked local file history
• Settings Sync: Share user settings across VS Code instances
• Profiles: Create and switch between sets of customizations
• Accessibility: Optimized for screen readers, high-contrast themes, and keyboard-only navigation
• Web support: Access code from any device via vscode.dev

Deployment and Access

VS Code is available as a desktop download for Windows, macOS, and Linux, and as a browser-based editor at vscode.dev for quick edits on local or remote repositories (GitHub and Azure Repos). An Insiders edition provides early access to new features. The core editor is open source under the MIT license on GitHub (microsoft/vscode), while some bundled features like GitHub Copilot require a separate subscription.