Visual Studio Code’s latest updates are transforming how developers interact with coding agents and streamlining daily development tasks. This post explores the new unified system, from managing agents in a single session to leveraging AI for better project planning.
Seamless Integration: OpenAI Codex Meets Copilot
The introduction of GPT-5 and GPT-5 Codex models from OpenAI brings powerful new coding abilities directly into VS Code. With a GitHub Copilot Pro+ subscription, developers can access OpenAI Codex inside VS Code, bypassing the need for separate OpenAI accounts.
This means you can now switch between GitHub Copilot, Copilot coding agent (cloud), Copilot CLI, and OpenAI Codex seamlessly with no more tool-hopping or login confusion.
Agent Sessions: Your New Productivity Hub
Managing multiple agents used to be complex. Enter Agent Sessions, a feature designed as your mission control within VS Code. View, manage, and interact with all active agents, whether local or cloud-based, from a single panel. Each agent gets its own chat editor tab, letting you monitor progress, jump in with feedback, or delegate new tasks instantly. The “Delegate” button makes assigning jobs as simple as a click, giving you the flexibility to orchestrate complex workflows with ease.
Plan Agent: Smarter Planning, Fewer Surprises
VS Code has revamped its “chat modes” into “agents,” introducing the new Plan agent. This agent excels at breaking down broad prompts into clear, actionable steps. By engaging in a conversational process such as asking clarifying questions, suggesting libraries, and surfacing edge cases; it helps ensure your plans are robust before you start coding.
When ready, use Handoff to put your plan into action or explore the detailed steps in your editor. The Plan agent is also a launching pad for building your own custom agents, enabling unique, tailored workflows.
Community Innovation and Custom Agents
VS Code’s commitment to extensibility shines with its encouragement for developers to build and share custom agents. You can adapt and extend the Plan agent’s prompt to fit specialized needs, supporting everything from research to niche coding tasks. The awesome-copilot repository stands as a hub for discovering community-built prompts and agents, fueling shared progress and innovation.
Context Management with Subagents
As agent conversations become more complex, maintaining clarity is crucial. VS Code introduces subagents: isolated agents you can invoke with the
#runSubagenttool in your prompts.These subagents tackle side research or deep dives, ensuring the main chat stays focused. Only relevant results are returned, supporting precise context engineering and helping you keep projects on track.
The Road Ahead: Developer-Centric and Flexible
These enhancements mark the start of a new era for developers using VS Code. The unified agent system enables fluid movement between agents, robust context management, and endless customization. As highlighted at GitHub Universe, this is just the beginning—future updates promise even more AI-powered tools and collaborative features, empowering developers to code smarter and faster.
Source: Visual Studio Code Blog
VS Code Unifies the Coding Agent Experience: A Developer’s Guide to Smarter Workflows