Sessions

Covers the agents-first architecture in VS Code, including the layered folder structure, session management, and mobile UI patterns. You'll want this when implementing features or debugging issues in the Agents window. The core model is observable-based state flowing from pluggable providers through management services to UI components. Watch out for the layer rules: contrib code can't import from contrib/providers, and you must use the sessions-specific menu IDs instead of platform ones. Before changing anything, read the mandatory coding guidelines and the relevant spec doc, then validate with the layers check. The architecture is rigid by design, enforced by ESLint, so fighting the grain will cost you time.

skills.sh installs: 3.1K
GitHub stars: 195.3K
last updated: Aug 21, 2026

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Install

$ npx -y skills add microsoft/vscode --skill sessions --agent claude-code

Installs into .claude/skills of the current project.

Files

Agents Window development

Use this skill for implementation, review, or design work under src/vs/sessions/**.

1. Apply the core principles

Preserve the layer direction: vs/sessions may import vs/workbench and lower layers; vs/workbench must never import vs/sessions.
Keep shared Sessions code provider-neutral. Non-provider contributions must not import provider implementations.
Model mutable session and chat state with observables. Use events for notifications, not as a parallel state model or for control flow.
Register Sessions menu IDs in browser/menus.ts and consume Menus.*.
Import contributions from the appropriate sessions.*.main.ts entry point.
Prefer Sessions-owned adaptations over shared workbench changes unless the capability is genuinely shared.
Put stable architecture in the owning specification and concrete behavior in tests. Do not preserve implementation chronology as development guidance.