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VS Code 1.106 (October Update) Adds Agent HQ, New Security Controls
The latest monthly update to Visual Studio Code, version 1.106, continues the product's focus on AI-assisted workflows with new agent management capabilities, enhanced security and trust options, and several productivity refinements across the editor and terminal. Microsoft describes the release as a consolidation of the new Agent HQ system introduced for coordinating AI-related tools and Copilot features, alongside infrastructure improvements for authentication, code editing, and enterprise control.
[Click on image for larger view.] Visual Studio Code 1.106 October Update (source: Microsoft).
Here's a look at what's new, concentrating on the highlights listed in the above graphic.
Agent HQ
- Agent Sessions view as your mission control for agent tasks: The new Agent Sessions view centralizes all local, Copilot, and background AI agent activity. It provides a unified dashboard to monitor, start, and switch between sessions, including search and filtering tools.
- OpenAI Codex integration: VS Code now connects directly to OpenAI Codex as part of the unified Agent HQ framework, offering tighter integration with Copilot and command-line agents for code generation and task execution.
- Built-in planning agent: A new planning agent helps developers create structured, step-by-step implementation plans before committing code changes. Plans can be previewed, refined, and executed by other agents once approved.
- Custom agents and handoffs: The update supports creation of custom agents defined in '.agents.md' files, including metadata such as names, descriptions, toolsets, and task handoffs. This allows organizations to standardize reusable agent behaviors.
- Inlined terminal panels in chat: Terminal panels can now appear directly within chat sessions, displaying command output inline for easier context during AI-assisted development and troubleshooting.
Security & Trust
- Open sourcing inline suggestions: Microsoft has open sourced the inline suggestion functionality that underpins Copilot's real-time code completions, now merged into the open-source 'vscode-copilot-chat' repository.
- Tool pre- & post-approval: Users can now review and authorize tools before and after execution, providing more control over extensions and AI agent actions that access local or external data.
- Expanded MCP auth support: The update adds new authentication features to the Model Context Protocol, including OAuth-based registration and dynamic permission handling for tool access and data exchange.
- Control MCP server access with custom MCP registries: Administrators can now define organization-level registries to control which MCP servers are permitted within a workspace, improving governance for enterprise environments.
- Linux device policy support: A new policy framework lets system administrators enforce configuration settings and security constraints on Linux devices through managed JSON policies.
Great Coding Experience
- Copy text from deleted lines in diff editor: Deleted lines in inline diff views are now selectable and copyable, improving usability when reviewing changes.
- VS Code product icon refresh: The product's iconography received an update with more refined codicons for improved clarity and visual consistency.
- Terminal IntelliSense GA: IntelliSense for terminals is now generally available, offering autocompletion for popular shells including PowerShell, bash, zsh, and fish.
- Compare source control branches & tags: Developers can now navigate and compare branches and tags directly within the Source Control view, simplifying repository management and code review.
Additional updates in version 1.106 include expanded workspace authentication controls, accessibility improvements for chat and voice input, new extension APIs, and continued alignment of AI-related features with GitHub's Copilot ecosystem.
About the Author
David Ramel is an editor and writer at Converge 360.