Inside VS Code's Agent Host: dedicated process for agents, remote and multi-client sessions
dfinke · x · 2026-09-17
dfinke shares VS Code's official blog explaining the Agent Host architecture introduced in 1.138.
Core design:
- Dedicated process: agents run in their own Agent Host process, communicating via the Agent Host Protocol (AHP), no longer inside the extension host — long-running autonomous work isn't blocked by busy extensions
- Shared sessions: multiple clients can observe and control the same session in sync
- Remote execution: the host can run next to the workspace on another machine; clients connect via AHP JSON-RPC over WebSocket (message port IPC locally)
- Independent execution: sessions continue with no editor connected
- Multiple agent implementations: different agent runtimes (e.g. Codex) plug into one host-facing interface
The author reads it as the beginning of a general-purpose agent runtime, not just IDE integration. The architecture is under active development.
Related event: VS Code 1.138 introduces Agent Host architecture for cross-client AI agents(2 posts)→
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