Manage chat sessions

Chat in Visual Studio Code provides chat-based interaction with AI. As you explore different topics or tasks, create multiple chat sessions and scope each to a specific context. VS Code offers multiple ways to create and manage chat sessions: in the Chat view, as editor tabs, or in separate windows.

This article describes how to create and manage chat sessions, and how to use chat session history to continue a previous conversation.

Create a new chat session

A chat session is the history of your interactions with the AI in a single conversation and includes all prompts, responses, and context used during that conversation. This history provides context for your subsequent prompts, allowing you to ask follow-up questions or refine your requests.

Choose to create a new chat session in the Chat view, in an editor tab, or in a separate window based on your workflow.

When you create a new chat session, the conversation history and context are cleared. Start a new chat session when you want to change topics or avoid carrying over context from previous requests. For example, start a new session when switching from debugging a specific issue to asking general questions about a technology concept.

You can return to a previous chat session at any time by using the chat session history.

Chat session history

When you create a new chat session, the previous conversation history is cleared. However, all your chat sessions are saved in the chat session history, allowing you to return to previous conversations and continue where you left off. This is useful when you want to review past interactions, reference previous responses, or resume a conversation from an earlier session.

When you switch to a previous chat session, all prompts, responses, and context from that session are restored in the Chat view.

To view your chat session history:

1. Open the Chat view and select Show Chats... in the Chat view title bar.

   

2. Select a history entry from the list to open that chat session in the Chat view.

Export chat sessions

You can export a chat session to save it for later reference or share it with others. Exporting a chat session creates a JSON file that contains all prompts and responses from the session.

To export a chat session:

1. Open the chat session you want to export in the Chat view.

2. Run the Chat: Export Chat... command from the Command Palette (⇧⌘P (Windows, Linux Ctrl+Shift+P)).

3. Choose a location to save the JSON file.

Alternatively, you can copy individual prompts or responses to the clipboard by right-clicking the message and selecting Copy. To copy the entire chat session in Markdown format, right-click the Chat view and select Copy All.

Context-isolated Subagents

A subagent is an isolated autonomous agent that can be used to delegate complex, multi-step tasks to within your chat session. Subagents can be useful for research and context gathering, complex analysis, and to optimize context management in your chat sessions.

A subagent has the following characteristics:

• Operates independently from the main chat session and returns only the final result when complete
• Uses its own context window separate from the main chat session
• Operates autonomously without pausing for user feedback
• Has access to most tools available to the main chat session and the same model

To invoke a subagent, you can explicitly add the #runSubagent tool in your chat prompts or ask to use a subagent with natural language. Subagents are especially useful in custom agents or prompt files to isolate research-heavy workflows.

The following examples illustrate how to invoke a subagent:

• "Perform research about viable authentication mechanisms for this app #runSubagent. Then summarize the findings and recommend the best option."
• "Analyze how to add OAuth authentication - use a subagent. Ask clarifying questions. Then implement this plan."

Agent Sessions

Agents enable you to perform AI coding tasks asynchronously in the background. This allows you to continue working in VS Code while the agent processes your requests. These agents are different from chat sessions in VS Code, since agents work in the background, while chat sessions are interactive and require your real-time input. Agents can also run in different environments, such as locally on your machine or remotely in the cloud.

Agent Sessions view

The Agent Sessions view provides a centralized location for managing your active chat sessions, both local in VS Code and sessions created by background agents in other environments, such as Copilot coding agent, GitHub Copilot CLI, or OpenAI Codex. Enable the Agent Sessions view with the chat.agentSessionsViewLocation setting.

The Agent Sessions view currently supports the following coding agent integrations: GitHub Copilot coding agent, GitHub Copilot CLI, and OpenAI Codex. We're working to further expand support for more coding agents in the future.

The Agent Sessions view lists all your active chat sessions organized by their source. The view is divided into sections for local chat sessions in VS Code and for coding agent sessions.

You can start a new chat session for a specific agent directly from the Agent Sessions view by selecting the + control in the corresponding section.

Select a chat session to open it as a chat editor tab and monitor its progress. Right-click a session for options to open it in a new window or in the Chat view.

Agents might provide additional functionality beyond standard chat sessions, such as canceling ongoing tasks, checking out or closing the associated pull request, or applying their file changes directly to your workspace. Right-click an agent session in the Agent Sessions view to see the available options.

Delegate tasks to agents

To delegate a task to an agent, you can start a session directly from the Agent Sessions view. If you have already started a local chat session, you can also delegate tasks to a Copilot coding agent from that session. Delegating to an agent allows you to offload complex or time-consuming tasks to the agent while you continue working.

To delegate a task to a Copilot coding agent from a local chat session:

1. Open the Chat view or a chat editor tab.

2. Type a prompt in the chat input box or open an existing chat session.

3. Select Delegate to Agent to send the prompt to a coding agent. If you have multiple agents enabled, choose the agent from the list.

   

   The coding agent session is created and provided with the context from your local chat session.

4. Monitor the coding agent session's progress in the Agent Sessions view.

In the editor, you can also delegate tasks by selecting the relevant code lense above a TODO comment. You can then track the progress of the delegated task in the Agent Sessions view.

Tips for managing chat sessions

Consider the following tips to help you work effectively with chat sessions:

• Start a new session for different topics: start a new chat session to avoid carrying over context from unrelated conversations. This helps you get more relevant responses.

• Use editor tabs for side-by-side comparisons: open multiple chat sessions as editor tabs to compare different approaches or solutions side-by-side.

• Use separate windows for multi-monitor setups: open chat in a separate window on a secondary monitor to keep it visible while you work on code in the main window.

• Background tasks with remote agents: use remote coding agents to perform AI tasks in the background while you continue working in VS Code.

• Interactive agent sessions: use local agent sessions for interactive tasks that require real-time input and feedback.

Related resources

• Get started with chat in VS Code
• Revert changes with checkpoints