In this episode James sits down with Ben and Peng from the VS Code team to unpack a year of AI evolution inside the editor — from Copilot Free to the new agent sessions UI. They explain the three agent flavors (interactive local, background, cloud), why agent orchestration matters, and how VS Code is reshaping UX so you can run parallel sessions, delegate work, and treat agent outputs like inbox items to triage. Key takeaways: build context in local chats then delegate to background/cloud, harden projects with linting/tests to improve agent reliability, and expect session results to include artifacts beyond code (tests, screenshots, videos). If you want practical tips for embedding agents into your workflow and a peek at where VS Code is headed, this conversation is a must-listen.

Follow VS Code:

• X: https://x.com/code
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/vscode.dev
• YouTube: https://youtube.com/code
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/104107263
• GitHub: https://github.com/microsoft/vscode

Special Guests: Benjamin Pasero and Peng Lyu.

Burke and Pierce sit down to review a full year of releases, surprises, partnerships, and AI goodies in VS Code from 2025!

Follow VS Code:

• X: https://x.com/code
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/vscode.dev
• YouTube: https://youtube.com/code
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/104107263
• GitHub: https://github.com/microsoft/vscode

Special Guest: Burke Holland.

In this episode of the VS Code Insiders podcast, James sits down with Julia to explore the fast-changing world of AI models inside VS Code. They dive into how developers can evaluate models, the role of fine-tuning, and why speed versus complexity matters. From Raptor Mini to Sonnet, this conversation reveals the behind-the-scenes work shaping your coding experience today.

Follow VS Code:

• X: https://x.com/code
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/vscode.dev
• YouTube: https://youtube.com/code
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/104107263
• GitHub: https://github.com/microsoft/vscode

Special Guest: Julia Kasper.

Pamela and Eleanor dig into the real art of AI‑assisted coding—delegating work to background agents, writing specs that models actually follow, and steering different LLM personalities without superstition. Expect hands‑on tactics with Copilot, GitHub Actions, CLI‑first workflows, and the agents.md standard, plus a peek at Eleanor’s open‑source Ruler project for centralized rules. Come for the model face‑offs, stay for the practical tips: richer prompts, sandboxed evals, and even talking to your computer.

Follow VS Code:

• X: https://x.com/code
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/vscode.dev
• YouTube: https://youtube.com/code
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/104107263
• GitHub: https://github.com/microsoft/vscode

Special Guest: Eleanor Berger.

Megan Rogge, Software Engineer on VS Code, joins James to explore how accessibility is woven into the culture and engineering practices of Visual Studio Code. From screen reader support to sound signals and contrast themes, this episode reveals the thoughtful design behind features that empower every developer.

Follow VS Code:

• X: https://x.com/code
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/vscode.dev
• YouTube: https://youtube.com/code
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/104107263
• GitHub: https://github.com/microsoft/vscode

Special Guest: Megan Rogge.

What does it look like for VS Code to be an AI-native editor? How is it evolving with agents running locally in the editor, in a CLI, in the cloud, or even from other companies? Pierce breaks down every part of what was announced for VS Code at GitHub Universe and goes behind the scenes of his part of the keynote.

Follow VS Code:

• X: https://x.com/code
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/vscode.dev
• YouTube: https://youtube.com/code
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/104107263
• GitHub: https://github.com/microsoft/vscode

The new planning agent is here to help you plan out your next tasks, but how does it differ from todos? When would you want to use the planning agent, and how does it actually work? Bhavya, software engineer on the VS Code team, sits down to break it all down.

Follow VS Code:

• X: https://x.com/code
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/vscode.dev
• YouTube: https://youtube.com/code
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/104107263
• GitHub: https://github.com/microsoft/vscode

Special Guest: Bhavya U.

Steve Francia joins the pod to talk about building, scaling, and supporting large open source projects and communities from MongoDB, Go, Cobra, Hugo, and so much more.

Follow VS Code:

• X: https://x.com/code
• Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/vscode.dev
• YouTube: https://youtube.com/code
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/104107263
• GitHub: https://github.com/microsoft/vscode

Special Guest: Steve Francia.