AgentHost - add per-provider enable settings for Claude/Codex#321155
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Adds two settings that gate provider registration in the agent host
process, independent of the SDK availability check that was the only
gate before:
- chat.agentHost.claudeAgent.enabled (default: true)
- chat.agentHost.codexAgent.enabled (default: false)
The agent host's `chat.agentHost.*` namespace already had:
- `chat.agentHost.enabled` — master switch for spawning the host
- `chat.agentHost.claudeAgent.sdkRoot` / `chat.agentHost.codexAgent.sdkRoot`
— dev-only path overrides for the SDK
- `chat.agentHost.codexAgent.codexHome` / `binaryArgs` — Codex runtime knobs
Provider registration in `agentHostMain.ts` / `agentHostServerMain.ts`
was previously gated only on `agentSdkDownloader.isAvailable(...)`,
which checks whether the SDK is reachable (dev override env var or a
`product.agentSdks.<pkg>` entry). The new settings compose with that
gate as `enabled && isAvailable`, giving users a way to suppress
Claude/Codex even when the SDK ships.
Wired through both starters (`electronAgentHostStarter.ts`,
`nodeAgentHostStarter.ts`) via a new field on `IAgentSdkStarterSettings`
and forwarded to the child process as
`VSCODE_AGENT_HOST_{CLAUDE,CODEX}_AGENT_ENABLED` env vars. The host
reads them through a shared `isAgentEnabled()` helper that defaults
to `true` for Claude and `false` for Codex when the env var is absent
(matches the setting defaults).
Note: this is independent of `chat.agents.claude.preferAgentHost` and
`chat.editor.claude.preferAgentHost`, which decide whether the
workbench surfaces the agent host's Claude provider vs. the GitHub
Copilot Chat extension's. The new settings control whether the agent
host advertises the provider at all.
Verified end-to-end with all four enable/disable combinations in the
Agents window picker.
Contributor
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Pull request overview
Adds per-provider enable/disable toggles under chat.agentHost.* to gate Claude/Codex provider registration independently of SDK reachability, wiring the settings through the starters as env vars and enforcing them in both the utility-process agent host and the standalone server entrypoint.
Changes:
- Register new settings
chat.agentHost.claudeAgent.enabled(defaulttrue) andchat.agentHost.codexAgent.enabled(defaultfalse) in the agent host starter config contribution. - Forward the new toggles from settings → env vars via
buildAgentSdkEnv(...), and read them via a sharedisAgentEnabled(...)helper. - Apply the enable gates in both
agentHostMain.tsandagentHostServerMain.tsin addition to the existingagentSdkDownloader.isAvailable(...)checks.
Show a summary per file
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| src/vs/platform/agentHost/node/nodeAgentHostStarter.ts | Reads new enable settings and forwards them into the spawned agent host environment. |
| src/vs/platform/agentHost/node/agentHostServerMain.ts | Applies enable gating (env-driven) alongside SDK availability when registering providers in standalone server mode. |
| src/vs/platform/agentHost/node/agentHostMain.ts | Applies enable gating (env-driven) alongside SDK availability when registering providers in the agent host process. |
| src/vs/platform/agentHost/electron-main/electronAgentHostStarter.ts | Reads new enable settings and forwards them into the spawned agent host environment (desktop main process). |
| src/vs/platform/agentHost/common/agentService.ts | Introduces setting/env-var identifiers, isAgentEnabled(...), and env fan-out for the new toggles. |
| src/vs/platform/agentHost/common/agentHostStarter.config.contribution.ts | Registers the new user-facing configuration properties with defaults and descriptions. |
Copilot's findings
- Files reviewed: 6/6 changed files
- Comments generated: 2
- JSDoc on `isAgentEnabled` now matches the implementation: lists all recognized values (`'true'`/`'1'` enable, `'false'`/`'0'` disable, anything else falls through to the default) instead of implying only `'false'` disables. - New table-driven test suite covering undefined / empty / whitespace fallback to default, case-insensitive `'true'`/`'TRUE'`/`'false'`/`'FALSE'`, trimmed values, numeric `'1'`/`'0'`, and unrecognized values falling back.
4 tasks
lramos15
approved these changes
Jun 12, 2026
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Summary
Adds two new settings to the agent host's
chat.agentHost.*namespace that gate provider registration independent of SDK availability:chat.agentHost.claudeAgent.enabled(default:true)chat.agentHost.codexAgent.enabled(default:false)Both compose with the existing
agentSdkDownloader.isAvailable(...)check asenabled && isAvailable, so the registration condition is now "the user wants this provider AND the SDK is reachable" instead of just the latter.Why default Claude to
true?The new setting only controls whether the agent host advertises the Claude provider — it doesn't decide whether the workbench actually surfaces it. That's still governed by
chat.agents.claude.preferAgentHost(Agents window) andchat.editor.claude.preferAgentHost(sidebar), both of which default tofalse. So even withclaudeAgent.enabled: true, the user has to opt into the agent-host Claude integration via the prefer settings before they see any behavioral change. Defaulting Claude totruekeeps the agent host's provider available for users who flip the prefer settings, without forcing two opt-ins for what feels like one decision.Codex defaults to
falsebecause there's no extension-side Codex integration today — Codex through the agent host is the only path, so making it opt-in matches its experimental status.Plumbing
Setting → env var → process gate, identical pattern to the existing SDK-root overrides:
agentHostStarter.config.contribution.ts.IAgentSdkStarterSettings/buildAgentSdkEnvinagentService.tsget two new boolean fields, forwarded asVSCODE_AGENT_HOST_{CLAUDE,CODEX}_AGENT_ENABLED.electronAgentHostStarter.ts,nodeAgentHostStarter.ts) read the settings and pass them throughbuildAgentSdkEnv.agentHostMain.tsandagentHostServerMain.tsread the env vars via a new sharedisAgentEnabled()helper that handles the defaults (Claude →true, Codex →false) when the env var is absent.Test plan
Manually verified all combinations end-to-end via the Agents window provider picker, with a dev SDK root pointed at a sibling checkout:
copilotcli,claude; picker shows Copilot CLI + Claude under Local Agent Hostcopilotcli,claude,codex; picker shows all threecopilotcli,codex; picker shows Copilot CLI + Codexcopilotcli; picker shows only Copilot CLI under Local Agent Host🤖 Generated with Claude Code