Version 1.129 introduces 'Agent Host' - a separate process that runs agent harnesses (Copilot, Claude, Codex), so one session can run across several windows and you can manage many agents at once. Plus a redesigned panel that brings review and chat together in one place.
- VS Code 1.129 (15 July) introduced Agent Host - a separate process for agent harnesses (Copilot/Claude/Codex).
- One agent session can run across several windows; many sessions are managed at once, with subtasks handed off between them.
- Redesigned Agents panel (review + chat together); a '!' prefix for running terminal commands directly through chat.
Until now, the AI agent in the editor was a guest in the room - it lived inside the window itself and died with it. The new version takes it out into its own process. A change that looks small at first glance but says something big about the direction.
The mechanics are simple, but the direction isn't small. By moving the agent into a separate process, you stop treating it as a feature of the editor and start treating it as a worker with a life of its own - you can move it, hand it several tasks, watch it from the side. That's exactly the difference between 'a button that writes code' and 'something you orchestrate'. The tools are rearranging themselves around the second idea.
For anyone building with agents, this is good news - more control over parallel work, less waiting for one agent to finish. But that same freedom means more things running at once without you watching them. Orchestration comes as convenience and responsibility in one package.