VSCode Chat Agent Mode: Not What You Remember

Agent Mode — What Changed

• If you tried VSCode Chat a year ago and dismissed it — try again. Agent mode (GA Feb 2025) is a full autonomous agent now.
• What Agent mode can do
  • › Edit files across your workspace autonomously
  • › Run terminal commands (builds, tests, installs)
  • › Use MCP server tools (AEM, Chrome DevTools, Figma, ADO)
  • › Self-heal — monitors errors and fixes them automatically
• Three built-in modes
  • › Agent — full autonomy: edits, runs, iterates
  • › Plan — structured thinking before coding
  • › Ask — Q&A only, no file modifications
• Permission levels — confirm each action, auto-approve edits, or full autopilot. You control the trust level.

Chat vs CLI — When to Use Which

1. 1 What Chat has that CLIs don't
   • › Inline diffs in the editor (visual review)
   • › Language server integration (symbols, references, diagnostics)
   • › File/selection attachment with drag & drop
   • › Interactive handoff buttons between agents
2. 2 What CLIs have that Chat doesn't
   • › Subagent orchestration with worktree isolation
   • › Persistent cross-session memory
   • › Full plugin hook system
   • › 1M token context (Claude Code)
3. 3 Quick test — open Chat, switch to Agent mode, ask it to 'fix any lint errors in this file and run the build'. Compare with doing the same in your terminal agent.