VS Code Chat — Agent Plugins

Install dx plugins from the VS Code marketplace UI or configure manually. Two approaches, same plugins.

Prerequisites

This page covers VS Code Copilot Chat integration. For the terminal-based CLIs, see Claude Code or Copilot CLI. For a feature comparison across all three platforms, see CLI vs Chat.

Overview

Two Installation Approaches

Choose marketplace-based (recommended) or manual settings.

Marketplace Install (Recommended)

VS Code clones the plugin repo into ~/Library/Application Support/Code/agentPlugins/ (macOS) and reads marketplace.json to discover all plugins. Full plugin support: agents, skills, hooks, MCP servers, instructions, and prompts.

Result: All plugins appear in the Chat Customizations panel with full feature counts.

New in VS Code 1.110+

Manual Settings

Point chat.agentSkillsLocations at plugin skill directories in .vscode/settings.json. Simpler but only exposes skills — no agents, hooks, or MCP servers from the plugin.

Result: Individual skills available, but no plugin-level management.

Marketplace

Marketplace-Based Install

VS Code discovers and installs plugins from a git-hosted marketplace — the same marketplace.json used by Claude Code and Copilot CLI.

Step 1 — Add the Marketplace

Open VS Code Settings (JSON) and add the marketplace source:

VS Code User Settings (settings.json)

"chat.plugins.marketplaces": [
"easingthemes/dx-aem-flow"
]

This tells VS Code to clone the repo into its agentPlugins/ directory and read the .claude-plugin/marketplace.json file to discover available plugins.

Alternative formats:

“easingthemes/dx-aem-flow” — GitHub shorthand (recommended)
“https://github.com/easingthemes/dx-aem-flow.git” — Full HTTPS URL
”file:///path/to/local/repo” — Local directory for development

Step 2 — Install Plugins

Open the Extensions view and type @agentPlugins in the search bar. You’ll see all plugins from the marketplace. Click Install on the ones you need:

dx-core — Full development workflow (required)
dx-aem — AEM verification and QA (optional, requires dx-core)
dx-hub — Multi-repo orchestration (optional)
dx-automation — Autonomous pipeline agents (optional)

Step 3 — Verify

Open Chat Customizations (gear icon in the Chat panel). You should see your installed plugins under Plugins in the sidebar, showing counts for agents, skills, hooks, MCP servers, instructions, and prompts.

Update Behavior

VS Code clones from the remote git repo, not your local working copy. Changes must be pushed to GitHub before VS Code picks them up. If you see stale content, try Reload Window (Cmd+Shift+P → “Developer: Reload Window”).

Alt

Alternative Install Methods

Other ways to install plugins without editing settings.json.

Command Palette

Cmd+Shift+P → “Chat: Install Plugin From Source” → paste the repo URL. This installs directly without adding a marketplace first.

URL Handler (VS Code 1.113+)

Click a link with the vscode:// protocol:

Install a plugin

vscode://chat-plugin/install?source=easingthemes/dx-aem-flow

Add a marketplace

vscode://chat-plugin/add-marketplace?ref=easingthemes/dx-aem-flow

Team

Workspace Recommendations

Recommend plugins to team members — VS Code prompts them to install on first chat message.

Recommend Plugins for Your Project

Add to your project’s .vscode/settings.json (committed to git):

.vscode/settings.json

{
"extraKnownMarketplaces": {
  "dx-aem-flow": {
    "source": { "source": "github", "repo": "easingthemes/dx-aem-flow" }
  }
},
"enabledPlugins": {
  "dx-core@dx-aem-flow": true,
  "dx-aem@dx-aem-flow": true
}
}

When a team member opens the project and sends their first chat message, VS Code shows a notification suggesting they install the recommended plugins. They also appear under @agentPlugins @recommended in the Extensions view.

Manual

Manual Settings (Legacy)

Point VS Code at skill directories directly — works without the marketplace system.

Skill and Agent Locations

Add to .vscode/settings.json:

.vscode/settings.json

"chat.agentSkillsLocations": {
".claude/skills": true,
"dx-aem-flow/dx/plugins/dx-core/skills": true,
"dx-aem-flow/dx/plugins/dx-aem/skills": true
},
"chat.subagents.allowInvocationsFromSubagents": true

The subagent setting (VS Code 1.113+) lets coordinator agents dispatch subagents. /dx-sync configures this automatically for consumer projects.

When to Use Manual Settings

Use manual settings when you need skills in VS Code Chat but don’t want the full plugin management system. This approach only exposes skills — agents, hooks, and MCP servers from the plugin are not loaded. For full plugin support, use the marketplace install.

Storage

Where Plugins Live

VS Code clones marketplace repos into a platform-specific directory.

Platform	Agent Plugins Directory
macOS	`~/Library/Application Support/Code/agentPlugins/github.com/{owner}/{repo}/`
Windows	`%APPDATA%\Code\agentPlugins\github.com\{owner}\{repo}\`
Linux	`~/.config/Code/agentPlugins/github.com/{owner}/{repo}/`

Platform	Plugin Storage	Marketplace Discovery
Claude Code CLI	`~/.claude/plugins/`	`/plugin marketplace add`
Copilot CLI	`~/.copilot/state/installed-plugins/`	`/plugin marketplace add`
VS Code Chat	`agentPlugins/` (see above)	`chat.plugins.marketplaces` setting

Same Manifest, Three Platforms

All three platforms read the same .claude-plugin/marketplace.json and plugin.json files. No platform-specific changes needed.

Caveats

Known Limitations (Preview)

The agent plugin system is in Preview — expect rough edges.

Preview Limitations

No plugin icons — all plugins show a generic puzzle-piece icon. A logo field is coming soon (On Deck milestone). Our plugins already ship assets/logo.png and declare “logo” in plugin.json — will activate once VS Code ships support.
Marketplace must be user-level — chat.plugins.marketplaces only works in user settings, not workspace settings.
Silent failures — errors in marketplace.json or plugin.json cause the feed to silently not appear.
Aggressive caching — may need VS Code reload to pick up changes.

Troubleshooting

Plugins not showing? Check that chat.plugins.enabled is not set to false.
Stale content? Cmd+Shift+P → “Developer: Reload Window”.
Marketplace not appearing? Verify the repo URL is correct and the marketplace.json is valid JSON.
Skills missing? Check the plugin is enabled (not disabled) in Chat Customizations.