--- name: platform-awareness description: "VS Code Copilot platform changes affecting how tools are used: deferred-tool categories with example search queries (GitHub, Azure MCP, Fabric, Microsoft docs, browser, notebook, mermaid, Bicep, Figma, Microsoft Graph), the VS Code 1.117-1.128 platform-change table (models, BYOK, sandboxing, browser tools GA, Ollama, Claude BYOK), and skill-picker surfacing behavior (github.copilot.chat.skillTool.enabled). Use when working with deferred tools, MCP servers, GitHub APIs, notebooks, browser automation, when asking about VS Code Copilot Chat platform features, or when a tool_search call needs a category suggestion." lastReviewed: 2026-07-31 --- # Platform Awareness Owns the deferred-tool discipline, the VS Code Copilot platform-change tracking, and the SKILL.md description discipline that platform surfaces expose. This skill's description front-loads discovery vocabulary (GitHub, Azure, Fabric, Microsoft docs, browser, notebook, mermaid, Bicep, Figma, Microsoft Graph, MCP) so it fires reliably on any request that touches those surfaces. ## Deferred Tools — Search Before Calling Many tools are **deferred** (lazy-loaded) as of VS Code 1.118+. They appear in `availableDeferredTools` but cannot be called directly. Load via `tool_search` first with a natural-language capability description. ### Rules 1. **Search before calling.** Calling a deferred tool without loading via `tool_search` fails silently. 2. **Search once per tool.** After load, the tool stays available for the session. 3. **Use broad queries.** One broad search beats multiple narrow ones. 4. **No results means unavailable.** Don't retry with synonyms. ## External Ingest (VS Code 1.119+) In remote or virtual-filesystem workspaces (GitHub.dev, VS Code Remote, Codespaces), the editor provides codebase context automatically. `semantic_search` and file operations work transparently — no agent action needed. ## Common Deferred Tool Categories Reach for these search queries when a specific capability is needed: | Category | Example tools | Search query | | --- | --- | --- | | GitHub operations | issues, PRs, repos, code search, branches, tags | `github` | | Azure MCP | Storage, KeyVault, Cosmos, SQL, AKS, App Service (48+ services) | `azure` or the specific service name | | Microsoft Fabric | Eventstream, Kusto, OneLake, items | `fabric` or `onelake` | | Microsoft docs | docs search, code samples, full-page fetch | `microsoft docs` | | Browser automation | click, navigate, screenshot, fill form, evaluate JS | `browser` or `playwright` | | Notebook operations | run cell, edit notebook, read output | `notebook` | | Mermaid rendering | preview, validate diagrams | `mermaid` | | Bicep / ARM | best practices, schema, diagnostics, format | `bicep` | | Figma | design context, code connect, screenshots | `figma` | | Microsoft Graph | get, list, suggest queries | `microsoft graph` or `entra` | Do not hardcode tool names from `availableDeferredTools` without loading them via `tool_search`. The list is informational; actual availability requires the search call. If the topic is not obviously in the categories above, broaden the search query empirically — start with one word, iterate. ## VS Code 1.122–1.128 conveniences | Release | Capability | What it changes for me | | ------- | ------------------------------------------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | 1.122 | `/models` slash command | Opens the model picker from chat input. Useful when the user asks to switch models mid-task without leaving chat. | | 1.122 | BYOK air-gapped | Bring Your Own Key models work without GitHub authentication. Heirs in regulated/enterprise contexts can run Copilot Chat fully offline; the BYOK token counter (introduced 1.120) keeps working. | | 1.122 | Local agent host default-on (Insiders only) | Watchpoint: when this reaches Stable, deferred-tool resolution may shift. No action until first observed behavior change. | | 1.123 | Session sync + `/chronicle` | Chat sessions auto-sync to the GitHub account (gated by `chat.sessionSync.enabled`, org-managed). The `/chronicle` slash command queries that history. The brain's own `chronicle` skill is local-only; the platform feature is an adjacent capability, not a replacement. | | 1.123 | Sandbox network-retry | When a local-agent terminal command needs an unallowed domain, VS Code auto-retries inside the sandbox with unrestricted network before falling back to unsandboxed (`chat.agent.sandbox.retryWithAllowNetworkRequests`). Reduces spurious failures on `git fetch` / `npm install`. | | 1.124 | Autopilot enabled by default | Autopilot Preview is now on by default; `chat.permissions.default` controls the per-workspace level. ACT's heir-workspace baseline pins `default` as the deliberate opt-out — see `heir-workspace-settings-baseline.json`. | | 1.124 | Advanced Autopilot (opt-in) | `chat.autopilot.advanced.enabled` uses a utility model to judge when a task is truly done. Capped at 3 iterations. Off by default; opt-in only. | | 1.124 | Enterprise Copilot plugin policies | `chat.plugins.enabledPlugins` / `chat.plugins.extraMarketplaces` / `chat.plugins.strictMarketplaces` let org admins allowlist plugin IDs and marketplaces. Heirs in regulated orgs may see Mall installs silently blocked or marketplaces tagged as policy-managed; surface a clear message rather than retrying when an install refuses. | | 1.125 | `extensions.autoUpdate` simplified to `on` / `off` | Old values (`true` / `false` / `onlyEnabledExtensions` / `delayed`) migrate automatically. Edition `welcome-baseline.json` pins the canonical `on` shape from this release forward; pre-1.125 heirs that have the old value still work via migration. | | 1.125 | `extensions.autoUpdateDelay` configurable | The 2-hour supply-chain delay introduced in 1.123 is now a configurable hour count. Edition does not pin a value — heirs ride the platform default — but the setting exists if a heir or org wants tighter / looser update windows. | | 1.125 | Forwarded-port URL rewriting for agents | When an agent in a remote workspace requests a port that has been forwarded, VS Code rewrites the URL and notifies the agent of the change. Reduces spurious browser-tool failures in Codespaces / Remote-SSH heir setups. No action needed; surface in fetch/browser diagnostics if a heir reports a port mismatch. | | 1.125 | Native MDM delivery for managed Copilot settings | On Windows/macOS, org admins can deliver Copilot settings via MDM channels in addition to the account-based enterprise file. Settings delivered via MDM appear as policy-enforced and cannot be overridden locally — heirs in MDM-managed orgs may see baseline `welcome-baseline.json` keys ignored if the MDM policy disagrees. | | 1.126 | Edit mode deprecated → Agent mode | `chat.editMode.hidden` also removed. Reinforces welcome-baseline `chat.agent.enabled: true` pin — user policy and platform default converged. Heirs with agent mode policy-disabled still see legacy Edit mode. | | 1.127 | macOS/Linux terminal sandboxing | Agent-invoked terminal commands run with network blocked + FS restricted; agent only prompts on elevation. Substantially reduces approval prompts on non-Windows heirs. Toggle in Permissions dropdown. Windows unaffected — Backtick Hazard + Output Capture rules still apply. | | 1.127 | `/troubleshoot` on agent host sessions | Adjacent to the brain's `ACT: Diagnose Fetch` pattern — platform-side diagnostic for agent behavior questions (custom instructions ignored, slow responses); not a replacement for our fetch diagnostics. | | 1.127 | Browser tools GA (`workbench.browser.enableChatTools`) | Agent can open pages, screenshot, click through to validate its own work. Org-managed setting. Enterprise policies `BrowserChatTools` + `ChatAgentNetworkFilter` (agent domain allow/deny lists) may block Mall/GitHub fetches for regulated heirs — surface a clear message rather than retrying when a fetch refuses. | | 1.127 | File-based managed Copilot settings | Extends 1.125 MDM channel: `managed-settings.json` at `%ProgramFiles%\GitHubCopilot\` (Win) / `/Library/Application Support/GitHubCopilot/` (mac) / `/etc/github-copilot/` (Linux). Same policy-lockout semantics as the MDM row — baseline keys may be ignored in policy-managed environments. | | 1.127 | Built-in Ollama provider deprecated | Official Ollama VS Code extension replaces it. Heirs using BYOK Ollama should install the extension and remove the built-in provider. No brain action; documents why `welcome-baseline.json` doesn't pin an Ollama provider. | | 1.128 | BYOK Claude via own Anthropic key | Heirs can run the Claude agent through their own Anthropic API credentials instead of consuming GitHub Copilot quota. Relevant to the Model Compatibility credit-economy discussion in Edition README. No baseline setting; user-opt-in via Claude harness auth. | | 1.128 | Custom endpoint model options for BYOK | Enables BYOK against strict-schema providers (Moonshot, Kimi, etc.) that reject non-standard params. `temperature` and provider-specific options now configurable. Unblocks heirs who reported provider-rejection errors before this. | | 1.128 | Claude agent → integrated browser DOM/tools | Feature parity with the Copilot agent's browser tools GA (1.127). Same `BrowserChatTools` + `ChatAgentNetworkFilter` enterprise policies apply. | ## Skill Picker — Never Strip the Description The SKILL.md `description` field has three consumers and the slash-picker tooltip is the least important of them: 1. **Agent skill discovery (primary)** — every session loads SKILL.md descriptions into the `` block; this is how the parent agent decides whether to invoke the skill 2. **Brain QA enforcement** — where a brain-qa script exists (Alex_ACT_Steward ships one as `scripts/brain-qa.cjs`), it hard-fails on missing/empty description 3. **Chat picker tooltip** — the surface visible to humans **Never strip the description to declutter the picker.** If picker noise is the problem, the user-level `github.copilot.chat.skillTool.enabled = false` setting is the lever. ## Related - [browser-tools skill](../browser-tools/SKILL.md) — Playwright / browser automation specifics (uses the deferred-tool discipline this skill owns) - [mcp-builder skill](../mcp-builder/SKILL.md) — authoring new MCP servers rather than just consuming them - `skill-review / skill-creator` — the frontmatter description discipline this skill guards against being stripped ## Would Revise If Revise if the categories table goes stale (VS Code adds new deferred tool families not listed), if the search-query patterns produce zero results for tools that `availableDeferredTools` lists as present, if the platform-changes table drifts more than 2 VS Code releases behind current, or if VS Code renames `github.copilot.chat.skillTool.enabled`. **Skill picker section falsifier**: revise by 2026-08-24 (90 days) or sooner if any of the following fires: (a) VS Code renames or removes `github.copilot.chat.skillTool.enabled`; (b) setting the flag to `false` does not reduce skill-name entries in the slash picker; (c) the brain restructures SKILL.md frontmatter such that `description` ceases to be the agent-discovery signal. First observed contradiction wins.