A scheduled coding task is useful only if its execution environment matches the work you expect it to do.
Microsoft released Visual Studio Code 1.145 on November 4. The update expands remote-agent previews and adds cron scheduling for local automations. Several highlighted agent capabilities remain previews, even though they arrive in a stable editor release.
Remote previews follow the agent host
The integrated browser in the Agents window can load pages through a remote agent host. This lets a developer preview an application running on that machine. The feature is a preview controlled by workbench.browser.enableRemoteProxy.
Remote sessions also gain interactive canvases behind chat.canvases.enabled. These features can reduce the distance between a remote agent’s work and the developer’s inspection, but the release notes still label availability and settings explicitly.
Cron belongs to local automations
Local automations can now use a five-field cron expression when a built-in schedule is too coarse. The editor validates the expression and explains its schedule. Users can also select a custom agent from the chosen workspace when creating or editing a local automation.
Microsoft explicitly excludes cloud automations from cron support. A team planning recurring work should record where the automation runs before treating the scheduling option as interchangeable across environments.
Another preview allows nested chats to use different agent harnesses within one session. It requires chat.agentHost.multipleChatProviders.enabled. Each chat retains its own model, agent, and permissions, so grouping chats does not make their permission settings identical.
Old prompt files need a compatibility review
Version 1.145 removes the Local harness tools #installExtension, #runCommand, and #newWorkspace, along with the /new workspace command. Microsoft tells users to remove obsolete references from custom agents and prompt files.
For extension recommendations, the agent now adds entries to .vscode/extensions.json for a person to review and install. This is a concrete migration task for repositories that keep reusable agent instructions under version control.
Our earlier VS Code agent workflow report covers an earlier release. Before enabling the new options, compare the installed version, feature flag, and execution environment with this release’s notes.
Abdessalam Alaoui
I'm Abdessalam Alaoui, founder of Musthave.AI. I write practical guides to AI models, tools, generative media, and ways real people make money with this stuff. No press-release fluff. 20+ years shipping digital products; you'll also find my work around HowTik, Yumasty, and IncomeHelpful.
