Exploring VS Code's AI features alongside top models like Claude Code and Codex

VS Code’s new Agents view isn’t just another sidebar, and it’s not Copilot in a new costume. It’s a dedicated, agent-first AI workspace built right into your editor—one that upends old assumptions about what “AI for developers” should look like. Instead of yet another autocomplete or chat overlay, you get a full-blown command deck for giving the AI complex, project-wide tasks, tracking progress, and even spinning up multiple agents in parallel—all without leaving VS Code.

That alone sets Agents view apart from Copilot, Codex, and even next-gen experiments like Google Antigravity. It doesn’t just add AI help; it re-centers your workflow around it, allowing for real project manipulation, debugging, and automation on a new level. Here’s what’s genuinely different, how to use it today, what to watch for, and why it forces a re-think in day-to-day coding.

What is the VS Code Agents view and why does it matter?

The Agents view is a dedicated workspace inside VS Code designed for managing multiple AI coding agents. It’s not just another small chat panel or Copilot popup. Clicking the Agents icon in the top-right corner opens a full, agent-first workspace—where conversations, requests, and tasks take center stage, not the code buffer.

According to the review, the Agents view lets you:

• Select a workspace (folder, repo, or project)
• Describe high-level tasks (“build a CRUD form”, “fix TypeScript errors”, “add dark mode”)
• Hand off control to an agent that can:
  • Inspect your whole project
  • Generate or modify multiple files in one go
  • Run terminal commands inside VS Code
  • Test its work and interactively fix errors

It’s built to make AI the “doer,” not just an autocomplete sidekick. Compared to Copilot—which mostly fills in lines or chats about code fragments—Agents view lets an agent actually implement features, debug, and make structural changes with fewer manual steps.

I didn’t see usage stats in the review, but XDA’s assessment is clear: this is more capable than the piecemeal, context-limited Copilot sidebar. It is a separate, focused mode, not a UI overlay. For any developer who’s spent half their time piping output back and forth between “AI Chat” and the actual code, it’s a significant in terms of workflow integration.

How does VS Code Agents view compare to Codex, Claude Code, and Google Antigravity?

Codex and Claude Code are single-agent tools. You give them a prompt or a code snippet, they reply with help, and maybe generate new code, but they operate mostly in linear Q&A or completion cycles, and rarely take high-level, multi-step control.

VS Code’s Agents view breaks from this by supporting multiple agents in parallel—running different prompts or tasks together, each in its own conversational thread. The workspace is genuinely designed for agent-for-developer handoff, not just paste-buffer augmentation.

The reviewer notes that “I expected it to feel like another Copilot panel bolted onto VS Code. Instead, it changed the way I interacted with the editor.” That’s a strong indication that real workflow differences exist—this isn’t just branding or another extension.

Google Antigravity, referenced as a mental shift, brings a new mental model rather than a pure productivity tool. Antigravity is described as “uncomfortable brilliance,” less focused on practical recapitalization in existing workflows, more a reset in how you think about code and software development. It’s not trying to extend the familiar IDE—it’s uprooting the entire concept.

The practical upshot: Agents view is the only tool among these with real, multi-agent, project-wide manipulation inside VS Code. It’s focused on level-jumping productivity, not just augmenting an editor.

User impressions from the review are clear: it’s not for everyone, but for those who want the AI to do more than autocomplete, it’s “far more useful once I start using it as a proper development workspace.”

What can you do with VS Code Agents view today?

This isn’t vaporware, and it isn’t locked behind an invite. The Agents view is available in recent releases of VS Code—open your editor, look for the Agents icon in the top-right corner of the UI.

Actual usage—step by step:

1. Open Agents view

   • Click the Agents icon (top-right) in VS Code.

2. Select your workspace

   • Choose a folder, repo, or entire project. The agent works at this scope—it inspects and manipulates anything within.

3. Start an agent

   • Initiate a new agent session. Assign a natural language task, e.g.:

     Build a React login page with validation and tests.

   • Or:

     Refactor all legacy API calls in `src/` to use the new hook.

4. Let the agent work

   • The agent can:
     • Inspect your project structure, scan for relevant files
     • Create multiple files, update code, handle implementation
     • Run terminal commands (building, installing dependencies, running tests)
     • Catch and fix its own errors mid-run

5. Interact and correct

   • If the agent hits errors or asks for clarification, reply in the same window
   • Guide the process, approve or revert proposed changes

6. Run multiple agents

   • Start a second prompt or task in parallel; each agent’s conversation lives in its own thread.

Practical tasks I ran in the reviewer’s workflow:

• Fix TypeScript errors across multiple files (“fix all TS errors in the utils folder”)
• Build a CRUD form scaffold (“generate add/edit/delete record UI with state hooks”)
• Refactor repetitive code blocks with a single agent command
• Add comments/project documentation everywhere a linter flagged them

Tips for managing prompts and agents:

• Each agent runs in its own context—use one for a feature add, another for bugfixes or refactors
• Tasks can be broken up or chained (e.g., agent 1 builds UI, agent 2 writes tests)
• The review reports that debugging is especially smooth, since the agent sees test failures and can rerun/revise code without you manually copying logs

// Example: assigning a complex multi-step task
const task = `
  1. Migrate all fetch calls in /api to use async/await
  2. Update error handling to use custom Error class
  3. Generate tests for new error cases
`;
// Send as a single prompt — the agent works in order, updating files as it goes

This workflow turns a lot of “copy error → paste to AI → copy fix back” into a single, trackable conversation that spans the whole repo.

What challenges or limitations should developers know?

Agents view is a leap, but it’s not frictionless. The main adjustment is a mental one: handing over more control than the usual autocomplete or chat feels risky at first.

Known limitations (per the review):

• Agent-first workflow: It takes practice to break tasks down for agents instead of working line-by-line.
• Performance quirks: Handling large projects or many open agent threads can reveal slowness, stutter, or incomplete code actions.
• Integration surface: Some extensions or VS Code configurations may not play perfectly with agent-driven changes. Expect surprises if you have a non-standard setup.
• Versioning: The feature is available in recent releases—no explicit minimum version is given, but if you don’t see the icon, update VS Code to the latest channel.
• Debugging the agent itself: When the agent “gets stuck,” you may need to kill and relaunch it—this isn’t always as smooth as a file-by-file Copilot fix.

Future-facing, the review hints at continued improvements—better error reporting, richer integration with editing features, and more granular agent control.

Why is the Agents view a mental shift for developers accustomed to other AI tools?

The classic AI coding tool (Copilot, Codex, Claude Code) augments your cursor—it’s like a magic autocomplete or a smarter chat. You remain in total control, line by line; the AI follows your lead.

Agents view reverses that. You delegate responsibility: describe what you want, and the AI works in a new workspace, editing and running code, inspecting the project, and asking for clarifications as needed. You don’t poke at files; you manage the process. This requires a new trust model and a different planning approach.

Parth Shah’s take from the review: “it changed the way I interacted with the editor.” It’s a higher-level, more collaborative interface—one where you assign ownership to agents that understand context and progress independently.

Compare to Google Antigravity, which is called an “uncomfortable brilliance”—it’s not about productivity or a “better Copilot,” but a mental shift in how code is conceived and manipulated. Agents view is less radical, but it’s the biggest workflow reset in mainstream IDEs since Copilot.

Workflow implications:

• Think in terms of tasks, not just lines
• Handle multiple threads of work in parallel
• Debug at the “conversation” level (what the agent understood/fixed), not just in the code gutter

What this enables

With Agents view, the cost of splitting work across multiple threads collapses. An agent becomes a teammate that actually manipulates your project—inspecting tests, running builds, rewriting files, and giving you a single, ownable progress view.

For teams: you can imagine future workflows where agents handle the dull, repetitive tasks (bug triage, updating dependencies, mass refactors) while humans focus on architecture and novel code. It fits today as a solo developer’s “second brain,” but the paradigm is team-scalable—agent swarms are possible.

Closing

VS Code’s Agents view redefines what AI integration can be—the days of shoehorned autocomplete and chatbots are behind us. For developers ready to try this today, the agent-first workspace offers parallelized, disruptive power that’s both practical and (with some patience) transformative. The learning curve is real, but the upside—true project-wide automation and a shift in how we collaborate with code—makes it a must-try. If you’re still using Copilot alone, this is the next step. AI isn’t just fitting in beside your code anymore; it’s taking on entire threads of your development workflow. Get comfortable letting go—a little. The future of coding is happening in your editor, right now.