Full-screen Copilot Chat mode — chat as a first-class layout, not an editor tab

[bopuppy101]

[Feature Request] Full-screen Copilot Chat mode — chat as a first-class layout, not an editor tab

Problem

There is no way to use VS Code with Copilot Chat as the primary (and only) UI surface. The current "chat.defaultMode": "editor" setting places chat as a tab in the editor area, but this creates serious layout problems:

1. When a file opens (e.g., via Copilot's file tools), it splits into a side-by-side pane next to the chat tab. The user now has a file pane taking up screen real estate.

2. Closing that file tab with Cmd+W leaves an empty, dead editor group — a blank pane with the VS Code logo that cannot be resized, dragged, or closed through normal UI interactions.

3. "View: Single Column Editor Layout" does nothing to reclaim the space.

4. "View: Close Editor Group" closes the chat instead of the empty pane, dumping the user to a blank welcome screen.

5. "View: Join All Groups" also kills the chat, leaving an unusable blank editor area.

6. There is no recovery path other than toggling the side panel chat back on with a keyboard shortcut.

Use Case

Not everyone uses VS Code as a code editor. Some users use Copilot purely as a directed chat-based coding assistant — working across 10-15 languages for provisioning apps and infrastructure. For this workflow:

• All inline suggestions/completions are disabled
• No files are being edited directly in VS Code
• The chat IS the entire interface
• File tabs are an unwanted side effect of Copilot's tool use, not something the user opened

Requested Feature

A dedicated full-screen chat layout mode where:

• Copilot Chat occupies the entire VS Code window (minus an optional slim Activity Bar)
• Files opened by Copilot's tools are handled internally without creating visible editor tabs/panes
• If file tabs must appear, closing them returns 100% of the space to the chat — no dead panes, no empty editor groups
• The chat cannot be accidentally closed by closing file tabs
• No editor welcome screen can appear while a chat session is active

This could be implemented as a new value for chat.defaultMode (e.g., "fullscreen") or as a dedicated layout option.

Environment

• OS: macOS
• VS Code Version: Latest stable (March 2026)
• Settings:
  • "chat.defaultMode": "editor"
  • "window.closeWhenEmpty": false
  • All inline completions disabled

Steps to Reproduce the Layout Bug

1. Set "chat.defaultMode": "editor"
2. Open a Copilot Chat session (it opens as an editor tab)
3. Have Copilot perform any action that opens a file — a split pane appears
4. Close the file tab (Cmd+W) — an empty, irremovable pane remains
5. Attempt any of: Single Column Layout, Close Editor Group, Join All Groups — none correctly reclaim the space for the chat

Summary

VS Code currently has no layout that treats Copilot Chat as a standalone, full-screen experience. The editor-tab approach is fundamentally broken for users who don't use VS Code as an editor. A first-class chat layout mode would make VS Code a viable pure-chat interface for Copilot.

[vs-code-engineering]

Thanks for creating this issue! It looks like you may be using an old version of VS Code; the latest stable release is 1.113.0. Please try upgrading to the latest version and checking whether this issue remains.

Happy Coding!

[vs-code-engineering]

This feature request is now a candidate for our backlog. The community has 60 days to upvote the issue. If it receives 20 upvotes we will move it to our backlog. If not, we will close it. To learn more about how we handle feature requests, please see our documentation.

Happy Coding!

[joshspicer]

Thanks for the feedback. We're experimenting with more agent-focused experiences like what you've described - please stay tuned!

As for the setting, I don't see the setting you're referring to. Perhaps we had removed it, or it is contributed from a different extension 🤔

[movy]

I was about to report the same sorta problem, so just adding extra datapoint here:

• When a chat is open in Editor area with side-by-side panes layout (chat on the left, smth else on the right), clicking on a changed file replaces chat editor pane (left) with the changed file overview (user's intent: open file changes in right pane instead)
• Even worse, if you focus on 2nd (right) pane trying to move the chat pane there via shortcuts, it cannot be done, as VSCode insists on always opening a chat in the left pane (user's intent: open chat in the focused pane, just like any other file would open there)
• Okay, now we move the pane left-to-right via dragging, click a file to review changes and diff again opens on top of the pane we just moved 🤦🏻 (user's intent same as in №1: open file in the opposite pane)

Been struggling with it for a while now, so glad it is finally being addressed. Thanks to all who's fixing this.

Screen.Recording.2026-04-18.at.12.05.04.mov