On this page #
Today I stripped the built-in AI features out of VS Code.
I run Claude Code, Pi, omp, and OpenCode in the terminal. I open VS Code to read diffs and jump to definitions.
I left Cursor because its editor AI got in the way of my terminal tools. Recent VS Code updates ship that same clutter: Chat panels, title-bar buttons, inline ghost text, and right-click prompts.
The One-Line Fix #
Set chat.disableAIFeatures to true in your user settings to hide native AI menus and stop the bundled GitHub Copilot extensions.
- Open the Command Palette with
Cmd+Shift+Pon macOS orCtrl+Shift+Pon Windows and Linux. - Run Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON) .
- Add
"chat.disableAIFeatures": trueinside the root{}object:
{
"chat.disableAIFeatures": true
}
- Save the file. Run Developer: Reload Window from the Command Palette if any AI icons remain.
Or click the Chat icon in the title bar and pick Learn How to Hide AI Features to toggle the checkbox in the Settings UI.
Before and After #
| Surface | Default VS Code | With chat.disableAIFeatures: true |
|---|---|---|
| Title bar and sidebars | Copilot Chat icon and AI chat views | Hidden |
| Editor canvas | Inline ghost-text suggestions and inline chat prompts | Disabled |
| Copilot extensions | Running in the extension host | Disabled; no background processes run |
| Copilot network calls | Sends context to Copilot backend when signed in | Blocked; sends no data to Copilot services |
| Third-party AI extensions | Active if installed | Left alone; remove them in the Extensions view |
If you turn off inline completions by themselves, VS Code keeps the Chat sidebar and Copilot extension processes running. Flip chat.disableAIFeatures to true and you shut down the whole built-in AI stack at once.
User vs. Workspace Scope #
Configure chat.disableAIFeatures in your user profile or per repository:
| Scope | File Location | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| User | ~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/settings.json (macOS) |
Disable built-in AI across all projects |
| Workspace | .vscode/settings.json |
Disable built-in AI in one repository |
VS Code keeps this setting across app updates, so new releases will not turn Copilot Chat back on.
This setting targets VS Code’s built-in AI and GitHub Copilot. Disable or uninstall third-party AI extensions in the Extensions view (Cmd+Shift+X).
What I Learned #
- Set
"chat.disableAIFeatures": trueto hide the Chat UI and inline suggestions while disabling the bundled Copilot extensions. - You stop Copilot background processes and block requests to Copilot backend services when you enable the setting.
- VS Code preserves the setting when you update the editor.
- You must disable or uninstall third-party Marketplace AI extensions in the Extensions view (
Cmd+Shift+X).
References #
- VS Code FAQ: Can I disable AI functionality in VS Code?
- VS Code Docs: Remove AI features from VS Code
Running terminal coding agents alongside a stripped-down editor? Tell me how your setup looks on LinkedIn.