Visual Studio Code 1.143 (Insiders)

Microsoft's Visual Studio Code 1.143 Insiders release, last updated October 14, 2026, adds ${VAR} and ${VAR:-default} environment variable expansion for MCP server configuration values in workspace-root .mcp.json files. The build also introduces a Stop Shell action for detached background shells in Agent Host chats and lets extensions contribute Explorer title actions via view/title using view == workbench.explorer.fileView.

Visual Studio Code 1.143 Insiders Follow us on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/vs-code , X https://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=533687 , Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/vscode.dev , Instagram https://www.instagram.com/vscode.ig | Follow Insiders Changelog on X https://x.com/VSCodeChangelog or Bluesky https://bsky.app/profile/vscodechangelog.bsky.social Last updated: October 14, 2026 Welcome to the 1.143 Insiders release of Visual Studio Code. These release notes cover the Insiders build of VS Code and continue to evolve as new features are added. You can still track our progress in the Commit log https://github.com/Microsoft/vscode/commits/main and our list of Closed issues https://github.com/Microsoft/vscode/issues?q=is%3Aissue%20is%3Aclosed%20milestone%3A1.143.0 . Happy Coding October 14, 2026 - Workspace-root .mcp.json files support ${VAR} and ${VAR:-default} environment variable expansion for MCP server configuration values. 340348: Support Env Var expansion in VS Code mcp.json https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/issues/340348 October 13, 2026 - Add a Stop Shell action for detached background shells in Agent Host chats. 341329: Offer Stop for detached background shells in Agent Host chats https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/issues/341329 October 12, 2026 - Extensions can contribute Explorer title actions through view/title by using view == workbench.explorer.fileView . 108271: Add an explorer/title menu contribution point https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/issues/108271 We really appreciate people trying our new features as soon as they are ready, so check back here often and learn what's new.