VS Code
VS Code releases September 2026
VS Code releases September 2026
VS Code release
September 2026
Author: Laurel James
Welcome to the monthly recap of updates and releases for VS Code and InterSystems-related extensions that are relevant to IRIS developers.
If you want to deepen your knowledge of VS Code or need help migrating from Studio, check out the VS Code training courses from George James Software here.
AI and agents
September was another busy month for agents. Here are the features most likely to help with your IRIS work:
* Run agent sessions in Dev Containers (v1.138, v1.139) – Agents in the Agents window can now run inside a project’s Dev Container, using its tools and dependencies rather than those on your machine. This works for local folders (v1.138) and for projects on SSH, Tunnel and WSL hosts (v1.139). Docker is required, and you can turn it on with the chat.agentHost.devContainer.enabled setting.
If your IRIS project already has a Dev Container setup, an agent can now build and test in the same environment your team uses, without you duplicating the toolchain locally.
A daily summary of what has changed in your IRIS codebase is a good first automation to try.
* Agents across multiple folders (v1.136, v1.140 experimental) – Copilot and Claude agent sessions can now work across every folder in a multi-root workspace, and from v1.140 each chat in a session can use its own folder. Turn it on in your user settings.json, for example, with chat.agentHost.copilotAgent.multiRootEnabled.
If you keep related IRIS projects side by side in one workspace, an agent can now see the whole picture.
* MCP servers in portable configuration files (v1.140) – The MCP: Add Server flow can now save servers to portable configuration files, either a global file shared across compatible Copilot tools or a .mcp.json file at your workspace root.
Set up an IRIS-aware MCP server once and reuse it across Copilot tools. See our Marketplace pick below for one way to connect MCP to your InterSystems servers.
Start a long agent run, switch to something else and come back when it’s ready.
Editor experience
* Smart diff layout (v1.137) – Choose Inline, Side by Side or Automatic from More Actions (…) > Diff View, and your choice applies across all diff views. Changed binary files such as images now also appear in multi-file diffs.
Useful when reviewing changes to classes and routines before you commit them to source control. Automatic adapts the layout as you resize the editor.
* Case-sensitive selection matching (v1.140) – When you select text, VS Code highlights other matches in the file. The new editor.selectedTextMatchMode setting lets you make that matching caseSensitive or caseInsensitive, rather than following the Find widget.
In ObjectScript, local variable names are case-sensitive, whereas commands and functions are not. Setting this to
caseSensitivemeans selecting a variable only highlights true matches.
* Word wrap indicators and smarter brackets (v1.139) – An arrow at the wrap column shows which lines are wrapped. VS Code also no longer inserts a duplicate closing bracket when a matching one already exists.
Long lines in class definitions are easier to follow, and there are fewer stray braces to tidy up in ObjectScript.
* Compact layout (v1.136 experimental) – If you’re trying the Modern UI preview we covered in July, the new Compact layout density (window.density.layout) removes the spacing between panels to fit more on screen.
A good option on laptop screens.
* A heads up for Linux users (v1.139) – The DEB and RPM packages now use new desktop file names. If a pinned launcher stops working after updating, remove it and add VS Code again from your application menu. Running code from a terminal still works as before.
For administrators
If your organization is rolling out AI features to IRIS teams, these make it easier to set up sensible defaults and keep everyone on a supported version.
For extension builders
Beneficial when building VS Code extensions, which is something we specialize in at George James Software. If you’ve ever wanted an extension built for your own workflow, take a look here.
This release also includes contributions from our very own John Murray through pull requests that address open issues.
View the full release notes:
Version 1.136 – https://code.visualstudio.com/updates/v1_136
Version 1.137 – https://code.visualstudio.com/updates/v1_137
Version 1.138 – https://code.visualstudio.com/updates/v1_138
Version 1.139 – https://code.visualstudio.com/updates/v1_139
Version 1.140 – https://code.visualstudio.com/updates/v1_140
George James Software VS Code extensions
There were no updates to GJS extensions this month, here’s our Marketplace pick instead.
* gj :: servAI – This extension wraps MCP servers that need InterSystems credentials, getting them from the InterSystems Server Manager authentication provider once you’ve given permission. It currently provides the intersystemsObjectscriptRoutine MCP server, which gives Copilot real-time context about ObjectScript routines on your server. To get started, run MCP: List Servers from the Command Palette. You’ll need GitHub Copilot set up.
With MCP easier to configure this month, it’s a good time to try connecting Copilot to your own IRIS servers.
InterSystems VS Code extensions
* InterSystems ObjectScript (v3.8.5, v3.8.6) – Connection fixes, including restored support for unauthenticated connections and Podman support for docker-compose connections. Configuring server details in objectscript.conn is now deprecated in favour of InterSystems Server Manager.
If you still define connections in
objectscript.conn, now is a good time to move them to Server Manager.
* InterSystems Language Server (v2.8.5, v2.8.6) – Now connects to the correct namespace rather than always using the first one in a workspace, and activates faster when there are many servers.
* InterSystems Server Manager (v3.14.2) – Tries connecting without credentials before prompting you, when none are configured.