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Claude Code VS Code Extension Adds a Memory and Instructions Editor

Claude CodeView original changelog

Claude Code's VS Code extension added Memory and Instructions entries to its Customize menu in version 2.1.274, giving users a direct way to view and edit their session's memory and project instructions without leaving the editor. The Memory entry surfaces auto-memory toggles, saved memories, and memory folders, while the Instructions entry opens directly into editing CLAUDE.md files.

Key Takeaways

  • Two new Customize menu entries, Memory and Instructions, give VS Code users a direct way to inspect and edit a session's memory and CLAUDE.md files without the terminal.
  • The Memory entry surfaces auto-memory toggles, saved memories, and memory folders in a single view.
  • The Instructions entry opens straight into editing CLAUDE.md files, the project-level instructions Claude reads at the start of every session.
  • The addition continues a September pattern of VS Code configuration dialogs, following the Hooks dialog and Permission rules dialog added in version 2.1.269 on September 11, 2026.
  • It ships in Claude Code 2.1.274, released September 17, 2026.
  • The change reduces reliance on terminal-only slash commands for developers who work primarily inside the VS Code panel.

VS Code Extension Gets a Dedicated Memory and Instructions Editor

Claude Code's VS Code extension added Memory and Instructions entries to its Customize menu in version 2.1.274, giving users a direct way to view and edit their session's memory and project instructions without leaving the editor.

What each entry shows

The Memory entry surfaces the auto-memory toggles, a list of saved memories, and the memory folders a session draws from, all in one place. The Instructions entry opens directly into editing a project's CLAUDE.md files, the human-written instructions Claude reads automatically at the start of every session.

Why it matters

Until now, inspecting or editing what Claude remembered, or updating a CLAUDE.md file, meant either running a command in the terminal panel or opening the file manually in the editor. Folding both into the Customize menu puts them alongside the extension's other configuration surfaces, continuing a pattern of VS Code releases in September that have added dedicated dialogs for settings developers previously had to hand-edit as JSON or reach through slash commands — most directly the Hooks dialog and Permission rules dialog added in 2.1.269 on September 11, 2026.