GitHub Copilot: VS Code Adds Side-by-Side Agent Chats and Quick Side-Conversations
GitHub CopilotGitHub Copilot's Agents window in VS Code can now arrange multiple chats side by side in horizontal or vertical groups, making it easier to compare a subagent's work against the main conversation or follow several sessions at once, with the layout restored automatically when a developer returns to the session. A new /btw command opens a lightweight side chat that shares the primary conversation's context and prompt cache, letting developers ask a tangential question without interrupting or cluttering the main agent turn. Both changes target developers running multiple parallel agent workflows inside a single VS Code window.
Key Takeaways
- VS Code's Agents window can now arrange chats in horizontal or vertical groups, so developers can watch a subagent's work beside the main conversation instead of switching tabs.
- The chat-group layout is restored automatically when a developer returns to a session or reloads the window.
- A new
/btwcommand spins up a side chat that inherits the primary conversation's context and prompt cache, for asking a quick tangential question without derailing the main agent turn. - Developers can drag a subagent chat into a group, or Alt+select a chat from the picker, to open it beside the source conversation.
- The features arrived incrementally across VS Code 1.132 through 1.134, alongside other Agent Host changes.
- The changes reflect GitHub's shift toward treating multiple simultaneous agent chats, not a single linear conversation, as the default way developers work in VS Code.
Sources & Mentions
3 external resources covering this update
Comparing Chats Side by Side
GitHub Copilot's Agents window now supports arranging related chats in horizontal or vertical groups instead of forcing developers to flip between separate tabs. A subagent's chat can be dragged directly into a group beside the main conversation, or a developer can Alt+select a chat from the picker to open it to the side. VS Code remembers the chat-group layout and restores it automatically when the session reopens or the window reloads.
Asking a Quick Question with /btw
Typing /btw in the chat input opens a side chat without interrupting whatever the main agent is doing. The side chat inherits the primary conversation's context and shares its prompt cache, so a developer can ask a related but tangential question, get an answer, and keep it out of the main transcript entirely, all while the primary agent turn keeps running.
Why It Matters
Both features assume developers are increasingly running more than one agent conversation at a time inside VS Code, whether that's a main session plus subagents or several independent tasks. Side-by-side groups make it possible to watch and compare that work visually rather than switching context repeatedly, while /btw gives a low-friction way to go off on a short tangent without polluting the record of what the main agent was actually asked to do.