Chat Participant Patterns Skill

VS Code Chat API patterns.

⚠️ Staleness Warning

Chat APIs evolve with VS Code releases. Last validated: February 2026 (VS Code 1.108+)

Create Participant

// package.json contribution
"contributes": {
    "chatParticipants": [{
        "id": "my-ext.participant",
        "name": "myparticipant",
        "fullName": "My Participant",
        "description": "What can I help with?",
        "isSticky": true,
        "commands": [{ "name": "help", "description": "Get help" }]
    }]
}

// In activate()
const participant = vscode.chat.createChatParticipant('my-ext.participant', handler);
participant.iconPath = vscode.Uri.joinPath(context.extensionUri, 'icon.png');

Handler Signature

const handler: vscode.ChatRequestHandler = async (
    request: vscode.ChatRequest,
    context: vscode.ChatContext,
    stream: vscode.ChatResponseStream,
    token: vscode.CancellationToken
): Promise<IChatResult> => {
    // Handle request
};

Key Operations

Operation	Method
Stream text	`stream.markdown()`
Show progress	`stream.progress()`
Add button	`stream.button()`
File tree	`stream.filetree()`
Reference	`stream.reference()`
Inline anchor	`stream.anchor()`
Access history	`context.history`
Get references	`request.references`
Get model	`request.model`
Check command	`request.command`
Chat location	`request.location`

Response Types

// Markdown (supports CommonMark)
stream.markdown('# Title\n**bold** and _italic_');

// Code block with IntelliSense
stream.markdown('```typescript\nconst x = 1;\n```');

// Progress message
stream.progress('Processing...');

// Button (invokes VS Code command)
stream.button({ command: 'my.command', title: 'Run' });

// Command link in markdown
const md = new vscode.MarkdownString('[Run](command:my.command)');
md.isTrusted = { enabledCommands: ['my.command'] };
stream.markdown(md);

// File tree
stream.filetree([{ name: 'src', children: [{ name: 'app.ts' }] }], baseUri);

// Reference
stream.reference(vscode.Uri.file('/path/to/file.ts'));
stream.reference(new vscode.Location(uri, range));

LM Integration

const models = await vscode.lm.selectChatModels({ vendor: 'copilot' });
const response = await models[0].sendRequest(messages, {}, token);
for await (const chunk of response.text) {
    stream.markdown(chunk);
}

Tool Calling

// Using @vscode/chat-extension-utils library (recommended)
import * as chatUtils from '@vscode/chat-extension-utils';

const tools = vscode.lm.tools.filter(t => t.tags.includes('my-tag'));
const result = chatUtils.sendChatParticipantRequest(request, context, {
    prompt: 'System instructions here',
    responseStreamOptions: { stream, references: true, responseText: true },
    tools
}, token);
return await result.result;

Tool Registration

vscode.lm.registerTool('tool_name', {
    async invoke(options, token) {
        return new vscode.LanguageModelToolResult([
            new vscode.LanguageModelTextPart('result text')
        ]);
    }
});

Participant Detection (Auto-routing)

"chatParticipants": [{
    "id": "my-ext.participant",
    "disambiguation": [{
        "category": "my-domain",
        "description": "Questions about X domain",
        "examples": ["How do I do X?", "Explain Y concept"]
    }]
}]

Follow-up Provider

participant.followupProvider = {
    provideFollowups(result, context, token) {
        return [{ prompt: 'Tell me more', label: 'More details' }];
    }
};

Message History

// Get previous requests to this participant
const previousRequests = context.history.filter(
    h => h instanceof vscode.ChatRequestTurn
);

Best Practices

Do	Don't
Stream responses incrementally	Block until complete
Handle cancellation via token	Ignore cancellation token
Catch and handle errors	Let exceptions crash
Use progress for long operations	Leave user waiting silently
Limit to one participant per extension	Create multiple participants
Ask consent for costly operations	Auto-execute destructive actions

Synapses

See synapses.json for connections.