Microsoft is introducing hidden APIs to VS Code only enabled for Copilot?

Huh, I assumed that MS Live Share and GH Copilot extensions were already using some secret APIs in the past, since I never saw any open source extension being able to do what they do. I guess I was wrong before, and this only starts being the case now?

Re: Microsoft is introducing hidden APIs to VS Code only enabled for Copilot?

#8

Post by jimbob45 » Mon, Oct 21, 2024, 7:28 PM UTC

de6u99er wrote: post #3

Lloks like Microsoft is going back to it's old ways. I am not surprised tbh.

What's the harm here if the APIs are temporary and they don't have a history of elongating the lives of temporary APIs like this? They've stated the purpose of these "proposed APIs" and we have no evidence from the last decade to believe they'd renege on their stated goals.

Re: Microsoft is introducing hidden APIs to VS Code only enabled for Copilot?

#9

Post by dartos » Mon, Oct 21, 2024, 7:28 PM UTC

de6u99er wrote: post #3

Lloks like Microsoft is going back to it's old ways. I am not surprised tbh.

Going back?

When did they stop?

Re: Microsoft is introducing hidden APIs to VS Code only enabled for Copilot?

#10

Post by rty32 » Mon, Oct 21, 2024, 7:29 PM UTC

Very interestingly, just yesterday I discovered that VSCode has a set of APIs for adding SSH tunneling, and under normal circumstances you must launch vscode with special flags to be able to use them. Somehow their built-in JavaScript debugging extension can use these APIs without any issues.

https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/blob/main/src/vscode-dts...

And you can hardly find any public information about these APIs. Well, unless someone asks -- As of 2 years ago, they didn't have any plans to "finalize" these APIs, i.e. make them public. You are advised to find other workarounds (which do work).

https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-discussions/discussions/...

This is much less "harmful" than Copilot though, I guess.