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September 25, 2026 | interface craft / editors / shape

Stop rounding the whole garage.

VS Code's new curves started a small revolt. The useful question is not whether rounded corners are good. It is whether each corner tells you what kind of object you are looking at.

The take. Keep workspace shells sharp, give controls only enough radius to read as controls, and reserve pills for short tokens. Shape should separate jobs. A global radius token turns every surface into the same soft object.
Open the Corner Lathe

The complaint is funny. The signal is real.

A new VS Code issue says border radius has "infected" the text editor, file explorer, terminal, and chat. The issue was closed as a duplicate, and a maintainer pointed to workbench.experimental.modernUI as the current opt-out.[1] The language is theatrical. The underlying complaint is precise: several regions with different jobs now share one visual treatment.

VS Code 1.129 introduced the modern UI as an experimental preview. The same release describes a docked agent editor, compact diffs, persistent side-pane width, and restored editor state.[2] Those changes alter workflow. Corner shape does not. That is why decorative geometry needs restraint. It should clarify the new structure, not compete with it.

Round rectangles are not the villain.

Andy Hertzfeld's account of the original Macintosh describes Steve Jobs asking Bill Atkinson to add rounded rectangles to QuickDraw. Atkinson returned the next day with a fast implementation, and roundrects spread through the interface.[3] The story is a reminder that the primitive was once a technical achievement, not a default coat of paint.

A shape earns its place when it helps a person classify the object, find the action, or read the state.

Material Design's current shape guidance makes a similar distinction. It says shape is versatile rather than semantic, asks designers to use abstract shapes sparingly, and notes that sharp shapes can create useful tension.[4] In plain terms, a curve does not carry meaning on its own. The surrounding system gives it a job.

Use geometry as a parts catalog.

Start with the largest regions. An editor group, terminal, sidebar, and diff pane are workspace shells. Their edges explain where one work area stops and another starts. Square corners preserve that chassis.

Buttons, inputs, and toggles are controls. A small radius can make them distinct from the shell without turning them into bubbles. A full pill works for a short status token or one compact action. It becomes ambiguous when used on long labels, panels, cards, tabs, and containers at once.

Review the shape change like a behavior change.

  1. Inventory the roles: shell, control, and token.
  2. Capture before and after views at the same size and theme.
  3. Check active tabs, panel boundaries, focus rings, and dense layouts.
  4. Keep an opt-out while the treatment is experimental.

The Hacker News thread around the issue includes support, indifference, references to older roundrect history, and requests for screenshots.[5] That mix is useful. Taste starts the argument. A role inventory and matched screenshots make it reviewable.

Interactive makeover / physical shape control

Corner Lathe

Traditional purpose replaced: apply one radius token to a whole interface and argue about taste. Better version: choose the object's job, cut its radius on a native control, inspect the silhouette, and print a role-specific CSS contract.

Chuck the workpiece

Choose what the shape represents. Then set the radius. The role and measurement drive the readout together.

Interface object role
0 px
0 px / sharp32 px / pill-ready

Inspect the cut

Workspace shell
Lathe verdictRole is clear
Sharp shell. Boundary stays legible.

Large work regions do not need a soft silhouette to look interactive.

Print the shape contract

Copy the selected role, exact radius, review question, and CSS token. The contract records a design decision. It does not prove that users prefer it.

Review at the densest editor layout. A radius that looks quiet in a hero mockup can make nested work regions read as stacked cards.

Sources read, not vibes

Open the source log
  1. VS Code issue #338035. Complaint, duplicate status, version details, and the maintainer comment naming the experimental modern UI opt‑out.
  2. VS Code 1.129 release notes. Experimental modern UI preview and the surrounding agent-window layout changes.
  3. Andy Hertzfeld, "Round Rects Are Everywhere!". First-person history of the QuickDraw rounded-rectangle primitive.
  4. Material Design 3 shape principles. Guidance on sparing use, shape versatility, morphing, and sharp-versus-round tension.
  5. Hacker News discussion. Discovery and public reaction. Comments are opinion, not usability evidence.

Source boundary. Microsoft documents an experimental design and a public issue about it. Material publishes its own design guidance. The Macintosh story supplies history. None of these sources proves one universal radius. The role-based rules and Corner Lathe are Pimp My IDE's design method.