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September 30, 2026 | VS Code 1.140 / agent sessions / worktrees

One session can carry several checkouts. Name every axle.

VS Code 1.140 adds experimental multi-folder agent sessions. A chat can work in its own folder or worktree, but the session label does not tell you which files, branch, tests, or pull request it owns.

Choose the relationship first. Choose the checkout second. Record the merge owner before two chats touch the same files.

The session is no longer one checkout.

VS Code 1.140, released September 30, introduces experimental multi-folder sessions. Each chat can use a different folder or worktree. Its terminal, tasks, changes, pull request, and Agent merge state follow that folder. Chats that use the same folder share that state.[1]

This changes the planning question. A session can group related work without forcing every chat into one checkout. The grouping is editorial. The folder or worktree is operational.

A shared plan does not require a shared working tree.

Conversation boundaries and file boundaries differ.

VS Code's session guide defines a session as the workspace, code changes, and one or more chats for a task. Each chat has its own history and context. In the established multi-chat flow, peer chats share the session workspace and worktree, so their changes appear together.[2]

The new experimental mode adds a second choice. Keep a shared folder for coordinated reading or edits that must land together. Request a separate worktree when two chats may edit independently. Use a different repository folder for cross-repository work. Start an independent session with no workspace when the task does not need source files.

A worktree isolates files, not the whole repository.

Git worktrees give one repository several working trees. Each linked worktree has its own HEAD and index. Most refs and the repository configuration remain shared by default.[3]

That is enough to keep two patches off the same checkout. It is not a sandbox. Hooks, refs, object storage, credentials, services, generated caches, and external resources may still overlap. Name those shared parts when the task can affect them.

The release makes routing promptable.

The release notes tell operators to make two decisions. First decide whether the work belongs to the current session. Then name a workspace only if the work needs repository files. Request a worktree only if the edits need isolation.[1]

Multi-folder sessions are experimental and disabled by default. The settings live in user settings.json. There is no picker for adding a folder to a peer chat in this release. The main chat creates the peer and receives the repository or worktree instruction.

Use four routing questions.

  1. Is this work part of the same deliverable?
  2. Does it need repository files?
  3. Can it safely share a checkout with the other chats?
  4. Who reviews and lands the combined result?
Interactive makeover / session axle differential

Split the plan from the checkout

Traditional purpose replaced: a flat "new chat" button. Better version: choose the work relationship, see where conversation and file state connect, then copy a routing brief with unresolved evidence left visible.

Choose the route

Pick the relationship that matches the work. Then select the fields the handoff must request.

Session and checkout route
Routing brief fields
Routing brief draft0 of 4 fields selected
Relationship and checkout display

Session axle differential

Conversation axlePeer chat stays inside the related session and gets its own conversation history.
Split
files
File-state axleA separate linked worktree owns the checkout, index, branch, terminal, and changes.
Route 2 / 4: isolated worktree

Keep the plan together and the edits apart.

Use this for related changes that should not share one working tree. Git refs and repository configuration may still be shared.

Selecting every field means the routing brief structure is ready. It does not prove that VS Code created the requested chat, that Git created a worktree, or that any patch passed review.

Sources read

Source log and evidence boundary
  1. Visual Studio Code 1.140 release notes, released and read September 30, 2026. This is the source for multi-folder sessions, per-chat folder state, example routing prompts, hidden experimental settings, and the lack of a folder picker for peer chats.
  2. Visual Studio Code documentation, "Manage agent sessions", read September 30, 2026. This defines sessions, peer chats, conversation history, shared workspace behavior, change aggregation, worktree session cleanup, and session archive behavior.
  3. Git documentation, "git-worktree", read from the official Git project source on September 30, 2026. This supports the distinction between per-worktree HEAD and index state and the refs and configuration shared across linked worktrees.
  4. Official VS Code 1.140.0 Linux x64 download route, checked September 30, 2026. It resolved with HTTP 200 to a 348,920,118-byte stable archive. The archive was not downloaded or installed.

Evidence boundary: Microsoft documents the VS Code feature and labels multi-folder sessions experimental. Git documents worktree state sharing. This pass verified the release page and download route, but did not install VS Code 1.140 or exercise the experimental session flow.