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    Disable Built-In AI Features in VS Code

    3 min read
    VS Code AI Agents Claude Code Developer Tools

    Today I stripped the built-in AI features out of VS Code.

    I run Claude Code, Pi, omp, and OpenCode in the terminal. I open VS Code to read diffs and jump to definitions.

    I left Cursor because its editor AI got in the way of my terminal tools. Recent VS Code updates ship that same clutter: Chat panels, title-bar buttons, inline ghost text, and right-click prompts.

    The One-Line Fix

    Set chat.disableAIFeatures to true in your user settings to hide native AI menus and stop the bundled GitHub Copilot extensions.

    1. Open the Command Palette with Cmd+Shift+P on macOS or Ctrl+Shift+P on Windows and Linux.
    2. Run Preferences: Open User Settings (JSON).
    3. Add "chat.disableAIFeatures": true inside the root {} object:
    {
  "chat.disableAIFeatures": true
}
    1. Save the file. Run Developer: Reload Window from the Command Palette if any AI icons remain.

    Or click the Chat icon in the title bar and pick Learn How to Hide AI Features to toggle the checkbox in the Settings UI.

    Before and After

    SurfaceDefault VS CodeWith chat.disableAIFeatures: true
    Title bar and sidebarsCopilot Chat icon and AI chat viewsHidden
    Editor canvasInline ghost-text suggestions and inline chat promptsDisabled
    Copilot extensionsRunning in the extension hostDisabled; no background processes run
    Copilot network callsSends context to Copilot backend when signed inBlocked; sends no data to Copilot services
    Third-party AI extensionsActive if installedLeft alone; remove them in the Extensions view

    If you turn off inline completions by themselves, VS Code keeps the Chat sidebar and Copilot extension processes running. Flip chat.disableAIFeatures to true and you shut down the whole built-in AI stack at once.

    User vs. Workspace Scope

    Configure chat.disableAIFeatures in your user profile or per repository:

    ScopeFile LocationUse Case
    User~/Library/Application Support/Code/User/settings.json (macOS)Disable built-in AI across all projects
    Workspace.vscode/settings.jsonDisable built-in AI in one repository

    VS Code keeps this setting across app updates, so new releases will not turn Copilot Chat back on.

    This setting targets VS Code’s built-in AI and GitHub Copilot. Disable or uninstall third-party AI extensions in the Extensions view (Cmd+Shift+X).

    What I Learned

    • Set "chat.disableAIFeatures": true to hide the Chat UI and inline suggestions while disabling the bundled Copilot extensions.
    • You stop Copilot background processes and block requests to Copilot backend services when you enable the setting.
    • VS Code preserves the setting when you update the editor.
    • You must disable or uninstall third-party Marketplace AI extensions in the Extensions view (Cmd+Shift+X).

    References

    Running terminal coding agents alongside a stripped-down editor? Tell me how your setup looks on LinkedIn.

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