3 VS Code windows open on every Claude Code launch since 2.1.69

Description

Since updating to Claude Code 2.1.69, three VS Code windows open sequentially every time Claude Code launches — even from a standalone terminal (not VS Code's integrated terminal).

Environment

• OS: Windows 11 Pro 10.0.26200
• Claude Code version: 2.1.69
• VS Code extension version: 2.1.69 (updated ~2026-03-04 20:37 CST)
• Shell: Git Bash

Reproduction steps

1. Open a standalone terminal (not VS Code)
2. Run claude
3. Three VS Code windows open one at a time during startup

What was tried

• Disabling MCP servers (mindmanager, powerbi-modeling-mcp) — no effect
• Disabling pyright-lsp plugin — no effect
• Launching from VS Code button vs standalone terminal — same behavior in both
• No --no-ide flag available to prevent auto-connection

Notes

• The --ide flag was added in this version: "Automatically connect to IDE on startup if exactly one valid IDE is available"
• This behavior started immediately after the 2.1.69 update with no config changes
• claudeCode.useTerminal is set to true in VS Code settings
• There is no way to disable this behavior (--ide is a boolean flag with no --no-ide counterpart)

🤖 Generated with Claude Code