[FEATURE] VSCode chat panel file links should respect workbench.editorAssociations

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing requests and this feature hasn't been requested yet
• [x] This is a single feature request (not multiple features)

Problem Statement

File links in the Claude Code VSCode chat panel (e.g., [file.md](path/file.md)) always open in the built-in text editor, ignoring the user's workbench.editorAssociations configuration in settings.json.

The same .md file opened from the Explorer sidebar correctly opens in the user's configured custom editor (e.g., the Office Viewer markdown editor). Clicking the same file as a link in the chat panel forces the raw text editor instead.

This means any user relying on a custom editor for markdown (or other file types with registered custom editors) gets an inconsistent experience depending on how the file is opened.

Proposed Solution

Use vscode.commands.executeCommand('vscode.open', uri) instead of vscode.window.showTextDocument() when opening files from chat panel links. The vscode.open command respects workbench.editorAssociations and custom editor registrations, while showTextDocument bypasses them and always opens the built-in text editor.

This would make chat link behavior consistent with Explorer sidebar behavior, with no new settings required.

Alternative Solutions

Add an extension-specific setting (e.g., claudeCode.openFilesWithDefaultEditor: true) that controls whether chat links use vscode.open or showTextDocument

Pass an editorOverride option to showTextDocument that defers to the user's configured editor associations

Priority

Medium - Would be very helpful

Feature Category

Configuration and settings

Use Case Example

_No response_

Additional Context

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