[FEATURE] Allow VS Code commands to accept a `prompt` parameter for extension-to-extension integration
Status Open
Maintainer reply None cached
Workaround ✓ Mentioned in thread ↓
Activity 3 comments · opened Apr 1, 2026
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
Currently, there's no reliable way to programmatically send a prompt to Claude Code from another extension.
What I tried:
vscode.commands.executeCommand('claude-vscode.sidebar.open')- opens the sidebar but accepts no prompt parametervscode://anthropic.claude-code/open?prompt=...- pre-fills the prompt but always opens a new tab (not the sidebar), and doesn't submit- Clipboard workaround - copies the prompt and tells the user to paste. Works, but poor UX
Proposed Solution
Add an optional prompt parameter to claude-vscode.sidebar.open (and other open commands):
// From another VS Code extension:
await vscode.commands.executeCommand('claude-vscode.sidebar.open', {
prompt: 'Implement the auth module...',
});
### Alternative Solutions
Alternative would be using an URI option and add the sidebar instead of new tab.
vscode://anthropic.claude-code/open?prompt=..&location=sidebar
### Priority
High - Significant impact on productivity
### Feature Category
Developer tools/SDK
### Use Case Example
I'm building a VS Code extension ([TaskPlanner](https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items?itemName=refined.taskplanner)) that generates task implementation prompts and dispatches them to Claude Code.
When a user clicks "Implement with AI" on a task, the extension composes a detailed
prompt including the task description, priority, tags, and workflow steps, then needs
to hand it off to Claude Code.
### Additional Context
Cursor added this capability in v2.3 (January 2026) after a
[community request](https://forum.cursor.com/t/a-command-for-passing-a-prompt-to-the-chat/138049).
VS Code's built-in Copilot Chat also supports it via
`workbench.action.chat.open` with a `prompt` argument.
3 Comments
This is a major pain point.
I need to programmatically dispatch prompts to Claude, but the URI approach forces a new panel while the sidebar command ignores the prompt argument. I am essentially stalled until the sidebar command supports prompt.
Is there a workaround until this is supported?
+1 on this. Adding a data point and a partial workaround for @swasti7's question, since the two paths behave differently at the last step.
Answering "is there a workaround until this is supported?": partially, yes — you can get as far as a pre-filled prompt without any user interaction, but not the submit.
What I traced in the bundled extension (2.1.267, so this is reverse-engineered from the minified bundle rather than documented behaviour):
claude-vscode.primaryEditor.open(session, prompt), which callscreatePanel(sessionId, prompt, ...).setInputText(prompt)and then immediately cleared. There is no submit/send call on that path — this is where auto-submit is missing, not in the URI layer.autoSubmitin the bundle belongs to voice mode (hold-to-talk) and is unrelated to the URI prompt.So the current ceiling is "new tab + pre-filled input, waiting for Enter".
One extra note that may help others scripting this: the
openExternalflag on thecodeCLI is gated behind a WSL-only check, so on plain Linux (I hit this over a VS Code remote tunnel)code --openExternalis unavailable. Writing to the IPC socket directly still works:That reaches the handler fine — it is genuinely just the submit that is missing.
My use case is the same shape as the original report: driving a second Claude Code session from a script, where requiring a manual Enter defeats the point. A
promptparameter on the commands (or an explicit opt-in submit flag on the URI) would close this.