VSCode extension 2.1.117: @ file picker returns 'No files found' when system rg is not installed (bundled rg not used, findFiles fallback also fails)

What's wrong

In the Claude Code VSCode extension, typing @ in the prompt shows the file picker but renders "No files found" for the entire workspace. Workspace trust is granted; workspace is a large active git repo; typing partial filenames returns nothing.

Root cause (from extension logs)

[error]   Ripgrep search failed A system error occurred (spawn rg ENOENT)
[warning] Ripgrep search failed, falling back to VSCode findFiles: Error: spawn rg ENOENT

Two stacked bugs:

1. rg is spawned by name with PATH resolution, not via require('@vscode/ripgrep').rgPath. VSCode bundles ripgrep at Contents/Resources/app/node_modules/@vscode/ripgrep/bin/rg — the extension should use that instead of relying on a system-wide install.
2. The vscode.findFiles fallback is silently broken — the log says it fell back, but the UI still shows "No files found". So even when rg fails, the fallback doesn't deliver results to the picker.

Workaround

\\\
brew install ripgrep
\\\

Puts \rg\ at \/opt/homebrew/bin/rg\ → on PATH → extension finds it. But most users won't have this installed, and VSCode-bundled rg is right there.

Versions

• Claude Code extension: \anthropic.claude-code-2.1.117-darwin-arm64\
• VSCode: \1.117.0\ (arm64)
• macOS: Darwin 24.6.0 (Apple Silicon)

Related

• #30602 (closed stale) — same symptom, old root cause (hardcoded CI path) no longer present; this is the evolved form of that bug.
• #45470 (closed) — prior \rg ENOENT\ regression in 2.1.96.
• #51921 (open) — Grep/Glob registry issue in same 2.1.117 build on Linux.

Expected

File picker should populate using either VSCode-bundled ripgrep (\@vscode/ripgrep\'s \rgPath\) or a working \vscode.findFiles\ fallback.