[FEATURE] VS Code extension: cap chat panel max-width for readability on wide displays
Resolved 💬 1 comment Opened May 30, 2026 by aaronsleeper Closed Jul 2, 2026
Problem
The Claude Code VS Code extension's chat/conversation pane renders text at the full width of its panel. On wide monitors (4K, ultrawide) — or even on a standard display when the extension panel is dragged wide — message lines stretch edge-to-edge and become hard to read. Reading-width UX research consistently lands around 50–75 characters per line; the current behavior blows past that.
Why this can't be worked around today
- No
claudeCode.chatMaxWidth/messageWidth/ similar setting exists in either VS Codesettings.jsonor~/.claude/settings.json. - The VS Code webview API sandboxes the extension's iframe, so Custom CSS / JS Loader extensions cannot reach into the chat panel to apply a
max-inline-sizeconstraint from the outside. - The only "workaround" is to manually narrow the panel by dragging the sidebar — fighting the layout instead of using it.
Request
Add a setting (e.g. claudeCode.chatMaxWidth) that constrains the message column's inline size. Suggested shape:
- Default: ~
50em/ ~800px (a reasonable reading width). - Accepts a CSS length (
em,ch,px,%) or the literalnoneto opt out and restore current full-width behavior. - Applied as
max-inline-sizeon the message column so it composes with VS Code's existing layout.
A simple toggle (narrow / wide / full) would also be a strong v1.
Prior issues
- #48171 — same request, auto-closed by the stale bot with "open a new issue if this is still relevant." Filing this per that suggestion.
- #57991 — open request for the same behavior on the Desktop app's Code tab; this is the VS Code extension sibling.
Environment
- Claude Code VS Code extension (current)
- macOS, wide display
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