[FEATURE] Notification system for VS Code extension — limit reset, task complete, session events

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

The Claude Code VS Code extension currently has no notification system of any kind. When the usage limit is hit, the extension goes silent — there is no alert, no sound, no VS Code notification, nothing to indicate the session has paused or when it will resume.

Current Behavior:

• When the rate limit is reached, the extension displays the reset time inside the chat panel only
• The user must manually check the panel to know the session has stopped
• When the limit resets, there is no signal of any kind — the user has no way to know Claude is available again without actively opening VS Code and checking
• There is no sound notification system at all
• There is no VS Code toast/banner notification for any session event
• The extension is completely silent across all states

Missing Notification Events:
The following events currently produce no notification:

1. Usage limit hit — no alert when the session pauses due to rate limiting
2. Limit reset — no notification when the limit resets and Claude is available again
3. Task complete — no signal when a long-running agentic task finishes
4. Session ended / requires attention — no alert when user input is needed to continue

Proposed Solution

A notification system for the VS Code extension that includes:

• VS Code native notifications (toast/banner) for limit hit, limit reset, task complete, and attention required events
• Sound notifications — optional custom sound alerts that users can configure per event type
• Settings to enable/disable each notification type individually
• Works on all platforms including Windows 11

Each notification type should be independently toggleable in VS Code settings, e.g.:

• claudeCode.notifications.limitHit: true/false
• claudeCode.notifications.limitReset: true/false
• claudeCode.notifications.taskComplete: true/false
• claudeCode.notifications.soundEnabled: true/false

Alternative Solutions

Currently there are no workarounds built into the extension. Users resort to manually checking the panel. Some use OS-level task schedulers to poll, but this is fragile and unsupported.

Other tools (GitHub Copilot, Cursor) surface VS Code notifications for key events — this is a standard UX pattern in VS Code extensions.

Priority

High - Significant impact on productivity

Feature Category

Configuration and settings

Use Case Example

Scenario: overnight agentic refactor

1. Developer starts a large multi-file refactor task in Claude Code at 10pm
2. Rate limit is hit at 10:47pm — Claude goes silent
3. Developer wakes up at 7am, opens VS Code, and discovers the task stopped 9 hours ago and has been waiting
4. With this feature: developer receives a VS Code notification + sound at 10:47pm, and another at 11:47pm when the limit resets
5. Developer can check in on their phone or secondary screen and knows exactly what's happening
6. This turns Claude Code into a true async tool rather than requiring manual babysitting

Additional Context

Environment:

• VS Code extension (not CLI)
• Windows 11
• Claude Pro / Max subscription

This feature would make Claude Code significantly more usable for real development workflows involving long-running agentic tasks. The current silent-failure mode when hitting rate limits is one of the most disruptive UX issues in the extension today.