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

I use Claude Code for long agentic tasks that run while I step away from my computer. When the usage limit is hit, the extension stops and shows the reset time in the chat panel. That is the only signal. There is no toast, no sound, nothing outside the panel.

If you are not watching VS Code, you have no way to know the session stopped. You also have no way to know when it is ready again. You check manually, which defeats the purpose of running tasks in the background.

What happens right now

The extension shows the reset time inside the chat panel only. You have to open VS Code and look at the panel to find out the session stopped. When the limit resets, nothing happens. No notification. No sound. The same applies when a long task finishes, when Claude needs approval for a destructive operation, when Claude is blocked waiting for input, or when Claude hits an error.

The following events produce no notification at all:

• Usage limit hit
• Limit reset (Claude available again)
• Task complete
• Session needs attention or input
• Claude blocked waiting for approval (e.g. destructive operations like DELETE/UPDATE)
• Error requiring attention
• Terminal mode: no system or terminal notification either

What I am asking for

Add a VS Code notification (the toast that appears bottom-right) for all of those events.

Add optional sound alerts. Use a different sound per event type so you can tell apart "needs approval" from "task done" without looking at your screen.

Add settings to toggle each notification type individually:

• claudeCode.notifications.limitHit
• claudeCode.notifications.limitReset
• claudeCode.notifications.taskComplete
• claudeCode.notifications.sessionNeedsInput
• claudeCode.notifications.permissionRequest
• claudeCode.notifications.error
• claudeCode.notifications.soundEnabled

Notifications should be clickable and jump back to the Claude Code conversation. They should respect VS Code Do Not Disturb settings. Terminal mode should support system-level notifications as well.

Why not hooks or third-party tools

Other users have tried hooks with external scripts (BurntToast, PowerShell, say), third-party Telegram bridges, and separate VS Code extensions. These all work around the problem but they require platform-specific scripting, are not discoverable, and every user has to set them up from scratch. The VS Code extension hooks also do not register correctly for some users. This needs to be a first-class built-in setting.

Real example

I started a large refactor at 10pm. The usage limit hit at 10:47pm. I went to sleep. I woke up at 7am and found the task had been sitting there for over 9 hours. With a notification, I would have known at 10:47pm that it stopped, and again at 11:47pm when the limit reset and Claude was ready. That changes how you work with long tasks entirely.

GitHub Copilot fires VS Code notifications for session events. This is standard behavior for VS Code extensions. Claude Code produces nothing across all events and all states.

Related issues

This issue builds on and extends #26581 (system notifications when Claude needs attention) and #57230 (VSCode toast notifications). Those issues cover general attention and task-complete notifications. This issue adds: usage limit hit as a distinct event, limit reset notification, per-event sound alerts with different sounds per event type, and specific settings keys for each event. None of those are covered in the existing issues.

Environment

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