Clickable file links with spaces in path (%20-encoded) don't open in VSCode extension

Resolved 💬 2 comments Opened Jun 16, 2026 by k421s Closed Jun 19, 2026

What happens: In the VSCode extension chat pane, a markdown file link whose path contains spaces does not open when clicked. Links to paths with no spaces open fine.

Cause (observed): The space gets %20-encoded in the link target. The extension's link handler appears not to decode %20 back to a space before the filesystem lookup, so the resolved path doesn't exist and nothing opens. Writing the link with a literal space instead of %20 also fails.

Repro:

  1. Have a file at a path containing a space, e.g. courses/Some Folder/file.md
  2. Have Claude produce a markdown link to it: [file.md](courses/Some%20Folder/file.md)
  3. Click the link in the chat pane -> nothing opens
  4. Rename the folder to remove the space (courses/Some-Folder/) and link again -> opens correctly

Expected: %20 in a link target is decoded to a space before resolving, so links to spaced paths open like any other clickable file link.

Environment:

  • Claude Code VSCode extension
  • Claude Code version: 2.1.172
  • macOS (darwin 25.5.0)

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