AskUserQuestion widget renders only header then hangs in VS Code extension (macOS, called from Skill)

Bug

In the Claude Code VS Code extension chat panel, the native AskUserQuestion interactive widget intermittently fails to render. The message stream shows the tool header (a colored dot + "AskUserQuestion") and then nothing — no question card, no options. The session hangs indefinitely waiting for an answer the user cannot provide.

It happens most reliably when AskUserQuestion is invoked from inside a Skill (the skill declares interactive: true and lists AskUserQuestion in allowed-tools). Reproduced repeatedly with skills that open a decision brief as the first step.

This looks related to #29547 / #29773 (AUQ from skill/plugin context) and the macOS-specific #10542, but here the symptom is a pure render-and-hang (no auto-empty-answer).

Environment

• VS Code extension: 2.1.186 (chat panel; runs its own bundled resources/native-binary/claude, also 2.1.186 — verified via CLAUDE_CODE_EXECPATH)
• OS: macOS (darwin 25.5.0), Apple Silicon (arm64)
• Entrypoint: claude-vscode
• Not a version mismatch: the panel's UI and the binary it spawns are both 2.1.186.

Steps to reproduce

1. In the VS Code extension chat panel (macOS), invoke a Skill whose first step calls AskUserQuestion.
2. Observe: the widget shows the "AskUserQuestion" header with a dot, then never paints the question card.
3. The turn hangs; there is no way to answer, so the skill stays blocked.

Expected

The question card with selectable options renders so the user can answer.

Actual

Only the tool header renders; the interactive card never appears; the session hangs.

Workaround found

Developer: Reload Window clears the stuck UI state; re-running the skill usually renders the widget on the next attempt. So it appears to be an intermittent rendering-pipeline issue in the extension rather than a malformed payload.

Screenshot

The chat shows just a red dot and the bold text "AskUserQuestion" on an otherwise empty card, with no follow-up content.