VS Code extension: add a setting to collapse/hide tool-use cards by default
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
What I'm trying to do
Reduce visual noise in the Claude Code chat panel. During normal work the assistant runs a lot of tool calls (Bash commands, file reads, greps), and each one renders as a tool-use card. On a long task the chat becomes mostly tool cards, and my actual messages from Claude get lost in the wall of them.
What I expected
Turning Verbose off would hide this. It doesn't — verbose only trims the output text inside a card; the cards themselves still render for every tool call. There's no setting, /config toggle, or keybinding in the VS Code extension to hide or auto-collapse them.
Proposed Solution
Add a setting to the VS Code extension (and its settings.json schema), e.g.:
claudeCode.collapseToolCardsByDefault (boolean) — render tool-use cards collapsed to a single summary line (e.g. "Bash — git log …" or "Called Bash 3×"), expandable on click.
Optionally claudeCode.hideToolCards (boolean) — hide tool cards entirely, showing only Claude's prose messages + a small "N tool calls" affordance to reveal them.
Ideally paired with a command/keybinding to toggle collapse/expand for the current transcript, matching the terminal CLI's Ctrl+O transcript-collapse behavior (which the extension currently has no equivalent for).
Why
The native VS Code panel is the better experience (clickable file:line links, rich rendering), so "switch to terminal mode for Ctrl+O" isn't a great workaround — it trades away the panel's core benefits just to quiet the cards. A collapse setting lets users keep the panel and keep their own messages readable.
Workaround today
Run Claude Code in VS Code's integrated terminal (/config → Use Terminal), where Ctrl+O collapses tool output — but this loses the native panel's clickable links and rendering.
Environment
Claude Code: VS Code extension (native panel, not terminal mode)
OS: Windows 11
Alternative Solutions
_No response_
Priority
Low - Nice to have
Feature Category
CLI commands and flags
Use Case Example
_No response_
Additional Context
_No response_
3 Comments
Good news — this shipped as Focus view in the VS Code extension (v2.1.221). It hides tool calls, tool results, and thinking behind expandable per-turn rows, leaving your prompts and Claude's responses.
Toggle it from the chat Settings section, with
Ctrl+Option+F(Mac) /Ctrl+Alt+F(Windows/Linux), or via Claude Code: Toggle Focus view in the Command Palette. It persists across sessions, and there's afocusViewsetting too.Release notes: https://github.com/anthropics/claude-code/blob/main/CHANGELOG.md · Docs: https://code.claude.com/docs/en/vs-code
🤖 Generated with Claude Code
+1 for this. Focus view is not a working alternative for me.
Focus view collapses everything per turn, and when the task updates, the earlier
conversation effectively disappears from view. I lose the history of Claude's
actual messages and decisions far too quickly, and have to scroll back or toggle
Focus view off to re-read them — at which point all the Bash/Read/Write cards
come back and the panel is full of noise again.
What I need is the opposite trade-off: keep the full conversation history
(Claude's text replies) always visible, and hide or collapse only the tool cards.
For example:
maybe with a small "N tool calls" link to reveal them
I don't need to see tool calls at all during normal work — only Claude's messages.
Also, please note: many similar requests for this feature have been closed as
duplicates, and the issues they point to were themselves closed as duplicates of
other issues. Because the votes and comments end up split across a chain of closed
issues, the number of upvotes on any single open issue doesn't reflect the real
demand for this feature. Please consider the combined interest across all of these
requests.