VS Code extension: clickable file links don't open files with square brackets in path (e.g. Next.js [locale] folders)

Status Open
Maintainer reply None cached
Activity 0 comments · opened Aug 4, 2026

Environment: Claude Code VS Code extension, macOS

Issue: Any clickable file link Claude outputs in chat fails to open when the file's path contains square brackets (e.g. a Next.js dynamic route folder like src/app/[locale]/...). Clicking does nothing — no navigation, no error.

Diagnostic finding: Even when the link is written with literal, unencoded brackets, copying the rendered link shows it as URL-encoded (src/app/%5Blocale%5D/...). The extension appears to auto-encode the brackets when rendering the link, and the resulting encoded path is what fails to resolve to the file.

Tried:

  • plain relative markdown link (unencoded)
  • URL-encoded brackets (%5B/%5D)
  • absolute path
  • CommonMark <...>-wrapped link destination

None of these opened the file.

Expected: the link opens the file in the editor, same as it does for paths without brackets.

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