VS Code extension: spinner glyph ignores reduced-motion settings

Status Open
Reported on v2.1.291
Maintainer reply None cached
Activity 0 comments · opened Oct 6, 2026

Environment: Claude Code VS Code extension 2.1.291 (linux-x64, VS Code Server on WSL2)

The "working" indicator in the VS Code panel (the glyph cycling ·✢*✶✻✽ next to "Honking..." etc.) animates every 120 ms, and there is no way to turn it off. It is distracting, and an accessibility problem for motion-sensitive users.

Tried:

  • "prefersReducedMotion": true in ~/.claude/settings.json: no effect in the panel (it only applies to the terminal CLI).
  • The webview has a prefers-reduced-motion CSS rule only for the side-question glyph (.pendingGlyph), not for the main spinner. The main spinner is driven by a JS setInterval(…, 120) with no reduced-motion check.

Expected: the panel spinner respects prefersReducedMotion, workbench.reduceMotion, and/or the OS prefers-reduced-motion media query, and shows a static glyph instead.

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