Pimp My IDE / remote session dispatch
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October 4, 2026 | Agent hosts / workspaces / authority

A remote host is not a packed suitcase.

The session can move while the workspace, approvals, and return path stay behind. Name each one before another machine starts work.

Record the execution host, workspace, authority, and return channel as separate contracts. A placement decision cannot fill in the other three.

STEERThe client displays and controls the session.
RUNThe host owns the session and executes beside its workspace.
RETURNStatus and questions need a live route back to the coordinating client.

The window is a controller, not the engine.

Visual Studio Code 1.140 adds a Copilot harness that runs in a dedicated Agent Host process. The host owns agent sessions. Clients can display and control those sessions from more than one window.[1]

The Agent Host documentation draws the process boundary plainly. The host can run locally, in a Dev Container, or on a remote machine. File edits and commands run in the environment that contains the host. A browser or desktop window can disconnect while a turn continues.[2]

Moving the steering wheel does not move the garage.

Placement chooses a machine, not a workspace.

The experimental remote delegation tools can list connected hosts, inspect their operating systems and capacity, and create a remote session. Automatic placement matches the requested operating system, memory, CPU count, and optional model. It favors the matching host with the lightest session load.[1]

That machinery does not copy the originating workspace. A delegated session has no workspace unless the request names one. Repository work must use an existing trusted folder on the target host or a new worktree there.

A connected host still needs an authority record.

The remote session keeps normal approvals. This matters because host selection can feel like permission even when it is only placement. Write access, shell commands, network reach, credentials, and merge authority remain separate decisions.

The remote-session guide warns that an unauthenticated dev tunnel can let anyone who finds its URL reach the machine and start sessions. It calls out the added danger of auto-approval modes. Authentication and approval policy belong on the dispatch card, not in an assumed default.[3]

The return path is part of the job.

The experimental delegation flow uses one tool to inspect a remote session and another to send a follow-up or report back. The coordinating Agents window must stay open and connected for those messages to flow. Final answers are not forwarded by implication.[1]

Record who receives a question, what happens when the client is gone, and where the final patch or report lands. A remote process can keep running after the person who launched it has lost the conversation.

Tool changes need their own receipt.

The GitHub Copilot SDK exposes the Copilot CLI engine through JSON-RPC. Its README says first-party tools are exposed by default and applications can approve, deny, or customize tool calls through permission handlers.[4]

The October 2 preview release adds an experimental way to replace client-supplied tools and handlers during a live session. Built-in, MCP, and plugin tools are unaffected by that call. A tool update is therefore narrower than a complete authority reset. Record which tool set changed and which tools did not.

Dispatch four contracts.

Use one line each for host, workspace, authority, and return. Add the exact task, model, revision, stop route, and expected artifact. Leave unknown fields marked as unknown.

The relay below prepares that record. It does not connect a host, validate a folder, change permissions, or prove that a result returned. Those checks happen in the real session.

Interactive makeover / remote dispatch relay

Wire the return.

This replaces a vague local or remote toggle with a placement selector, four independent interlocks, a visible round trip, and a copyable dispatch card.

Dispatch controls

Plan builder

Select where the session should run. Then choose which contracts the dispatch card will require. Selected means included in the plan, not verified on a host.

Execution placement
Required contracts

Round-trip route

Structure only
ControllerNamed remote
PlacementHost record
SessionWorkspace
Contract selection2 of 4 selected
2 contracts still open

Host and workspace fields are included. Authority and return still need places on the card.

This component selects fields for a dispatch plan. It does not discover hosts, authenticate a tunnel, inspect a workspace, apply permissions, start a session, or receive a result.

Sources read

Source log and evidence boundary
  1. Visual Studio Code 1.140 release notes, read October 4, 2026. Microsoft documents the Copilot harness, dedicated Agent Host, experimental multi-folder sessions, and experimental remote delegation tools. The notes state that remote delegation does not copy the originating workspace and that final answers are not forwarded automatically.
  2. Visual Studio Code Agent Host architecture, read October 4, 2026. Microsoft defines the host as the session owner and the client as a viewer and controller. It documents local and remote placement, JSON-RPC communication, reconnect behavior, and client-contributed tools.
  3. Visual Studio Code remote agent session guide, read October 4, 2026. Microsoft documents SSH and dev-tunnel connections, workspace-less chats, remote folders, host placement, and the warning against anonymous tunnels.
  4. GitHub Copilot SDK repository and v1.0.17-preview.3 release, read October 4, 2026. GitHub documents the SDK-to-CLI JSON-RPC architecture, permission handlers, and the preview method for replacing client-supplied tools during a live session.

Evidence boundary. The first three sources describe Visual Studio Code and its Agent Host. The fourth describes the GitHub Copilot SDK and a prerelease feature. Pimp My IDE designed the four-contract dispatch card. We did not connect a remote Agent Host, run a delegated session, or test the preview tool-replacement method.