[Breaking] VS Code 1.142 Brings Canvas: A Summary of “Interactive Canvases,” Where You Can Work Alongside an Agent on the Same Screen Next to Chat

What happened

On October 14, 2026, VS Code 1.142 was released with Canvases in preview. A canvas opens next to the chat. You and the agent can look at and change the same item, instead of only giving instructions by typing prompts. To try it, you turn on a setting and type /create-canvas in a new Copilot session. The author tested this and built a custom board for their own project.

Key facts

• Release: VS Code 1.142, released October 14, 2026
• Status: Preview, so details may change
• Setting to turn on: chat.canvases.enabled (it is off by default)
• Only works in new sessions after the setting is changed
• Works only in the desktop app, with the Copilot harness and local sessions

How Canvases work

Every canvas is provided by a canvas extension. This is a special add-on that defines what the screen looks like and what the agent can do. It is not the same as a normal VS Code Marketplace extension. You can make one with /create-canvas, or install a chat plugin that includes one. The agent reads and changes the shared state through actions such as get_board, add_card, and move_card.

Why it matters

Chat is good for saying what you want, but it is bad at keeping track of the current state. Plans and progress get buried in long chat logs. With Canvases, the work has a clear place to live. For example, a Kanban board lets you and the agent both add cards and move them. This two-way control is the key idea, because the agent is not just showing you results.

What to watch

• Whether the feature leaves preview and becomes stable
• Support for other agents such as Claude and Codex
• Support for other environments, such as WSL, which the author could not use with tabs
• Easier ways to find and install ready-made canvas extensions
• How the GitHub Copilot app and VS Code work together for canvases