Code OSS Logs

Find and display logs from the most recent Code OSS or Agents app dev run.

Log Root Directories

If Code OSS was launched with --user-data-dir=<dir>, use <dir>/logs/ instead of the defaults above. Launch and debugging helpers often create temporary user data dirs under .build/; always prefer the exact user data dir from the launch command when it is known.

Each run creates a timestamped folder like 20260330T163430. The most recent folder sorted by modification time is usually the one the user cares about.

Procedure

1. Identify which app the user is asking about: Code OSS or Agents app. If unclear, check both.
2. Find the most recent log folder:

   ls -lt "$HOME/.vscode-oss-dev/logs" | head -5
   # or for a custom user data dir:
   ls -lt "<user-data-dir>/logs" | head -5
   

3. Navigate into the most recent folder and list contents.
4. Read the relevant log file(s) based on what the user is investigating. Use tail for recent entries or rg to filter.

Directory Layout

Each timestamped log folder has this structure:

<timestamp>/
├── main.log                    # Electron main process (app lifecycle, window management)
├── agenthost.log               # Agent host process (Copilot agent, model listing, agent sessions)
├── mcpGateway.log              # MCP gateway/server coordination
├── sharedprocess.log           # Shared process (extensions gallery, global services)
├── telemetry.log               # Telemetry events
├── terminal.log                # Terminal/pty activity
├── ptyhost.log                 # Pty host process
├── network-shared.log          # Shared network activity
├── editSessions.log            # Edit sessions / cloud changes
├── userDataSync.log            # Settings sync
├── remoteTunnelService.log     # Remote tunnel service
│
└── window1/                    # Per-window logs (window1, window2, etc.)
    ├── renderer.log            # Renderer process (workbench UI, services, startup)
    ├── network.log             # Per-window network activity
    ├── views.log               # View/panel activity
    ├── notebook.rendering.log  # Notebook rendering
    ├── customizationsDebug.log # Agent customizations debug info (Agents app)
    ├── mcpServer.*.log         # Per-MCP-server logs (one file per configured server)
    │
    ├── exthost/                # Extension host logs
    │   ├── exthost.log         # Extension host main log (activation, errors)
    │   ├── extHostTelemetry.log
    │   ├── <publisher.extension>/  # Per-extension log folders
    │   │   └── <extension>.log
    │   └── output_logging_<timestamp>/  # Extension output channels
    │
    └── output_<timestamp>/     # Output channel logs (workbench side)
        ├── tasks.log           # Tasks output
        ├── agentSessionsOutput.log  # Agent sessions output (Agents app)
        └── agenthost.<clientId>.log  # Agent host IPC traffic when tracing is enabled

Multiple output_ Folders

A new output_<timestamp>/ folder and a corresponding output_logging_<timestamp>/ inside exthost/ is created each time the window reloads within the same session. The session-level timestamped folder, such as 20260330T163430/, stays the same, but each reload gets fresh output channel directories. The most recent output_* folder by timestamp has the logs for the current or latest reload. Earlier folders contain logs from prior reloads in that session.

Key Files by Use Case

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