junjieli introduces the October update for the AI Toolkit in Visual Studio Code, focusing on GitHub Copilot Tools integration and enhanced workflows for building and evaluating AI agents.

AI Toolkit for VS Code October Update: GitHub Copilot Tools Integration

Author: junjieli
Release Date: October 22, 2025
Version: 0.24.0

Overview

This major milestone for the AI Toolkit for Visual Studio Code delivers integrated GitHub Copilot Tools and substantial user experience enhancements. Developers can now accelerate the creation and evaluation of AI-powered applications, leveraging focused VS Code extensions and Microsoft frameworks.

What’s New

🚀 GitHub Copilot Tools Integration

  • Direct Copilot integration: Use prompts within VS Code to generate AI agents or scaffold evaluation logic.
  • AI Agent Code Generation Tool: Step-by-step guidance and sample code for building agents using Microsoft Agent Framework for Copilot.
  • AI Agent Evaluation Planner Tool: Structured evaluation workflow (defining metrics, creating datasets, analyzing results), with:
    • Evaluation Agent Runner Tool: Runs AI agents at scale and collects evaluation data.
    • Evaluation Code Generation Tool: Scaffolds evaluation logic with Azure AI Foundry frameworks.
  • Accessible via:
    • Direct Copilot prompt commands.
    • AI Toolkit Tree View under ‘Build Agent with GitHub Copilot’.

✨ Additional Enhancements

Model Playground Improvements

  • Resizable layout divider for better workspace customization.

Model Catalog Updates

  • Unified local ONNX and Foundry Models for easier discovery and selection on macOS and Windows.
  • Simplified navigation to see all model options in one place.

Why It Matters

  • End-to-end AI workflow support: From agent creation to rigorous evaluation, all within VS Code.
  • Seamless productivity: Integration with Copilot keeps developers in their primary workspace, reducing context switching.
  • Tooling for best practices: Scaffolding and evaluation tools based on Microsoft frameworks help ensure robust, maintainable AI solutions.

Get Started

Looking Ahead

The GitHub Copilot Tools integration underpins a growing suite of AI development features headed for upcoming releases. Future updates will continue to enhance agent development workflows and AI capabilities in Visual Studio Code.

Happy coding from junjieli and the Microsoft Developer Community!

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