wbstorm

VS Code 1.136 Agent Host and AHP 2026 Release Explained

On 2 September, VS Code 1.136 shipped Agent Host in a dedicated process, open AHP, and Agent Merge in preview. Multi-root agent work stays experimental.

On 2 September 2026, Visual Studio Code shipped 1.136. The stable notes put Agent Host, the open Agent Host Protocol (AHP), and preview Agent Merge in the same release.

The same agent session can span multiple windows. Multi-root agent work stays experimental. The rest of this page only checks those notes.

1.136 notesHost and AHPMerge preview

What the notes print

9/2
Stable date
1.136
Version
AHP
Open protocol
ItemOfficial wordingLimit
Agent HostDedicated process for harnesses; one session, many windowsStill under active development
AHPOpen protocol between host and clientsNot an ACP alias
Agent MergeAddress feedback, failed checks, conflicts; rerun workflowsPreview; requires a setting
Multi-rootCopilot and Claude sessions in the editor windowExperimental; hooks stay single-folder

How to read this stable

  1. 1

    Sessions leave the window

    The notes say you can join the same agent session from several VS Code windows. The host runs in its own process and is not tied to one editor window.

  2. 2

    AHP is the open bridge

    Traffic uses the Agent Host Protocol. The 26 August blog by Rob Lourens, Connor Peet, and Brigit Murtaugh calls the host the owner of sessions. A standalone instance can start with code agent host.

  3. 3

    Merge is preview, not default merge

    You enable chat.agentMerge.enabled and, for now, turn it on from the Agents window for the active session. The notes do not publish a success rate or a host-platform matrix.

  4. 4

    Multi-root stays experimental

    The capability is scoped to the editor window. Multiple hook folders prompt a primary-folder choice. Nothing is silently enabled everywhere.

What else this release marks

01

Chats hang under a session tree

The Agents window shows related chats as children of a parent session. Each row has a title, status, and pending approvals. You can open, rename, move, or delete from the tree.

02

Workspaces by project name

Agents can resolve a workspace by project name, not only by absolute path or URI. Name collisions list matches instead of picking silently. Remote workspace URIs are supported.

03

Enterprise dictation controls

Admins can require on-device transcription and disable language-model cleanup so dictation data is not sent to cloud transcription or a Copilot model.

Limits

The notes say the build rolls out gradually. They do not publish an Agent Merge miss rate or declare the AHP client ecosystem finished. For a short huddle without another account wall, wbstorm is a room ID; see privacy without an account and create or join a room.

# Source
# Visual Studio Code 1.136 release notes, 2026-09-02
# Blog: Introducing the Agent Host, 2026-08-26
Is Agent Merge on by default?

No. The notes mark it Preview. You enable chat.agentMerge.enabled and turn it on for the active session from the Agents window.

Is AHP the same as ACP?

The notes and earlier docs describe AHP as the protocol that syncs authoritative session state from a host to many clients. It is not written as an ACP alias.

Is this a product how-to?

No. It only checks the 2 September 1.136 notes. It is not a configuration runbook.

Create room