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Add noninteractive, isolated Python environment tooling for agents - #1900

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Stella Huang (StellaHuang95) merged 3 commits into
microsoft:mainfrom
StellaHuang95:noninteractive-agent-environments
Oct 7, 2026
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Add noninteractive, isolated Python environment tooling for agents#1900
Stella Huang (StellaHuang95) merged 3 commits into
microsoft:mainfrom
StellaHuang95:noninteractive-agent-environments

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@StellaHuang95 Stella Huang (StellaHuang95) commented Oct 6, 2026 •
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Add noninteractive, isolated Python environment tooling for agents

Summary

Add a private, versioned __pythonTools capability to the existing flat extension export so Python agent tools can configure environments, inspect interpreters/packages, and install packages without requiring extension-owned pickers or dialogs.

The companion Python-extension change consumes this capability. The public API contract is unchanged, and host tool approval remains in force.

Motivation

Agent requests currently reuse interactive environment workflows, which can pause for interpreter, manager, package, or environment-creation choices. A selected global interpreter can also become the package-installation target.

This change gives agents an explicit noninteractive path with isolation by default, actionable errors, and scoped results, without recording why an interpreter was selected.

Behavior

  • Automatic configuration reuses a usable isolated environment or creates one for the project. A selected System/Pyenv base creates a venv using that interpreter; Conda base creates a project Conda environment with the same Python major/minor version.
  • An explicit pythonPath still selects that exact existing interpreter. Package tools reject global/base environments even when selected explicitly.
  • Queries do not create environments or change selection. Package installation does not implicitly configure an environment.
  • Configuration and installation require an open, trusted, local workspace. Results identify the effective resource, environment, and execution information.
  • Root selections survive reload, including when python.defaultInterpreterPath is configured. Nested targets persist exact project entries without replacing root defaults.
  • Existing Poetry/Pipenv project caches and enabled PEP 723 scripts have noninteractive discovery/setup paths.
  • Errors and partial creation results are returned explicitly. Same-scope operations are serialized; cancellation and timeouts await owned-process cleanup and report uncertainty instead of falsely claiming that a process stopped.
  • Failed human venv initialization invalidates partial discovery and readiness state, so subsequent public lookups retry discovery instead of remaining on a stale global fallback. Private discovery remains independent of human onboarding.

Human-flow compatibility

Built-in managers opt in through internal symbol capabilities and explicit operation flags. Normal public selection, creation, package, and execution entry points retain their interactive behavior, including public quick-create's .venv-N suffixing.

This is not a claim that all shared code is untouched:

  • Venv collection events can arrive earlier relative to base-manager onboarding.
  • Public Conda command failures no longer generate the extra unhandled rejection caused by the old unused finally() promise.
  • Agent selections, settings, and package changes intentionally remain visible to subsequent human operations.

Validation

  • Full ESLint and TypeScript checks pass.
  • Windows unit suite after rebasing onto current upstream main: 2,752 passing, 7 pending. Six new failure-path assertions failed before the retry fix and now pass; successful initialization remains cached. The new upstream venv deletion, unresolved-selection recovery, refresh selection-race, uv bootstrap, and scoped Conda discovery tests also pass with the combined implementation.
  • Reviewer regression coverage verifies that private Conda execution preserves shell metacharacters as one argument with shell execution disabled, resolves Windows batch launchers to a real executable or fails actionably, and scopes both package queries and installation independently when two Poetry projects share one environment.
  • Linux private/public boundary and owned-process suites with the retry fix: 116 passing.
  • Real VS Code comparisons against the current base verified manual selection, package install/remove, Run Python File, debugging, unittest discovery/execution, switching back to global Python, and public quick-create.
  • Real-host agent verification covered fresh/global setup, selected-base preservation, reload, multi-root, nested targets, Conda, Poetry/Pipenv, PEP 723, cancellation, no-workspace behavior, and invalid input.
  • Critical flows were repeated against freshly built production VSIX contents. Installed files were compared with the packages rather than inferred from unchanged version numbers.
  • An additional real VS Code before/after retry check used the loaded extension's actual venv manager, native discovery, a real newly created venv, public selection and Run Python File. A one-shot post-discovery base failure was injected only in the isolated test host. Both direct initialization and public-get retries recovered without manual manager refresh after the fix; the pre-fix build required refresh.

Known findings before merge

  • Ordinary project .python-version / pyproject.toml interpreter constraints are not automatically resolved. Selected base interpreters and defaultInterpreterPath are honored; PEP 723 constraints are handled separately.
  • macOS/remote E2E, arbitrary third-party integrations, and real-chat model choices/approval combinations have not been exhaustively verified.

Companion change

Python consumer PR: microsoft/vscode-python#26208.

The consumer checks the private version/method shape and retains a compatibility route when the capability is unavailable.

@StellaHuang95 Stella Huang (StellaHuang95) mentioned this pull request Oct 6, 2026
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@StellaHuang95 Stella Huang (StellaHuang95) added the feature-request Request for new features or functionality label Oct 6, 2026
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Bill Schnurr (bschnurr) commented Oct 6, 2026 •
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🔒 Automated review in progress — Bill Schnurr (@bschnurr) is auto-reviewing this PR.

bschnurr
Bill Schnurr (bschnurr) reviewed Oct 6, 2026
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Comment thread src/managers/conda/condaUtils.ts Resolved
bschnurr
Bill Schnurr (bschnurr) reviewed Oct 6, 2026
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Comment thread src/internal/pythonTools.ts Resolved
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Result: 🔴 could-not-verify

Verification details

Verification: The relevant tests could not be fully run in the isolated environment; this review is not fully verified.

Summary: [unavailable] Container verification could not start and local execution was not authorized for this PR HEAD: C:\Program Files\RedHat\Podman\podman.EXE --connection pyrx-automation failed: stderr: Error: unable to start container "051c6d0c6a956b5517c772b42aad7b236d7a17dac3df0c55d2d5c2bc0452f266": crun: open `memory.max` for writing: No such file or directory: OCI runtime attempted to invoke a command that was not found

Test runs: none recorded.

@bschnurr Bill Schnurr (bschnurr) added the review-auto:changes-requested Automated review: posted blocking findings to address. label Oct 6, 2026
@StellaHuang95
Stella Huang (StellaHuang95) force-pushed the noninteractive-agent-environments branch from bb4e456 to b463643 Compare October 6, 2026 22:47
@StellaHuang95
Stella Huang (StellaHuang95) force-pushed the noninteractive-agent-environments branch from 0d4c8ca to 69d9624 Compare October 6, 2026 22:53
@StellaHuang95
Add isolated noninteractive environment workflows for Python tools
4ff5664 
Expose a private versioned tool API for configuration, environment queries
and package installation while preserving interactive public entry points.

- Use isolation by default without selection-origin tracking.
- Create project environments from selected base interpreters and protect
  global/base Python from tool-driven package installation.
- Preserve scoped selections across reload and support existing cached
  Poetry/Pipenv environments and first-use enabled PEP 723 scripts.
- Propagate cancellation, process-cleanup failures and actionable errors
  without interactive fallback.
- Add unit, compatibility and cross-platform regression coverage.

Co-authored-by: Copilot App <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
@StellaHuang95
Fix venv initialization retries after base setup failures
59bc86f 
Share full public initialization between direct calls and the fast path.
Invalidate the completed discovery snapshot if the later base preparation
fails, and clear failed direct initialization so the next lookup retries.
Resolve the captured deferred so existing waiters are released safely.

Keep successful initialization cached and private discovery independent
of human onboarding. Add regression coverage for base persistence,
discovery and global-selection failures, plus concurrent private reads.

Co-authored-by: Copilot App <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
@StellaHuang95
fix: harden noninteractive package operations
1f16146 
Run private Conda commands without a shell and resolve project-scoped package managers for shared Poetry environments.

Co-authored-by: Copilot App <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
@StellaHuang95
Stella Huang (StellaHuang95) force-pushed the noninteractive-agent-environments branch from 0801a6b to 1f16146 Compare October 6, 2026 23:05
@bschnurr

Bill Schnurr (bschnurr) commented Oct 6, 2026

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Result: 🔴 could-not-verify

Verification details

Verification: The relevant tests could not be fully run in the isolated environment; this review is not fully verified.

Summary: [unavailable] Container verification could not start and local execution was not authorized for this PR HEAD: C:\Program Files\RedHat\Podman\podman.EXE --connection pyrx-automation failed: stderr: Error: unable to start container "01a9ec8132191f11549aa0ae6eb6df8abe6a55e722642de5bc83b10a91860844": crun: open `memory.max` for writing: No such file or directory: OCI runtime attempted to invoke a command that was not found

Test runs: none recorded.

bschnurr
Bill Schnurr (bschnurr) approved these changes Oct 6, 2026
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Approved via Review Center.

@bschnurr Bill Schnurr (bschnurr) added review-auto:approved Automated review: no blocking findings (approval posted). and removed review-auto:changes-requested Automated review: posted blocking findings to address. labels Oct 6, 2026
@StellaHuang95
Stella Huang (StellaHuang95) merged commit d44725a into microsoft:main Oct 7, 2026
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Stella Huang (StellaHuang95) added a commit to microsoft/vscode-python that referenced this pull request Nov 13, 2026
@StellaHuang95
Use noninteractive environment tooling in Python agent flows (#26208)
5e8c030 
# Use noninteractive environment tooling in Python agent flows

## Summary

Route Python language-model environment tools through the compatible
Python Environments `__pythonTools` v1 capability. Agents can configure,
query, and install without extension-owned interpreter, folder, or
package pickers while retaining VS Code's host approval controls.

This is the consumer half of the paired Python Environments change.
Ordinary Python command-palette workflows are not redirected to the
private API.

## Changes

- Use the private capability for `configure_python_environment`,
`get_python_environment_details`, `get_python_executable_details`, and
`install_python_packages`.
- Validate the capability version and all three methods before dispatch.
Do not fall back after a private operation starts, returns an error, or
is cancelled.
- Describe isolation-by-default configuration and exact `pythonPath`
selection clearly. Propagate global/base installation protection from
the provider.
- Forward explicit resource targets and return the effective resource
and quoted shell command prefixes. An omitted resource retains the
first-workspace-folder default.
- Keep compatible configure/install requests on the private route
without a workspace so `NO_WORKSPACE` cannot be bypassed through global
package installation. Read-only no-workspace queries retain their
previous route.
- Redirect the hidden create/select LM tools to configuration when the
capability is available.
- Keep legacy integration for disabled Environments and a validated,
one-warning-per-session compatibility route for missing or incompatible
providers.
- Add optional resource targeting to the shared interpreter command for
agent compatibility calls. Existing no-argument human callers retain
their folder and interpreter pickers.

## Compatibility and human impact

Normal selection, creation, Run Python File, debugging, and testing
retain their existing entry points. Agent configuration intentionally
updates the project selection that those human operations subsequently
use.

Chat confirmation/result text changes, and old-provider agent calls can
see a new compatibility warning, stricter resource validation, and
updated explicit-selection persistence. Compatibility does not provide
the new private API's isolation and process-cleanup guarantees.

## Validation

- Full ESLint and one-shot TypeScript compilation pass after rebasing
onto current upstream `main`.
- Latest full Windows unit run: **5,425 passing, 34 pending, 8
failures**. All eight are the `Path`/`PATH` assertions previously
reproduced with identical failures on the pristine base; no
feature-specific test failed.
- Real VS Code before/after comparisons verified public selection,
package install/remove, Run Python File, debugging, unittest
discovery/execution, and switching back to global Python.
- Real agent/VSIX checks covered isolated setup, explicit selection,
global-install rejection, no-workspace behavior, reload, multi-root,
manager-specific flows, and cancellation.
- A baseline agent configuration was observed entering Python-version
and interpreter pickers. The compatible private route completed the
corresponding setup without those extension-owned choices.

## Known findings before merge

- In the old-provider compatibility picker, choosing its nested **Create
Environment** action does not forward the pinned folder into the
separate creation command. That subflow is not fully target-pinned.
- Returned private error DTOs are displayed as errors, but `BaseTool`
can emit `failed=false` because it distinguishes thrown errors rather
than returned error results.
- The companion provider has a reproduced package-resolution gap when
multiple tracked projects share one Poetry environment.
- Real-chat model decisions, all approval modes, macOS/remote E2E, and
third-party callers are not exhaustively verified.

## Companion change

Provider PR:
[microsoft/vscode-python-environments#1900](microsoft/vscode-python-environments#1900).

The new noninteractive behavior is used only when the provider exposes
the compatible capability; there is no hard dependency on a particular
extension version.

---------

Co-authored-by: Copilot App <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
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