Amazon Q extension fails to activate on VS Code Remote SSH connection
- Dominant language
- TypeScript
- Stars
- 2k
- Forks
- 807
- Avg merge
- 10h 12m
- Merged PRs (30d)
- 7
Description
## Problem
Amazon Q extension fails to activate on VS Code Remote SSH connection with error: `PendingMigrationError: navigator is now a global in nodejs`. The Amazon Q panel remains dark/blank with no login options available, despite AWS Toolkit being successfully connected via IAM Identity Center. The `Amazon Q: About` command returns nothing, indicating the extension is not fully activated.
## Steps to reproduce the issue
1. Connect to remote server via SSH in VS Code (Remote - SSH extension)
2. Install AWS Toolkit and Amazon Q extensions on the remote server
3. Connect AWS Toolkit using IAM Identity Center (Workforce) authentication - connection succeeds
4. Open Amazon Q panel in the sidebar
5. Panel remains dark/blank with no UI elements
6. Run `Amazon Q: About` command - returns nothing
7. Check logs at `~/.vscode-server/data/logs/[date]/exthost*/remoteexthost.log`
8. See error: `PendingMigrationError: navigator is now a global in nodejs`
## Expected behavior
Amazon Q panel should display properly with authentication options or chat interface after AWS Toolkit is connected. The extension should activate without navigator API errors. The `Amazon Q: About` command should return version information.
- OS: Linux arm64 6.12.62+rpt-rpi-2712 (Raspberry Pi 5)
- Visual Studio Code extension host: 1.109.5
- AWS Toolkit: 3.96.0
- Amazon Q version: 1.110.0
- Node: 22.21.1
- Amazon Q: About command returns nothing (extension not fully activated)
## Additional context
- AWS Toolkit connects successfully and shows valid connection state
- Amazon Q logs show: `toolkit activated = false` and `Error: No connection found`
- The navigator error appears during extension activation at line: `.vscode-server/extensions/amazonwebservices.amazon-q-vscode-1.110.0/dist/src/extensionNode.js`
- Issue is specific to Remote SSH environment - local installation works fine
- Reinstalling the extension does not resolve the issue
Contributor guide
Research direction
Reproduce the failure through a VS Code Remote SSH connection and inspect the reported remoteexthost.log entry alongside .vscode-server/extensions/amazonwebservices.amazon-q-vscode-1.110.0/dist/src/extensionNode.js. Use the Amazon Q: About command and panel state to verify activation; done means the panel loads, authentication or chat is available, and the command returns version information without the navigator error.
Written by the indexing model from the issue text.
Assessment
- Tech stack
- node.js, typescript, vscode
- Domain
- developer-experience, tooling
- Issue type
- Bug
- Difficulty
- 4/5
- Estimated time
- 3-5 days
- Activity status
- Stale
- Clarity
- Mostly clear
- Newbie friendliness
- 42/100