github / github/copilot-cli

Unable to Open CLI Chat from Copilot Session Pane (Right Side) Error: Failed to open chat session: Illegal argument: character must be non-negative

Open
#3,740 0 comments 0 reactions 0 assignees View on GitHub
area:sessions
Dominant language
Shell
Stars
11.2k
Forks
1.9k
Avg merge
14h 16m
Merged PRs (30d)
6

Description

### Describe the bug

I am unable to open a CLI chat from the Copilot session panel on the right side of VS Code.
Whenever I try, the following error is shown:

Failed to open chat session: Illegal argument: character must be non-negative
This blocks me from starting a CLI chat session from the Copilot UI.

### Affected version

GitHub Copilot CLI 1.0.61.

### Steps to reproduce the behavior

1. Open VS Code.
2. Open Copilot chat/session panel on the right side.
3. Attempt to start or open a CLI chat session.
4. Observe the error popup/message.

### Expected behavior

A new CLI chat session should open successfully.

### Additional context

The operation fails with:
Failed to open chat session: Illegal argument: character must be non-negative

similar to this one: https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/issues/319726

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

Assessment

This issue has not been assessed yet.

Get new issues in your inbox

A short digest of beginner-friendly GitHub issues.