microsoft / microsoft/vscode-python-environments
Ignoring change watch events misses fast re-creation events and leaves environment state stale
@edvilme is already working on this.
Since Jun 9, 2026.
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Description
## Environment data
- Python Environments extension version: 1.30.0
- Python extension (`ms-python.python`) version: 2026.4.0
- VS Code version (Help → About): 1.123.0
- OS and version: macOS 26.5.1 (should happen on Linux and Windows too)
- Python version: Any
- Environment manager in use: Not relevant (uv)
- Shell: Not relevant (bash)
- Remote / container scenario: none
- Workspace type: single folder
- Is this a regression?: Unknown
## Repro Steps
1. Open a workspace containing a Python environment.
2. Allow the Python Environments extension to discover the environment.
3. Replace a watched file, such as an activation script or package `METADATA`
file, using a rapid remove-and-create or atomic replacement operation.
4. Observe the Python Environments view - if the operation happened fast enough
to be coalesced into a UPDATED, it will not result in the extension picking
up the change.
A simple way to reproduce this is to use `uv sync --python ` on a reasonably fast machine.
## Expected behavior
The relevant environment or package state is invalidated and refreshed after
the watched file is replaced, regardless of whether VS Code reports the
operation to the extension as create/delete events or as a change event.
## Actual behavior
The extension does not refresh when VS Code or (in case of FS Events on MacOS,
the underlying filesystem API) coalesces the DELETED and ADDED into a UPDATED.
## Logs
Example (partially redacted and trimmed) of VS Code coalescing two parcel events:
```
...
2026-06-07 12:42:45.951 [trace] [File Watcher ('parcel')] [DELETED] /.../project/.venv/bin/activate
...
2026-06-07 12:42:46.015 [trace] [File Watcher ('parcel')] [ADDED] /.../project/.venv/bin/activate
...
2026-06-07 12:42:46.027 [trace] [File Watcher ('parcel')] >> normalized [CHANGED] /.../project/.venv/bin/activate
...
```
## Additional context
The affected watchers explicitly ignore change events and register handlers
only for creation and deletion:
https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-python-environments/blob/f71716d290d0d7a57293f71038cd65871fbcbf18/src/managers/builtin/main.ts#L62-L76
https://github.com/microsoft/vscode-python-environments/blob/f71716d290d0d7a57293f71038cd65871fbcbf18/src/managers/builtin/main.ts#L30-L38
The second ignore argument is `ignoreChangeEvents`, so `onDidChange` is never
delivered. There is also no `onDidChange` listener.
A rapid delete and recreate may be coalesced into a change event by various
parts of the VSCode file watching stack:
* Sometimes at the OS API, like it allegedly is for FSEvent on macOS
* parcel (underlying library used by VS Code)
https://github.com/parcel-bundler/watcher/blob/8926bb8b281733bbfcaf69bb4e62ab7a1431c42a/src/Event.hh#L20-L42
* VS Code itself
https://github.com/microsoft/vscode/blob/331849349a69f1ba6ccf42b1a60e9a8f1f699421/src/vs/platform/files/node/watcher/parcel/parcelWatcher.ts#L453-L462
Therefore, the assumption that the code makes, that changes are not relevant,
is unsound.
Contributor guide
First steps
- Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
- Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
- Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
- Open a pull request that references the issue number.
Assessment
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