microsoft / microsoft/vscode-remote-release

Modal reconnection dialogs steal focus and require specific click order on wake (Remote-SSH)

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Description

I am re-opening #8778.

In VS Code or Cursor, if I have windows open, connected via SSH to a remote computer, and my local computer wakes from sleep, the windows:

  • intrusively come to the foreground with the error message that they have not connected and I need to reload the window.
  • I have to click those dialogue boxes in an exact order, which can be difficult to figure out when I have multiple windows.

Steps to Reproduce:

  1. Open 3 or more VS Code/Cursor windows connected to a server via Remote-SSH.
  2. Hibernate the local computer overnight.
  3. Wake the computer up.

Actual Behavior:
The disconnected windows forcefully steal focus and push modal dialog boxes to the front ("Cannot reconnect. Please reload the window."). Because they are modal, they lock up the UI. If multiple windows are open, the dialogs must be dismissed in a strict, hidden chronological order, otherwise the UI remains blocked and unresponsive. The following GIF shows me choosing which VS Code window to refresh next, and then refreshing each of the four windows in turn.

Screencast

Expected Behavior:
The editor should attempt to reconnect silently in the background, or display a non-blocking notification toast instead of a modal dialog. If manual intervention is required, there should be a single, consolidated prompt to "Reload All Windows," rather than a cascade of blocking pop-ups.

Cursor Version: 2.6.21
VSCode Version: 1.105.1
Commit: fea2f546c979a0a4ad1deab23552a43568807590
Date: 2026-03-21T22:09:10.098Z
Build Type: Stable
Release Track: Default
Electron: 39.8.1
Chromium: 142.0.7444.265
Node.js: 22.22.1
V8: 14.2.231.22-electron.0
OS: Linux x64 6.17.0-19-generic

Local OS: Ubuntu 24.04.1 LTS
Remote OS: Ubuntu 25.04

Remote - SSH extension version on the remote environment: 1.0.46

Contributor guide

Open the contributing guide

First steps

  1. Read the whole issue, then the project's contributing guide.
  2. Comment on the issue to say you are picking it up — it saves two people doing the same work.
  3. Fork the repository and make your change on a branch.
  4. Open a pull request that references the issue number.

Research direction

Start by reproducing the wake-from-sleep scenario with three or more VS Code Remote-SSH windows and inspect how reconnect failures trigger the "Cannot reconnect. Please reload the window." dialogs. Done means the windows no longer steal focus or block one another, using silent reconnection, non-blocking notifications, or a consolidated reload action.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
vscode
Domain
developer-experience
Issue type
Bug
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Quiet
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
45/100

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