Auto Mode Model Switching and Usage Cost

Type: Performance Issue

When using Auto mode in long Copilot Chat sessions, the selected model may switch automatically after the conversation has been idle for some time.

After a model switch, the new model appears to reprocess or reconstruct a significant amount of the previous conversation and workspace context. This can result in unexpectedly high premium request or usage consumption, even when the user only asks a small follow-up question.

Requested improvements:

Show a clear notification before Auto mode switches to a different model.
Explain which model is being selected and whether it has a different usage cost.
Preserve or summarize the existing conversation context more efficiently when switching models.
Allow users to lock the currently selected model for an active conversation.
Offer a setting to disable automatic model switching in Auto mode.
Display a clearer usage estimate or warning when a model switch is expected to consume substantially more quota.
This would make Auto mode more predictable and help users avoid unexpected usage costs during long-running development sessions.

VS Code version: Code 1.137.0 (645f29cc3176500b4b5762ba887cf2a7f0ffdf2c, 2026-09-08T13:43:59-07:00)
OS version: Windows_NT x64 10.0.26200
Modes:

System Info

|Item|Value|
|---|---|
|CPUs|12th Gen Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-12700H (20 x 2688)|
|GPU Status|2d_canvas: enabled
GPU0: VENDOR= 0x10de, DEVICE=0x25e2 [NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Laptop GPU], DRIVER_VENDOR=NVIDIA, DRIVER_VERSION=32.0.16.1088 *ACTIVE*
GPU1: VENDOR= 0x1414, DEVICE=0x008c [Microsoft Basic Render Driver], DRIVER_VERSION=10.0.26100.9278
Machine model name:
Machine model version:
direct_rendering_display_compositor: disabled_off_ok
gpu_compositing: enabled
multiple_raster_threads: enabled_on
opengl: enabled_on
rasterization: enabled
raw_draw: disabled_off_ok
skia_graphite: disabled_off
trees_in_viz: disabled_off
video_decode: enabled
video_encode: enabled
webgl: enabled
webgpu: enabled
webnn: disabled_off|
|Load (avg)|undefined|
|Memory (System)|31.80GB (1.24GB free)|
|Process Argv|--crash-reporter-id 05f03822-1429-4aaf-823b-60915cf9903e|
|Screen Reader|no|
|VM|0%|

Process Info

```
CPU % Mem MB PID Process
0 161 26588 code
1 140 4100 shared-process
0 117 4560 file-watcher [1]
0 56 10620 utility-network-service
0 127 12132 pty-host
0 12 6108 "c:\Users\10040\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code\645f29cc31\resources\app\node_modules.asar.unpacked\node-pty\build\Release\conpty\OpenConsole.exe" --headless --inheritcursor --width 80 --height 30 --signal 0x5b4 --server 0x5b8
0 12 11412 "c:\Users\10040\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code\645f29cc31\resources\app\node_modules.asar.unpacked\node-pty\build\Release\conpty\OpenConsole.exe" --headless --inheritcursor --width 141 --height 11 --signal 0x56c --server 0x560
0 106 14092 "C:\Program Files\PowerShell\7\pwsh.exe" -noexit -command "try { . \"c:\Users\10040\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code\645f29cc31\resources\app\out\vs\workbench\contrib\terminal\common\scripts\shellIntegration.ps1\" } catch {}"
0 106 26868 "C:\Program Files\PowerShell\7\pwsh.exe" -noexit -command "try { . \"c:\Users\10040\AppData\Local\Programs\Microsoft VS Code\645f29cc31\resources\app\out\vs\workbench\contrib\terminal\common\scripts\shellIntegration.ps1\" } catch {}"
0 141 23912 agent-host
0 219 5952 electron-nodejs (index.js)
0 153 26720 gpu-process
0 427 27048 window [1] (listCheck.js - HiFramework-UI - Visual Studio Code)
0 547 28336 extension-host [1]
0 167 19292 electron-nodejs (tsserver.js)
0 187 22048 electron-nodejs (tsserver.js)
0 125 2000 electron-nodejs (typingsInstaller.js)
0 35 28632 crashpad-handler
```

Workspace Info

```
| Window (listCheck.js - HiFramework-UI - Visual Studio Code)
| Folder (HiFramework-UI): more than 20000 files
| File types: js(5701) png(4828) gif(2270) md(1356) scss(1165) svg(1158)
| css(1007) json(989) rb(924) ttf(146) other(456)
| Conf files: package.json(56) settings.json(2) launch.json(1);
```

Extensions (17)

Name|Identifier|Author|Version
---|---|---|---
SQL Formatter|adpyke.vscode-sql-formatter|adpyke|1.4.4
GitLens — Git supercharged|eamodio.gitlens|eamodio|19.1.0
EditorConfig|editorconfig.editorconfig|EditorConfig|0.18.2
Prettier - Code formatter|esbenp.prettier-vscode|esbenp|12.4.0
SVG|jock.svg|jock|1.5.4
Git Graph|mhutchie.git-graph|mhutchie|1.30.0
Chinese (Simplified) (简体中文) Language Pack for Visual Studio Code|ms-ceintl.vscode-language-pack-zh-hans|MS-CEINTL|1.131.2026090407
WSL|ms-vscode-remote.remote-wsl|ms-vscode-remote|0.104.3
Vetur|octref.vetur|octref|0.37.3
XML|redhat.vscode-xml|redhat|0.29.3
Redis for VS Code|redis.redis-for-vscode|Redis|1.4.0
Live Server|ritwickdey.liveserver|ritwickdey|5.7.10
Cline|saoudrizwan.claude-dev|saoudrizwan|4.1.17
Markdown 增强预览|shd101wyy.markdown-preview-enhanced|shd101wyy|0.8.35
iconfont-preview|stxr.iconfont-preview|stxr|0.0.5
Vue (Official)|vue.volar|Vue|3.3.7
sneak mark|wangzy.sneak-mark|wangzy|0.0.6

A/B Experiments

```
vsliv368cf:30146710
binariesv615:30325510
nativeloc1:31344060
dwcopilot:31170013
dwoutputs:31242946
copilot_t_ci:31333650
e5gg6876:31282496
pythonrdcb7:31342333
6518g693:31463988
aj953862:31281341
b6b4d950:31327385
envsactivate1:31551504
gh487529:31544284
cloudbuttont:31379625
3efgi100_wstrepl:31403338
ec5jj548:31422691
cp_cls_t_966_ss:31526232
4je02754:31466945
8hhj4413:31478653
ge8j1254_inline_auto_hint_haiku:31490510
cp_cls_c_1081:31454833
conptydll_true:31498968
e9c30283:31461165
46204921:31447328
capico_bxe_098a3278:31582665
ei9d7968:31496641
chat:31457767
8hig5102:31480529
89g7j272:31518289
i2gc6536:31499202
52612955:31516516
23c7c724:31520045
ddid_c:31478207
hmra_i5g22:31518061
l_j1ci3728:31580635
7df3h592:31512476
cp_cls_t_1082:31535311
logging_enabled_new:31498466
db5d2638:31499441
jb_cp_cls_t_632:31543129
56dj4588:31512888
32d76977:31512328
ha629193:31508444
a1ije391_t:31540920
jbcp_cls_pctr_t:31531130
cp_intellij_t_nes:31548657
d7b18187:31526828
ahp-both-windows:31556933
ihg5j128:31534457
9gg7f176:31542112
enable_editor_pane_layout:31569726
allow-none:31555437
36h42362:31564511
c7c27ce7:31554789
1h923230:31564177
treatment-23-1:31555779
unuse_dynamic_mcp:31555281
0d8dfbc3:31570291
switchtoauto:31559321
0c1h4866:31566224
vrbsty_fls:31561059
session-archive:31558132
5b8j3302:31564601
mangle-name-control:31572633
allow-signed-out:31581176
intellij_nes_preview_t:31580086
multiv2:31574985
2bfb8b39:31576696
unread:31581112
aw-autom-off:31582551
revealsession_treatment_7ed7e840:31582194
permission_prompt_treatment:1332566
ccr_pr_nudge_auto_review:1319472
vsc_wsm_t:1340632
jidc7660:1370295
1g5a5742:1379227
3aced641:1389836

```