output_dir ignored in VSCode

I can't get to save my output files in my folder of preference. Here's a MWE:

1. create a new file test.qmd in the folder Folder
2. add the following:

---
format:
  html:
    output-dir: "HTML files"
  pdf:
    output-dir: "pdf_files"
---
Hi there

Then, a file Folder/test.html is created (expected behaviour was to create Folder/HTML files/test.html)

No pdf file is created whatsoever.

A folder test_files is also created with the following:

I am using Quarto v. 1.5.57 and VSCode 1.96.4

https://github.com/quarto-dev/quarto/issues/375#issue-2129065114 here's a similar issue. Although not exactly the same one, could be related

How can I get quarto to save the output files to my subfolder of preference? Note that I want this behaviour to be document-specific and format-specific, so I don't think I can do this from my _quarto.yml project file...

Start by reproducing the issue with the mentioned test.qmd file in VSCode using Quarto 1.5.57, including both format-specific output-dir settings. Trace how VSCode handles those settings and compare the generated paths with the expected HTML and PDF locations; done means each format is written to its configured subfolder and no unintended test_files folder is created.