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VS Code Header Simulation Accuracy

Status

Approved

Overview

Auto-detect and keep current the VS Code + Copilot Chat version strings used in every upstream request header, so traffic looks indistinguishable from a real VS Code editor session.

Motivation

copilot-api impersonates VS Code Copilot Chat toward GitHub's upstream. Hardcoded version strings become stale as VS Code releases new versions every month. Stale strings increase the distinguishability of copilot-api traffic from legitimate editor traffic. The fix: query live version sources at startup, cache them, and fall back to hardcoded values on failure — so headers always reflect the latest shipping release.

Requirements

  1. VS Code version auto-detect — On startup, query https://update.code.visualstudio.com/api/releases/stable (JSON array, first element is latest stable version). Use the result for editor-version: vscode/<version>.
  2. Copilot Chat extension version auto-detect — On startup, query the VS Code Marketplace API for GitHub.copilot-chat and extract the latest version. Use it for editor-plugin-version: copilot-chat/<version> and user-agent: GitHubCopilotChat/<version>.
  3. 24-hour TTL in-memory cache — Cache both versions for 24 h so repeated token refreshes don't re-query external APIs unnecessarily.
  4. Graceful fallback — If either fetch fails (network error, timeout, unexpected shape), log a warning and continue with the existing hardcoded fallback values. Never crash startup.
  5. Startup log — At consola.info level, print the resolved version strings (VSCode: X.Y.Z, Copilot Chat: A.B.C) so the user can verify what's being used.
  6. x-request-id — Confirm it is already generated per-request via crypto.randomUUID() (it is — no change needed).
  7. Header documentation — Add a comment block in src/lib/api-config.ts explaining each header's source and how to update it.

Acceptance Criteria

  • On a clean startup with network access, printed versions match the latest stable VS Code release visible at https://code.visualstudio.com/updates/.
  • On startup with network blocked, a warning is logged and the server still starts with fallback values.
  • No new CLI flags required — version detection is automatic.
  • All existing tests pass.

Technical Approach

VS Code version

GET https://update.code.visualstudio.com/api/releases/stable returns a JSON array of version strings. Take [0].

Copilot Chat version

VS Code Marketplace API:

GET https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/_apis/public/gallery/extensionquery
Content-Type: application/json
Accept: application/json;api-version=3.0-preview.1

Body: {
  "filters": [{ "criteria": [{ "filterType": 7, "value": "GitHub.copilot-chat" }] }],
  "flags": 529
}

Response path: results[0].extensions[0].versions[0].version

Caching

Simple module-level { version: string, fetchedAt: number } objects. If Date.now() - fetchedAt < 24 * 60 * 60 * 1000, return cached value.

File changes

  • src/services/get-vscode-version.ts — extend with VS Code stable API; keep AUR fallback as secondary fallback.
  • src/services/get-copilot-chat-version.ts — new file for Copilot Chat extension version.
  • src/lib/utils.ts — cacheVSCodeVersion() also calls cacheCopilotChatVersion().
  • src/lib/state.ts — add copilotChatVersion?: string.
  • src/lib/api-config.ts — use state.copilotChatVersion for editor-plugin-version and user-agent; add header documentation comment.

Testing Strategy

  • Unit test get-vscode-version.ts: mock fetch → returns parsed version; mock fail → returns fallback.
  • Unit test get-copilot-chat-version.ts: mock fetch → returns parsed version; mock fail → returns fallback.
  • Existing translation tests must continue to pass.

Out of Scope

  • OpenAI-Organization header (not confirmed in VS Code traffic).
  • X-Vscode-User-Agent-Library-Comment (not confirmed).
  • Persistent disk cache (in-memory TTL is sufficient for a single server process).
  • Auto-restart on version change.