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Support reasoning effort in custom agent files (#329263)
* Add reasoning effort support for custom agents * Register reasoning effort in agent language service * Fix custom agent reasoning effort typing Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com> * update --------- Co-authored-by: Martin Aeschlimann <martinae@microsoft.com> Co-authored-by: Copilot <223556219+Copilot@users.noreply.github.com>
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‎extensions/copilot/assets/prompts/skills/agent-customization/references/agents.md‎

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@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@ description: "<required>" # For agent picker and subagent discovery
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name: "Agent Name" # Optional, defaults to filename
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tools: [search, web] # Optional: aliases, MCP (<server>/*), extension tools
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model: "Claude Sonnet 4" # Optional, uses picker default; supports array for fallback
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reasoning-effort: "high" # Optional: low, medium, high, xhigh, or max
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argument-hint: "Task..." # Optional, input guidance
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agents: [agent1, agent2] # Optional, restrict allowed subagents by name (omit = all, [] = none)
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user-invocable: true # Optional, show in agent picker (default: true)
@@ -45,6 +46,16 @@ hooks: # Optional, inline hooks for this agent's lifecycle
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model: ['Claude Sonnet 4.5 (copilot)', 'GPT-5 (copilot)'] # First available model is used
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```
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### Reasoning Effort
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Use `reasoning-effort` to set the reasoning level for the custom agent's model:
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```yaml
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reasoning-effort: high # low, medium, high, xhigh, or max
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```
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The selected model must support the configured level. If omitted, the runtime resolves the effort from the model configuration and, when applicable, the parent agent.
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## Tools
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Sources: built-in aliases, specific tools, MCP servers (`<server>/*`), extension tools.

‎src/vs/platform/agentHost/node/copilot/copilotPluginConverters.ts‎

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@@ -114,6 +114,13 @@ function toStringEnv(env: Record<string, string | number | null>): Record<string
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// Custom agents
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// ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
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const customAgentReasoningEfforts = ['low', 'medium', 'high', 'xhigh', 'max'] as const satisfies readonly NonNullable<CustomAgentConfig['reasoningEffort']>[];
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type CustomAgentReasoningEffort = (typeof customAgentReasoningEfforts)[number];
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function isCustomAgentReasoningEffort(value: string | undefined): value is CustomAgentReasoningEffort {
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return customAgentReasoningEfforts.some(reasoningEffort => reasoningEffort === value);
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}
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117124
/**
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* Converts parsed plugin agents into the SDK's `customAgents` config.
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*
@@ -122,6 +129,7 @@ function toStringEnv(env: Record<string, string | number | null>): Record<string
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* - `description` is forwarded verbatim.
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* - `tools` is forwarded as the SDK's allow-list; an empty / missing array
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* becomes `null` so the SDK grants the agent access to all tools.
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* - `reasoning-effort` is forwarded when it is a supported runtime value.
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* - `prompt` is the markdown body that follows the frontmatter (or the
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* full file content when there is no frontmatter).
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*/
@@ -146,6 +154,7 @@ export async function toSdkCustomAgents(agents: readonly INamedPluginResource[],
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const description = md.getStringValue('description');
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const tools = md.getStringArrayValue('tools');
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const skills = md.getStringArrayValue('skills');
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const reasoningEffort = md.getStringValue('reasoning-effort');
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let infer = md.getBooleanValue('infer');
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const disableModelInvocation = md.getBooleanValue('disable-model-invocation');
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if (infer === undefined && disableModelInvocation === true) {
@@ -161,6 +170,7 @@ export async function toSdkCustomAgents(agents: readonly INamedPluginResource[],
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name,
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...(description ? { description } : {}),
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...(model ? { model } : {}),
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...(isCustomAgentReasoningEffort(reasoningEffort) ? { reasoningEffort } : {}),
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tools: tools && tools.length > 0 ? tools : null,
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...(skills !== undefined ? { skills } : {}),
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...(infer !== undefined ? { infer } : {}),

‎src/vs/platform/agentHost/test/node/copilotPluginConverters.test.ts‎

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@@ -250,6 +250,59 @@ suite('copilotPluginConverters', () => {
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}]);
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});
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test('parses supported reasoning-effort values from frontmatter', async () => {
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const reasoningEfforts = ['low', 'medium', 'high', 'xhigh', 'max'] as const;
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const agents: INamedPluginResource[] = [];
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for (const reasoningEffort of reasoningEfforts) {
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const agentUri = URI.from({ scheme: Schemas.inMemory, path: `/agents/${reasoningEffort}.md` });
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await fileService.writeFile(agentUri, VSBuffer.fromString([
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'---',
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`name: ${reasoningEffort}`,
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`reasoning-effort: ${reasoningEffort}`,
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'---',
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'Body.',
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].join('\n')));
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agents.push({ uri: agentUri, name: reasoningEffort });
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}
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const result = await toSdkCustomAgents(agents, fileService);
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assert.deepStrictEqual(result, reasoningEfforts.map(reasoningEffort => ({
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name: reasoningEffort,
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reasoningEffort,
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tools: null,
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prompt: 'Body.',
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})));
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});
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test('omits missing or unsupported reasoning-effort values', async () => {
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const missingUri = URI.from({ scheme: Schemas.inMemory, path: '/agents/missing-effort.md' });
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const unsupportedUri = URI.from({ scheme: Schemas.inMemory, path: '/agents/unsupported-effort.md' });
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await fileService.writeFile(missingUri, VSBuffer.fromString([
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'---',
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'name: missing-effort',
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'---',
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'Body.',
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].join('\n')));
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await fileService.writeFile(unsupportedUri, VSBuffer.fromString([
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'---',
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'name: unsupported-effort',
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'reasoning-effort: extreme',
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'---',
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'Body.',
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].join('\n')));
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const result = await toSdkCustomAgents([
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{ uri: missingUri, name: 'missing-effort' },
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{ uri: unsupportedUri, name: 'unsupported-effort' },
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], fileService);
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assert.deepStrictEqual(result, [
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{ name: 'missing-effort', tools: null, prompt: 'Body.' },
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{ name: 'unsupported-effort', tools: null, prompt: 'Body.' },
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]);
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});
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test('parses skills and infer from frontmatter', async () => {
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const agentUri = URI.from({ scheme: Schemas.inMemory, path: '/agents/skilled.md' });
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await fileService.writeFile(agentUri, VSBuffer.fromString([

‎src/vs/workbench/contrib/chat/common/promptSyntax/languageProviders/promptFileAttributes.ts‎

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@@ -120,6 +120,17 @@ export const customAgentAttributes: Record<string, IAttributeDefinition> = {
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type: 'scalar | sequence',
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description: localize('promptHeader.agent.model', 'Specify the model that runs this custom agent. Can also be a list of models. The first available model will be used.'),
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},
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[PromptHeaderAttributes.reasoningEffort]: {
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type: 'scalar',
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description: localize('promptHeader.agent.reasoningEffort', 'Specify the reasoning effort used by this custom agent.'),
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enums: [
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{ name: 'low' },
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{ name: 'medium' },
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{ name: 'high' },
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{ name: 'xhigh' },
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{ name: 'max' },
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],
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},
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[PromptHeaderAttributes.tools]: {
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type: 'scalar | sequence',
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description: localize('promptHeader.agent.tools', 'The set of tools that the custom agent has access to.'),

‎src/vs/workbench/contrib/chat/common/promptSyntax/languageProviders/promptValidator.ts‎

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@@ -1058,11 +1058,11 @@ function isTrueOrFalse(value: IValue): boolean {
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const allAttributeNames: Record<PromptsType, string[]> = {
10591059
[PromptsType.prompt]: [PromptHeaderAttributes.name, PromptHeaderAttributes.description, PromptHeaderAttributes.model, PromptHeaderAttributes.tools, PromptHeaderAttributes.mode, PromptHeaderAttributes.agent, PromptHeaderAttributes.argumentHint],
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[PromptsType.instructions]: [PromptHeaderAttributes.name, PromptHeaderAttributes.description, PromptHeaderAttributes.applyTo, PromptHeaderAttributes.excludeAgent],
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[PromptsType.agent]: [PromptHeaderAttributes.name, PromptHeaderAttributes.description, PromptHeaderAttributes.model, PromptHeaderAttributes.tools, PromptHeaderAttributes.advancedOptions, PromptHeaderAttributes.handOffs, PromptHeaderAttributes.argumentHint, PromptHeaderAttributes.target, PromptHeaderAttributes.infer, PromptHeaderAttributes.agents, PromptHeaderAttributes.hooks, PromptHeaderAttributes.userInvocable, PromptHeaderAttributes.disableModelInvocation, GithubPromptHeaderAttributes.github],
1061+
[PromptsType.agent]: [PromptHeaderAttributes.name, PromptHeaderAttributes.description, PromptHeaderAttributes.model, PromptHeaderAttributes.reasoningEffort, PromptHeaderAttributes.tools, PromptHeaderAttributes.advancedOptions, PromptHeaderAttributes.handOffs, PromptHeaderAttributes.argumentHint, PromptHeaderAttributes.target, PromptHeaderAttributes.infer, PromptHeaderAttributes.agents, PromptHeaderAttributes.hooks, PromptHeaderAttributes.userInvocable, PromptHeaderAttributes.disableModelInvocation, GithubPromptHeaderAttributes.github],
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[PromptsType.skill]: [PromptHeaderAttributes.name, PromptHeaderAttributes.description, PromptHeaderAttributes.license, PromptHeaderAttributes.compatibility, PromptHeaderAttributes.metadata, PromptHeaderAttributes.argumentHint, PromptHeaderAttributes.userInvocable, PromptHeaderAttributes.disableModelInvocation, PromptHeaderAttributes.context],
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[PromptsType.hook]: [], // hooks are JSON files, not markdown with YAML frontmatter
10641064
};
1065-
const githubCopilotAgentAttributeNames = [PromptHeaderAttributes.name, PromptHeaderAttributes.description, PromptHeaderAttributes.tools, PromptHeaderAttributes.target, GithubPromptHeaderAttributes.mcpServers, GithubPromptHeaderAttributes.github, PromptHeaderAttributes.infer];
1065+
const githubCopilotAgentAttributeNames = [PromptHeaderAttributes.name, PromptHeaderAttributes.description, PromptHeaderAttributes.tools, PromptHeaderAttributes.target, PromptHeaderAttributes.model, PromptHeaderAttributes.reasoningEffort, GithubPromptHeaderAttributes.mcpServers, GithubPromptHeaderAttributes.github, PromptHeaderAttributes.infer];
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const recommendedAttributeNames: Record<PromptsType, string[]> = {
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[PromptsType.prompt]: allAttributeNames[PromptsType.prompt].filter(name => !isNonRecommendedAttribute(name)),
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[PromptsType.instructions]: allAttributeNames[PromptsType.instructions].filter(name => !isNonRecommendedAttribute(name)),

‎src/vs/workbench/contrib/chat/common/promptSyntax/promptFileParser.ts‎

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@@ -68,6 +68,7 @@ export namespace PromptHeaderAttributes {
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export const agent = 'agent';
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export const mode = 'mode';
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export const model = 'model';
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export const reasoningEffort = 'reasoning-effort';
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export const applyTo = 'applyTo';
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export const paths = 'paths';
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export const tools = 'tools';

‎src/vs/workbench/contrib/chat/test/browser/promptSyntax/languageProviders/promptHeaderAutocompletion.test.ts‎

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@@ -145,6 +145,7 @@ suite('PromptHeaderAutocompletion', () => {
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{ label: 'hooks', result: 'hooks:\n ${1|SessionStart,SessionEnd,UserPromptSubmit,PreToolUse,PostToolUse,PreCompact,SubagentStart,SubagentStop,Stop,ErrorOccurred|}:\n - type: command\n command: "$2"' },
146146
{ label: 'model', result: 'model: ${0:MAE 4 (olama)}' },
147147
{ label: 'name', result: 'name: $0' },
148+
{ label: 'reasoning-effort', result: 'reasoning-effort: ${0:low}' },
148149
{ label: 'target', result: 'target: ${0:vscode}' },
149150
{ label: 'tools', result: 'tools: ${0:[]}' },
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{ label: 'user-invocable', result: 'user-invocable: ${0:true}' },
@@ -167,6 +168,24 @@ suite('PromptHeaderAutocompletion', () => {
167168
].sort(sortByLabel));
168169
});
169170

171+
test('complete reasoning effort attribute value', async () => {
172+
const content = [
173+
'---',
174+
'description: "Test"',
175+
'reasoning-effort: |',
176+
'---',
177+
].join('\n');
178+
179+
const actual = await getCompletions(content, PromptsType.agent);
180+
assert.deepStrictEqual(actual.sort(sortByLabel), [
181+
{ label: 'high', result: 'reasoning-effort: high' },
182+
{ label: 'low', result: 'reasoning-effort: low' },
183+
{ label: 'max', result: 'reasoning-effort: max' },
184+
{ label: 'medium', result: 'reasoning-effort: medium' },
185+
{ label: 'xhigh', result: 'reasoning-effort: xhigh' },
186+
].sort(sortByLabel));
187+
});
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170189
test('complete model attribute value with partial input', async () => {
171190
const content = [
172191
'---',

‎src/vs/workbench/contrib/chat/test/browser/promptSyntax/languageProviders/promptValidator.test.ts‎

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@@ -546,6 +546,17 @@ suite('PromptValidator', () => {
546546
);
547547
});
548548

549+
test('reasoning effort is supported in agent file', async () => {
550+
const content = [
551+
'---',
552+
'description: "Test"',
553+
'reasoning-effort: low',
554+
'---',
555+
].join('\n');
556+
const markers = await validate(content, PromptsType.agent);
557+
assert.deepStrictEqual(markers, []);
558+
});
559+
549560
test('unknown attribute in agent file', async () => {
550561
const content = [
551562
'---',
@@ -557,7 +568,7 @@ suite('PromptValidator', () => {
557568
assert.deepStrictEqual(
558569
markers.map(m => ({ severity: m.severity, message: m.message, tags: m.tags })),
559570
[
560-
{ severity: MarkerSeverity.Hint, message: `Attribute 'applyTo' is not supported in VS Code agent files. Supported: agents, argument-hint, description, disable-model-invocation, github, handoffs, hooks, model, name, target, tools, user-invocable.`, tags: [MarkerTag.Unnecessary] },
571+
{ severity: MarkerSeverity.Hint, message: `Attribute 'applyTo' is not supported in VS Code agent files. Supported: agents, argument-hint, description, disable-model-invocation, github, handoffs, hooks, model, name, reasoning-effort, target, tools, user-invocable.`, tags: [MarkerTag.Unnecessary] },
561572
]
562573
);
563574
});
@@ -705,13 +716,14 @@ suite('PromptValidator', () => {
705716
assert.deepStrictEqual(markers, [], 'Expected no validation issues for github-copilot target');
706717
});
707718

708-
test('github-copilot agent warns about model and handoffs attributes', async () => {
719+
test('github-copilot agent warns about handoffs attribute', async () => {
709720
const content = [
710721
'---',
711722
'name: "GitHubAgent"',
712723
'description: "GitHub Copilot agent"',
713724
'target: github-copilot',
714725
'model: MAE 4.1',
726+
'reasoning-effort: high',
715727
`tools: ['shell', 'edit']`,
716728
`handoffs:`,
717729
' - label: Test',
@@ -723,9 +735,8 @@ suite('PromptValidator', () => {
723735
const markers = await validate(content, PromptsType.agent);
724736
const messages = markers.map(m => m.message);
725737
assert.deepStrictEqual(messages, [
726-
'Attribute \'model\' is not supported in custom GitHub Copilot agent files. Supported: description, github, infer, mcp-servers, name, target, tools.',
727-
'Attribute \'handoffs\' is not supported in custom GitHub Copilot agent files. Supported: description, github, infer, mcp-servers, name, target, tools.',
728-
], 'Model and handoffs are not validated for github-copilot target');
738+
'Attribute \'handoffs\' is not supported in custom GitHub Copilot agent files. Supported: description, github, infer, mcp-servers, model, name, reasoning-effort, target, tools.',
739+
], 'Only handoffs is unsupported for github-copilot target, model and reasoning-effort are supported');
729740
});
730741

731742
test('github-copilot agent does not validate variable references', async () => {

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