VS Code 1.133 lets one Claude session switch model providers between turns

Released 12 August 2026, VS Code 1.133 puts Anthropic and Copilot models in the same picker inside a Claude session: previously a session ran entirely through a Copilot subscription or through Claude's own configuration, and switching meant reconfiguring the agent host. Models chosen under Anthropic bill the API key; models under Copilot draw on the Copilot subscription. An experimental setting (chat.agentHost.allowSignedOutWhenUsable) also opens the Agents window without a GitHub sign-in for users who already have Claude configured with an API key, moving GitHub authentication to individual agents and models. The release also adds sticky scroll for long chat prompts and auto-reloading HTML previews.

What it means Per-turn provider switching turns model choice into a cost dial you move mid-task, and the sign-out path removes GitHub as a hard dependency for anyone driving the agent window on their own key.