MCP resources from copilot spaces can't be fetched inside copilot chat unless the user first views them

[Bestra]

Does this issue occur when all extensions are disabled?: No

VS Code Version: Insiders Version: 1.116.0-insider (Universal)
Commit: 0271b4d
Date: 2026-04-09T10:45:20+02:00
Electron: 39.8.5
ElectronBuildId: 13703022
Chromium: 142.0.7444.265
Node.js: 22.22.1
V8: 14.2.231.22-electron.0
OS: Darwin arm64 24.6.0
OS Version: macOS (fill exact version, for example 14.x or 15.x)

Steps to Reproduce:

In Copilot Chat, run a tool that returns a chat response resource URI (scheme starts with vscode-chat-response-resource), for example List Copilot Spaces or Get Copilot Space from the remote MCP server https://github.com/github/github-mcp-server/blob/main/docs/remote-server.md#additional-remote-server-toolsets
Observe that the chat UI can render and open the returned resource content.
In the same chat session, have the agent/tooling attempt to read that same URI via read_file.
Observe failure such as outside workspace and not open in editor, or resource not found for returned URI.
Expected:

If the chat UI can render a returned chat resource, agent-side read access should also be able to resolve it in-session, or there should be a supported bridge to fetch the content reliably.
Actual:

The resource is visible in chat/editor UI, but agent-side read_file often cannot access it due to scope checks and/or ephemeral resource lifetime, causing inconsistent behavior.
Notes:

Note

I'm just regurgitating what the model told me here

This looks like a tool-layer access mismatch rather than missing backend data.
The issue appears intermittent when resource URIs expire quickly between calls.

[Bestra]

I have a draft PR for this microsoft/vscode-copilot-chat#5056, I'll try to test it locally

[Tusharmayekar]

We’re experiencing a similar issue. It was working fine until April 22, but since then it has stopped functioning. This is impacting over 150 users who access Copilot Spaces in VS Code. I reported the issue on GitHub, and they indicated it’s a tool rendering problem and have escalated it to Microsoft.

[Arunvarriar]

We are also stuck with this issue. This was working fine till Mid of April. Now its not working in VSCode

[Bestra]

@sandy081 I see you might've been auto assigned to this. I've got a PR I've verified is working locally, could you take a look?

[Bestra]

This was fixed in 19d4617, thanks @pwang347 for pointing it out!