Better handle activateEnvInCurrentTerminal from Python extension by anthonykim1 · Pull Request #1318 · microsoft/vscode-python-environments

anthonykim1 · 2026-03-04T23:08:51Z

Resolves: #1300

Behaviors after this PR:

Note that the default false and explicit true behaves the same.

explicitFalse.mov

explicittrueorrDefault.mov

Copilot

Pull request overview

This PR improves how the extension honors the Python extension’s legacy terminal activation setting (python.terminal.activateEnvInCurrentTerminal) when initializing terminal activation for terminals that already exist at extension load time, aligning behavior with issue #1300.

Changes:

Add shouldActivateInCurrentTerminal() to interpret python.terminal.activateEnvInCurrentTerminal using inspect() so defaults can be distinguished from user-explicit values.
Update TerminalManagerImpl.initialize() to skip activating pre-existing terminals when that setting is explicitly disabled.
Add unit tests covering the new helper and the initialize-time skip behavior.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 4 out of 4 changed files in this pull request and generated 4 comments.

File	Description
src/features/terminal/utils.ts	Adds `shouldActivateInCurrentTerminal()` helper to evaluate the legacy Python setting via `inspect()`.
src/features/terminal/terminalManager.ts	Skips activation for pre-existing terminals during initialize when the legacy setting is explicitly disabled.
src/test/features/terminal/utils.unit.test.ts	Adds unit tests for `shouldActivateInCurrentTerminal()`.
src/test/features/terminal/terminalManager.unit.test.ts	Adds unit tests for initialize behavior gated by `shouldActivateInCurrentTerminal()`.

Comments suppressed due to low confidence (1)

src/features/terminal/utils.ts:283

This inspect() call is created without a scope/resource (getConfiguration('python') with no Uri). In VS Code, workspaceFolderValue will be undefined unless configuration is scoped to a specific resource, so the workspace-folder precedence described here won’t be honored in multi-root workspaces. Consider accepting a Uri/scope parameter (e.g., derived from terminal CWD/workspace folder) and calling getConfiguration('python', scope) so workspaceFolderValue can be evaluated.

    const pythonConfig = getConfiguration('python');
    const inspected = pythonConfig.inspect<boolean>('terminal.activateEnvInCurrentTerminal');

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Copilot · 2026-03-06T21:35:28Z

src/features/terminal/terminalManager.ts

+        const skipPreExistingTerminals = !shouldActivateInCurrentTerminal() && terminals().length > 0;
+        if (skipPreExistingTerminals) {
+            traceVerbose(
+                'python.terminal.activateEnvInCurrentTerminal is explicitly disabled, skipping activation for pre-existing terminals',
+            );
+        }
+
        if (actType === ACT_TYPE_COMMAND) {
-            await Promise.all(terminals().map(async (t) => this.activateUsingCommand(api, t)));
+            if (!skipPreExistingTerminals) {
+                await Promise.all(terminals().map(async (t) => this.activateUsingCommand(api, t)));
+            }


initialize() calls terminals() multiple times (including while computing skipPreExistingTerminals and later when iterating). Capture a single snapshot (e.g., const existing = terminals();) and use it throughout initialize() so behavior is consistent and avoids repeated lookups while async work is in-flight.

Copilot · 2026-03-06T21:35:29Z

src/test/features/terminal/utils.unit.test.ts

+    test('should return true when no explicit values are set (all undefined)', () => {
+        pythonConfig.inspect.withArgs('terminal.activateEnvInCurrentTerminal').returns({
+            key: 'terminal.activateEnvInCurrentTerminal',
+            defaultValue: false,
+            globalValue: undefined,
+            workspaceValue: undefined,
+            workspaceFolderValue: undefined,
+        });
+
+        assert.strictEqual(
+            shouldActivateInCurrentTerminal(),
+            true,
+            'Should return true when only defaultValue is set (not user-explicit)',
+        );
+    });


Tests don’t cover the key precedence case where a higher-precedence explicit true should override a lower-precedence explicit false (e.g., workspaceValue: true with globalValue: false). Adding this case would catch incorrect precedence handling in shouldActivateInCurrentTerminal().

Copilot · 2026-03-06T21:35:29Z

src/test/features/terminal/terminalManager.unit.test.ts

+    test('initialize activates all pre-existing terminals when shouldActivateInCurrentTerminal returns true', async () => {
+        const terminal1 = createMockTerminal('terminal1');
+        const terminal2 = createMockTerminal('terminal2');
+        const env = createMockEnvironment();
+
+        mockGetAutoActivationType.returns(terminalUtils.ACT_TYPE_COMMAND);
+        mockShouldActivateInCurrentTerminal.returns(true);
+        mockTerminals.returns([terminal1, terminal2]);
+        mockGetEnvironmentForTerminal.resolves(env);


initialize() behavior was changed for both ACT_TYPE_COMMAND and ACT_TYPE_SHELL, but tests only exercise the command path. Add coverage for ACT_TYPE_SHELL to ensure activation fallback is also skipped (or performed) correctly when shouldActivateInCurrentTerminal() is false/true.

Copilot · 2026-03-06T21:35:29Z

src/features/terminal/utils.ts

+    if (inspected.workspaceFolderValue === false) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    if (inspected.workspaceValue === false) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    if ('globalRemoteValue' in inspected && inspectValue.globalRemoteValue === false) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    if ('globalLocalValue' in inspected && inspectValue.globalLocalValue === false) {
+        return false;
+    }
+    if (inspected.globalValue === false) {
+        return false;
+    }


shouldActivateInCurrentTerminal() does not apply VS Code settings precedence correctly: a lower-precedence globalValue === false will force false even when a higher-precedence scope (workspace/workspaceFolder) explicitly sets true. Instead, follow the same pattern as getShellIntegrationEnabledCache(): return the first defined boolean in precedence order (workspaceFolderValue > workspaceValue > globalRemoteValue > globalLocalValue > globalValue), and default to true only when none are defined.

This issue also appears on line 281 of the same file.

eleanorjboyd · 2026-03-06T22:14:07Z

src/features/terminal/terminalManager.ts

    public async initialize(api: PythonEnvironmentApi): Promise<void> {
        const actType = getAutoActivationType();
+
+        // When activateEnvInCurrentTerminal is explicitly false,


@karthiknadig can you confirm the meaning of activateEnvInCurrentTerminal here- does that mean all that are currently open or the one the user is in?

As far as I remember it is one which VSCode says is the focused terminal.

We should confirm this by seeing what Python ext specifically looks at.

It is indeed focused terminal.
The thing is Python extension did not activate any terminal is activateEnvInCurrentTerminal is false.

Environment tries to activate ALL terminal by default, and with this PR (see the gif), we won't activate current (focused AND previous terminals in background) to more smoothly match Python ext behavior.

anthonykim1 added 3 commits March 4, 2026 14:14

Respect activateInCurrentEnv

147bf2f

Add the missing remote

1cc7eec

update

866b180

anthonykim1 self-assigned this Mar 4, 2026

anthonykim1 added area-activation Issue related to activation. Root cause can be from interpreter selection or activation in terminal debt labels Mar 4, 2026

anthonykim1 requested review from eleanorjboyd and karthiknadig March 4, 2026 23:25

anthonykim1 marked this pull request as ready for review March 4, 2026 23:25

vs-code-engineering bot added this to the 1.111.0 milestone Mar 4, 2026

anthonykim1 modified the milestones: 1.111.0, 1.112.0 Mar 4, 2026

anthonykim1 mentioned this pull request Mar 5, 2026

Ensure that extension inherits core python activation settings #1300

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anthonykim1 closed this Mar 5, 2026

anthonykim1 reopened this Mar 5, 2026

eleanorjboyd requested a review from Copilot March 6, 2026 21:31

Copilot started reviewing on behalf of eleanorjboyd March 6, 2026 21:32 View session

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anthonykim1 marked this pull request as draft March 7, 2026 00:09

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Better handle activateEnvInCurrentTerminal from Python extension#1318

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anthonykim1 commented Mar 4, 2026 •

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anthonykim1 commented Mar 4, 2026 •

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