Can Visual Studio Code review and revert agent changes in the editor?

Can Visual Studio Code review and revert agent changes in the editor

Yes. Visual Studio Code can show agent edits in the editor, let you review them before they land, and undo or revert them before you commit. VS Code documents two review paths, one for extension-host edits and one for Agent Host sessions, and both are built around inspection first, acceptance second.

The part people get wrong is assuming an agent edit is final the moment the file changes. VS Code treats agent output as reviewable work, not as a finished change. The editor can open diffs for changed files, show inline additions and removals, and surface a files-changed list so you can inspect exactly what was touched before you decide what stays.

In the extension-host workflow, saved edits can remain pending. You can open a changed file, move through the edits, then choose Keep or Undo for the file, or even accept or reject a specific inline change without affecting the rest of the file. VS Code also supports accepting or rejecting all pending edits from the Chat view.

In Agent Host sessions, the agent applies edits directly in the session folder or isolated Git worktree, so the review step happens in a diff before commit or integration. VS Code says these edits do not sit in a pending review state the way older extension-host edits do. The control point is the diff, the Source Control view, or the branch or worktree integration step.

Reverting is also built in, but the mechanism depends on how far you want to roll back. If you want to back out one request and everything after it, edit the earlier chat request and VS Code reverts the workspace changes from that request and later requests before resending the revised prompt. If you want to roll back file state without changing the prompt, restore a checkpoint.

The inconvenient part is that review does not replace judgment. VS Code tells you to run tests, inspect the diff, and validate the result before you integrate anything. If you stage or discard changes in Source Control, pending edits are accepted or discarded with them. That is useful, but it also means an aggressive Source Control action can finalize or wipe edits faster than you intended if you do not review first.

There is also a practical boundary that matters when agent work touches more than one place. VS Code tracks changed files in the agent UI, but files changed only through terminal commands are not surfaced the same way as file edits made through the editor tools. If you are reviewing a larger session, you need to check both the diff and the surrounding workspace state, not only the chat summary.

A simple workflow looks like this. Let the agent make the edits, open the changed file list, inspect the diff, accept the parts that are correct, undo the parts that are wrong, then run your tests. If later prompts drift the session in the wrong direction, use a checkpoint restore or edit the earlier request so VS Code rolls back the later work and continues from the corrected instruction.

That is the core answer: yes, Visual Studio Code can review and revert agent changes in the editor, and it gives you more than one level of rollback. The exact controls differ by session type, but the pattern is the same, inspect, decide, then keep, undo, or revert before you commit.

If you want the broader workflow around agent sessions, DevConnect’s public reference pages are organized around the same idea of review before integration, and you can see the platform context at https://devconnectplatform.com. That is separate from VS Code itself, but the user problem is the same: keep control until the change is actually yours.

What exactly can you review

You can review changed files, added files, and deleted files after an agent round of work. VS Code’s review pages describe a files-changed bar above chat, diffs with inline additions and removals, and a Changes view in the Agents window where files are grouped for inspection. The editor is not just showing a completion summary, it is exposing the actual file-level result.

You can also steer the agent before a bad change spreads. VS Code supports editing a previous request, steering with a new message while the agent is still running, and restoring checkpoints. That matters because the cheapest fix is often stopping the wrong direction early, not reviewing a hundred lines of bad output after the fact.

What does revert mean in practice

Revert can mean three different things in VS Code. Undo can reject a pending edit in the extension-host workflow. Restore a checkpoint can roll back the session to an earlier state. Editing a prior request can revert that request and every later request, then resend the corrected prompt. Those are different tools, and using the wrong one is a common source of confusion.

Source Control actions matter too. VS Code says staging accepts pending edits and discarding discards them. In a real project, that means the editor and Git are linked closely enough that a routine source-control action can become the final approval step. If you expect a temporary change and stage it too early, you have effectively accepted it.

What people miss when they first use this

People often look for a single big “revert agent” button. VS Code does not work that way because the agent can touch several files, several requests, and several states of the session. The UI gives you file diffs, per-change controls, checkpoints, request editing, and Source Control actions because each one solves a different rollback problem.

People also miss that review and integration are separate. A file can look right in the diff and still fail in the app. VS Code’s own guidance is to run tests and use the debugger before you commit or integrate changes. That advice sounds obvious, but it is the part that prevents a polished-looking bad edit from becoming a broken branch.

When should you use checkpoints instead of undo

Use undo when one edit is wrong and the rest of the session is still useful. Use a checkpoint when the session as a whole has drifted and you want to return to a known-good point. Use request editing when the prompt itself was the mistake and you want VS Code to roll back the dependent work and try again from the corrected instruction.

What happens if you skip review

If you skip review, the agent can still change multiple files, and Source Control can make those changes feel normal before you have checked them. VS Code’s trust and safety guidance is explicit that AI-generated code should be reviewed before committing. The editor gives you the tools, but it does not decide which edits are safe for your codebase.

A concrete example

An agent updates a React component, a test file, and a Markdown note. You open the files-changed bar, inspect the diff for the component, and see that the logic is correct but the test assertion is too weak. You undo the test edit, keep the component edit, then run the test suite. If the next prompt goes off track, you restore the checkpoint before that request and try a narrower prompt instead.

Bottom line

Visual Studio Code can review and revert agent changes in the editor, and it gives you several levels of control. You can inspect diffs, keep or undo edits, restore checkpoints, and roll back later work by editing an earlier request. The part to remember is simple: review in the editor, then commit only after you have checked the actual file changes.