gemini-cli - 💡(How to fix) Fix Critical extension instability: Freezing, crashing VS Code, automated edit failures, context blindness, and chat duplication

I am experiencing multiple severe issues with the Gemini VS Code extension that make it nearly impossible to use. The extension is highly unstable, frequently freezing both itself and the entire VS Code application, and it struggles with basic file context and editing tasks.

Actual Behavior / Issues Encountered:

1. Severe Performance Issues & Freezes: The extension is extremely glitchy and frequently freezes while processing requests. Response times are abnormally long, often taking anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes to reply. It also silently fails to respond on many occasions.
2. Crashing VS Code: Recently, the extension has started locking up and freezing the entire VS Code application to the point where it crashes or forces a hard restart.
3. Automated Edit Failures: When the extension attempts to make code edits, it almost always fails to apply the majority of them, eventually giving up and telling me to apply the edits manually.
4. Context Blindness: Even when necessary files are open in the workspace and explicitly provided in the context, the extension repeatedly complains that it cannot find the files.
5. Chat Duplication Bug: When reopening a recent conversation to continue it, the extension starts making duplicate copies of the same chat history over and over again for every subsequent prompt.

Expected Behavior:

• The extension should respond within reasonable timeframes without freezing or crashing the host editor.
• Automated edits should be applied successfully without offloading the work back to the user.
• Files provided in the context/workspace should be properly recognized and read.
• Chat histories should remain singular and intact when reopening older threads.

Environment / System Specs:

• OS: Windows 11 Pro
• OS Version: 10.0.22631 Build 22631
• VS Code Version: 1.114.0
• Gemini Extension Version: 2.84.0

Steps to Reproduce: (Since these issues are widespread across my workflow, they occur during standard usage. However, the most consistent triggers are:)

1. Asking the extension to make multi-file edits (triggers edit failures and slow responses/freezes).
2. Providing a file in context and asking a question about it (triggers the "file not found" complaint).
3. Closing a chat, reopening it from history, and sending a new message (triggers the chat duplication).