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claude-code - 💡(How to fix) Fix [FEATURE] VSCode extension: configurable tool call visibility (hide / collapse / group) [1 comments, 2 participants]

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anthropics/claude-code#49646•Fetched 2026-04-17 08:35:17
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RAW_BUFFERClick to expand / collapse

Preflight Checklist

  • I have searched existing requests and this feature hasn't been requested yet
  • This is a single feature request (not multiple features)

Problem Statement

When using the Claude Code VSCode extension, every Grep, Bash, Read, etc. call appears inline in the chat as a full expanded entry. For power users who trust Claude's tool usage, this output is mostly noise — the signal is Claude's text responses, not the intermediate tool mechanics.

Requested options (any/all would be welcome):

a) Hide entirely — A setting to suppress tool call entries from the chat view completely. The tool still runs, the output is still used — it just doesn't appear in the UI.

b) Collapsed by default — Show a minimal one-line summary (e.g. Grep "pattern" in src/) that can be expanded on click, but is closed by default. Similar to how the claude.ai web app handles tool outputs.

c) Group similar/consecutive calls — When Claude runs 4 Grep calls in a row, collapse them into a single grouped entry (e.g. 4 searches) rather than 4 separate blocks. This mirrors how IDEs collapse repeated log lines.

Why this matters:

The chat becomes very long, very fast. Scrolling through 30 tool calls to find Claude's actual response or a decision point is friction. The text responses are what users act on — tool calls are implementation detail.

Proposed Solution

Suggested implementation:

A setting in VSCode extension settings with a sensible default of "collapsed" for most users:

// Global default "claude.toolVisibility": "show" | "collapsed" | "hidden"

// Per-tool overrides "claude.toolVisibilityOverrides": { "Bash": "hidden", "Grep": "hidden", "Read": "collapsed", "Edit": "show" } Per-tool overrides would let users hide the truly noisy tools (Bash, Grep) while keeping visibility on tools where the output matters to them (Edit, Write).

Alternative Solutions

No response

Priority

High - Significant impact on productivity

Feature Category

Developer tools/SDK

Use Case Example

No response

Additional Context

No response

extent analysis

TL;DR

Implement a setting to control the visibility of tool calls in the chat view, allowing users to hide or collapse them.

Guidance

  • Introduce a new setting "claude.toolVisibility" with options "show", "collapsed", and "hidden" to control the default visibility of tool calls.
  • Provide per-tool overrides using "claude.toolVisibilityOverrides" to allow users to customize the visibility of specific tools.
  • Consider implementing a collapsed by default behavior, where tool calls are shown as a minimal one-line summary that can be expanded on click.
  • Grouping similar consecutive calls into a single entry could also be explored to reduce clutter in the chat view.

Example

// Example configuration
"claude.toolVisibility": "collapsed",
"claude.toolVisibilityOverrides": {
  "Bash": "hidden",
  "Grep": "hidden",
  "Read": "collapsed",
  "Edit": "show"
}

Notes

The proposed solution focuses on adding a setting to control tool call visibility, which should address the user's concern about noise in the chat view. However, the implementation details and potential edge cases will require further consideration.

Recommendation

Apply workaround by implementing the proposed setting and per-tool overrides, as this will provide users with the flexibility to customize the visibility of tool calls and improve their productivity.

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#prompt formatting#chain error#conversation history#tool integration#LLM response

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