claude-code - 💡(How to fix) Fix VS Code extension: native-UI sessions don't auto-engage Remote Control (remoteControlAtStartup: true ignored)

Summary

The VS Code extension's native-UI Claude sessions don't appear on Remote Control even with "remoteControlAtStartup": true set in ~/.claude/settings.json. Engaging Remote Control requires a manual UI toggle per session, which is impractical when working many per-issue worktrees in separate VS Code windows.

Environment

• VS Code extension anthropic.claude-code v2.1.143
• Claude Code 2.1.143 (native install, ~/.local/bin/claude.exe)
• Windows 11
• claudeCode.useTerminal: false (default — native webview UI)

Observed behavior

• ~/.claude/settings.json has "remoteControlAtStartup": true.
• CLI sessions launched outside VS Code (claude in a terminal) DO appear on the Remote Control list — works as documented.
• VS Code native-UI Claude sessions (Ctrl+Esc / sidebar) DO NOT appear on the list.
• Setting claudeCode.useTerminal: true (terminal mode) makes the extension spawn the regular claude CLI in an integrated terminal, and Remote Control auto-engages as expected. So terminal mode honors the setting; native UI does not.

What I tried

I attempted a workaround using claudeCode.claudeProcessWrapper to inject --remote-control 'Name' --name 'Name' flags via a tiny C# shim that wraps claude.exe. The shim is invoked correctly (Claude launches with no errors, the spawn log shows the wrapper path), but Remote Control still doesn't engage. The flags appear to be ignored when Claude is spawned via the SDK query() function (which native UI uses).

This suggests Remote Control auto-start is gated on Claude running as an interactive shell session, not on the --remote-control flag being present in argv.

Use case

Per-issue git worktrees, each launched as a separate VS Code window. I'd like to monitor and steer those sessions from my phone via Remote Control without remembering to click the toggle in every fresh window.

Proposed solutions (any of these would unblock)

1. Honor ~/.claude/settings.json's remoteControlAtStartup: true in native-UI mode the same way terminal mode does.
2. Add a claudeCode.remoteControlAtStartup workspace setting that the extension fires toggle_remote_control for at session launch.
3. Expose a VS Code command (e.g., claude-vscode.toggleRemoteControl) so users can trigger it via tasks.json, a keybinding, or an onStartup hook.

Notes for triage

The IPC plumbing already exists in the extension — toggle_remote_control, list_remote_sessions, remoteControlState are all referenced in extension.js. So this likely a small wiring change (extension reads the setting at session-launch time and fires the existing IPC message) rather than a new feature.