VS Code fixes git.addAICoAuthor default in 1.119 after rollout bug
A merged VS Code Git change switched git.addAICoAuthor from off to all, but 1.119 will restore the default to off after rollout bugs. The mismatch shows how AI attribution settings can leak into commit history even when related feature flags are disabled.
TL;DR
- VS Code's 1.118 release notes switched
git.addAICoAuthoron by default for chat and agent workflows, a change that the linked PR summary traces to PR #310226. - According to the discussion roundup, the rollout shipped with a config mismatch: the schema default moved to
all, while one runtime fallback still readoff, which produced inconsistent behavior. - In issue #314311, the VS Code team said a separate bug also attributed non-Copilot completions to Copilot, including commits made with
disableAIFeaturesturned on, matching reports in the main HN thread. - PR #313931 reverted the default to
off, tied the fix to milestone 1.119.0, and added a guard so attribution is disabled wheneverdisableAIFeaturesis true.
You can read the original 1.118 announcement, the default-on PR, the revert PR, and the team's longer postmortem issue. The odd bit is that VS Code 1.119's release notes do not appear to call out the reversal, even though the main HN thread had already pinned the rollback to 1.119.
git.addAICoAuthor flipped from opt-in to default-on
VS Code Pull Request 310226: Enabling AI Co-Author Trailers by Default in Git Extension
This pull request, which has been merged, changed the default behavior of the VS Code Git extension's git.addAICoAuthor setting from "off" to "all." This update automatically adds a Co-authored-by trailer to commits when AI-generated code is detected. Following the merge, the author acknowledged regressions and issues with the implementation—including unintended attribution and lack of compatibility with disableAIFeatures—and noted that follow-up work was planned to address these concerns.
The feature itself was not new. VS Code 1.110's release notes introduced git.addAICoAuthor with three modes: off, chatAndAgent, and all.
What changed in VS Code 1.118 was the default. The release notes said Git AI co-authoring was now enabled by default for chat and agent workflows, while PR #310226 changed the setting default from off to all.
That gap became part of the confusion. In issue #314311, the team later said 1.117 changed the default to all, then 1.118 pulled it back to chatAndAgent after the first bug reports.
The bug reached commit history and feature flags
Discussion around VS Code inserting 'Co-Authored-by Copilot' into commits regardless of usage
Thread discussion highlights: - dmitriv on author apology / revert: acknowledge and apologize for the mistake of turning this feature on by default without sufficient upfront validation... should not be on when disableAIFeatures is on... I'll work on fixing those and meanwhile revert default to off in 1.119 update - ddkto on implementation inconsistency: The configuration schema default was changed to "all", but the runtime fallback ... still calls config.get('addAICoAuthor', 'off'). This is now out of sync and can lead to unexpected behavior - srikanthsastry on structural consent / legal meaning: Why does the architecture make it possible for a system to collect user consent and divorce the enforcement of it from the consent collection itself?... `Co-Authored-By` implies joint authorship... git history is permanent
The engineering problem was not just the default flip. According to the discussion roundup, one path updated the configuration schema to all while a runtime fallback still called config.get('addAICoAuthor', 'off'), leaving schema and runtime out of sync.
The official explanation in issue #314311 adds a second failure: a bug attributed non-Copilot code completions to Copilot, which is why some users saw Co-authored-by: Copilot even with disableAIFeatures enabled. In the main HN thread, the PR author apologized, said the feature should not run when AI features are disabled, and promised to revert the default in 1.119.
1.119 reverts the default, but the bigger change is consent
VS Code inserting 'Co-Authored-by Copilot' into commits regardless of usage
VS Code’s Git integration briefly changed commit behavior to auto-append AI co-author trailers by default, then ran into a rollback-worthy regression and consistency bugs. The useful engineering angle is how AI-related defaults, runtime fallbacks, and feature flags can leak into core developer workflows and commit history if not tightly gated.
PR #313931 made the immediate fix: default back to off, milestone 1.119.0, and attribution tracking disabled when disableAIFeatures is true.
The more durable change sits in issue #314311. The team said future versions will require user consent before adding a trailer, will never apply attribution to non-AI changes, and may replace Co-authored-by with an assisted-by style label that could also carry model information.
That last part matters because the rollback fixes the default, but the follow-up issue changes the attribution model itself.