fix(vscode): harden Copilot agent install

README.md

@@ -190,6 +190,14 @@ After creating a profile, open OpenCode and press **Tab** to switch between `gen
 
 **Full guide**: [OpenCode SDD Profiles](docs/opencode-profiles.md)
 
+### VS Code Copilot SDD Agents
+
+Gentle-AI installs three VS Code layers: global instructions/rules in `Code/User/prompts/gentle-ai.instructions.md`, native custom agents in `~/.copilot/agents`, and SDD skills/shared conventions in `~/.copilot/skills`.
+
+When a VS Code model assignment is missing, invalid, or unvalidated, generated agents omit `model` and inherit the parent chat model instead of failing sync.
+
+If VS Code also discovers Gentle-AI's Claude-format internal agents, sync marks those managed `sdd-*` and `jd-*` files `user-invocable: false` so the visible picker stays focused on `sdd-orchestrator`.
+
 ### Engram (Persistent Memory)
 
 Your AI agent automatically remembers decisions, bugs, and context across sessions. You don't need to do anything -- but when you do:

docs/agents.md

@@ -128,10 +128,13 @@ Kiro uses native custom agents in `~/.kiro/agents/`. `gentle-ai` writes phase ag
 
 ### VS Code Copilot
 
-- Uses the `runSubagent` tool with support for parallel execution
-- Skills at `~/.copilot/skills/`
-- System prompt at `Code/User/prompts/gentle-ai.instructions.md`
+- Native custom agents at `~/.copilot/agents/*.agent.md`: one user-invocable `sdd-orchestrator` coordinator plus hidden SDD phase agents
+- Delegates through VS Code Copilot's native sub-agent / `runSubagent` flow
+- Skills and shared SDD conventions at `~/.copilot/skills/`
+- Global instructions/rules at `Code/User/prompts/gentle-ai.instructions.md`
 - MCP config at `Code/User/mcp.json`
+- Missing, invalid, or unvalidated model assignments omit `model` and inherit the parent chat model
+- VS Code may also discover Claude-format agents in `~/.claude/agents`; Gentle-AI marks its managed internal `sdd-*` and `jd-*` Claude agents `user-invocable: false` so the picker stays focused on `sdd-orchestrator`
 
 ### Codex
 

go.mod

@@ -8,6 +8,7 @@ require (
 	github.com/charmbracelet/lipgloss v1.1.0
 	github.com/mattn/go-isatty v0.0.20
 	github.com/rivo/uniseg v0.4.7
+	golang.org/x/sys v0.38.0
 )
 
 require (
@@ -28,6 +29,5 @@ require (
 	github.com/muesli/cancelreader v0.2.2 // indirect
 	github.com/muesli/termenv v0.16.0 // indirect
 	github.com/xo/terminfo v0.0.0-20220910002029-abceb7e1c41e // indirect
-	golang.org/x/sys v0.38.0 // indirect
 	golang.org/x/text v0.3.8 // indirect
 )

internal/agents/vscode/adapter.go

@@ -57,6 +57,7 @@ func (a *Adapter) InstallCommand(_ system.PlatformProfile) ([][]string, error) {
 // VS Code Copilot reads .instructions.md files from the VS Code User prompts folder.
 // Skills are loaded from ~/.copilot/skills/ (global), .github/skills/ (workspace),
 // ~/.claude/skills/, and .claude/skills/. We target ~/.copilot/skills/ for global reach.
+// Native agent files are installed globally under ~/.copilot/agents/.
 
 func (a *Adapter) GlobalConfigDir(homeDir string) string {
 	return filepath.Join(homeDir, ".copilot")
@@ -133,15 +134,15 @@ func (a *Adapter) CommandsDir(_ string) string {
 }
 
 func (a *Adapter) SupportsSubAgents() bool {
-	return false
+	return true
 }
 
-func (a *Adapter) SubAgentsDir(_ string) string {
-	return ""
+func (a *Adapter) SubAgentsDir(homeDir string) string {
+	return filepath.Join(homeDir, ".copilot", "agents")
 }
 
 func (a *Adapter) EmbeddedSubAgentsDir() string {
-	return ""
+	return "vscode/agents"
 }
 
 func (a *Adapter) SupportsSkills() bool {

internal/agents/vscode/adapter_test.go

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ package vscode
 import (
 	"path/filepath"
 	"runtime"
+	"strings"
 	"testing"
 
 	"github.com/gentleman-programming/gentle-ai/internal/model"
@@ -91,3 +92,25 @@ func TestMCPConfigPathUsesVSCodeUserProfile(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 }
+
+func TestSubAgentSupportUsesCopilotUserAgentsDir(t *testing.T) {
+	a := NewAdapter()
+	home := "/tmp/home"
+
+	if !a.SupportsSubAgents() {
+		t.Fatal("VS Code adapter must advertise native sub-agent support")
+	}
+
+	got := a.SubAgentsDir(home)
+	want := filepath.Join(home, ".copilot", "agents")
+	if got != want {
+		t.Fatalf("SubAgentsDir() = %q, want %q", got, want)
+	}
+	if got == filepath.Join(home, ".github", "agents") || strings.Contains(got, string(filepath.Separator)+".github"+string(filepath.Separator)) {
+		t.Fatalf("SubAgentsDir() must not target workspace .github/agents, got %q", got)
+	}
+
+	if got := a.EmbeddedSubAgentsDir(); got != "vscode/agents" {
+		t.Fatalf("EmbeddedSubAgentsDir() = %q, want %q", got, "vscode/agents")
+	}
+}

internal/app/app.go

@@ -448,6 +448,7 @@ func tuiExecute(
 			CodexCarrilModelAssignments: selection.CodexCarrilModelAssignments,
 			CodexPhaseModelAssignments:  selection.CodexPhaseModelAssignments,
 			ModelAssignments:            modelAssignmentsToState(selection.ModelAssignments),
+			VSCodeModelAssignments:      modelAssignmentsToState(selection.VSCodeModelAssignments),
 			Persona:                     string(selection.Persona),
 		})
 	}
@@ -549,6 +550,9 @@ func applyOverrides(selection *model.Selection, overrides *model.SyncOverrides)
 	if overrides.ModelAssignments != nil {
 		selection.ModelAssignments = overrides.ModelAssignments
 	}
+	if overrides.VSCodeModelAssignments != nil {
+		selection.VSCodeModelAssignments = overrides.VSCodeModelAssignments
+	}
 	if overrides.ClaudeModelAssignments != nil {
 		selection.ClaudeModelAssignments = overrides.ClaudeModelAssignments
 	}
@@ -657,6 +661,9 @@ func loadPersistedAssignments(homeDir string, selection *model.Selection) {
 		}
 		selection.ModelAssignments = m
 	}
+	if len(selection.VSCodeModelAssignments) == 0 && len(s.VSCodeModelAssignments) > 0 {
+		selection.VSCodeModelAssignments = stateModelAssignmentsToModel(s.VSCodeModelAssignments)
+	}
 }
 
 // persistAssignments writes the model assignments from selection back to
@@ -672,10 +679,11 @@ func persistAssignments(homeDir string, selection model.Selection) {
 		selection.ClaudePhaseAssignments != nil ||
 		selection.KiroModelAssignments != nil ||
 		selection.ModelAssignments != nil ||
+		selection.VSCodeModelAssignments != nil ||
 		selection.CodexModelAssignments != nil ||
 		selection.CodexCarrilModelAssignments != nil ||
 		selection.CodexPhaseModelAssignments != nil
-	if len(selection.ClaudeModelAssignments) == 0 && len(selection.ClaudePhaseAssignments) == 0 && len(selection.KiroModelAssignments) == 0 && len(selection.ModelAssignments) == 0 && len(selection.CodexModelAssignments) == 0 && len(selection.CodexCarrilModelAssignments) == 0 && len(selection.CodexPhaseModelAssignments) == 0 && !hasAssignmentSignal {
+	if len(selection.ClaudeModelAssignments) == 0 && len(selection.ClaudePhaseAssignments) == 0 && len(selection.KiroModelAssignments) == 0 && len(selection.ModelAssignments) == 0 && len(selection.VSCodeModelAssignments) == 0 && len(selection.CodexModelAssignments) == 0 && len(selection.CodexCarrilModelAssignments) == 0 && len(selection.CodexPhaseModelAssignments) == 0 && !hasAssignmentSignal {
 		return
 	}
 	current, err := state.Read(homeDir)
@@ -738,9 +746,23 @@ func persistAssignments(homeDir string, selection model.Selection) {
 			current.ModelAssignments = nil
 		}
 	}
+	if len(selection.VSCodeModelAssignments) > 0 {
+		current.VSCodeModelAssignments = modelAssignmentsToState(selection.VSCodeModelAssignments)
+	}
 	_ = state.Write(homeDir, current)
 }
 
+func stateModelAssignmentsToModel(m map[string]state.ModelAssignmentState) map[string]model.ModelAssignment {
+	if len(m) == 0 {
+		return nil
+	}
+	out := make(map[string]model.ModelAssignment, len(m))
+	for k, v := range m {
+		out[k] = model.ModelAssignment{ProviderID: v.ProviderID, ModelID: v.ModelID, Effort: v.Effort}
+	}
+	return out
+}
+
 // claudeAliasesToStrings converts a typed ClaudeModelAlias map to plain strings
 // for JSON serialisation in state.json.
 func claudeAliasesToStrings(m map[string]model.ClaudeModelAlias) map[string]string {

internal/app/app_test.go

@@ -394,6 +394,34 @@ func TestTuiSyncSDDProfileStrategyEmptyOverrideNoChange(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestApplyOverridesVSCodeModelAssignments(t *testing.T) {
+	selection := model.Selection{
+		VSCodeModelAssignments: map[string]model.ModelAssignment{
+			"sdd-apply": {ProviderID: "github-copilot", ModelID: "gpt-4.1"},
+		},
+		ModelAssignments: map[string]model.ModelAssignment{
+			"sdd-apply": {ProviderID: "anthropic", ModelID: "claude-opus-4"},
+		},
+	}
+	overrides := &model.SyncOverrides{
+		VSCodeModelAssignments: map[string]model.ModelAssignment{
+			"sdd-design": {ProviderID: "github-copilot", ModelID: "claude-sonnet-4"},
+		},
+	}
+
+	applyOverrides(&selection, overrides)
+
+	if _, exists := selection.VSCodeModelAssignments["sdd-apply"]; exists {
+		t.Fatal("VSCodeModelAssignments should be replaced as a whole map, not merged key-by-key")
+	}
+	if got := selection.VSCodeModelAssignments["sdd-design"].ProviderID; got != "github-copilot" {
+		t.Fatalf("VSCodeModelAssignments[sdd-design].ProviderID = %q, want github-copilot", got)
+	}
+	if got := selection.ModelAssignments["sdd-apply"].ProviderID; got != "anthropic" {
+		t.Fatalf("OpenCode ModelAssignments changed after VS Code override: provider = %q", got)
+	}
+}
+
 func boolPtr(b bool) *bool { return &b }
 
 func TestTuiSyncTargetAgentsOverridePersistedInstallState(t *testing.T) {
@@ -666,6 +694,9 @@ func TestLoadPersistedAssignmentsPopulatesEmptySelection(t *testing.T) {
 		ModelAssignments: map[string]state.ModelAssignmentState{
 			"sdd-init": {ProviderID: "anthropic", ModelID: "claude-sonnet-4"},
 		},
+		VSCodeModelAssignments: map[string]state.ModelAssignmentState{
+			"sdd-apply": {ProviderID: "github-copilot", ModelID: "gpt-4.1"},
+		},
 	})
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("state.Write: %v", err)
@@ -690,6 +721,10 @@ func TestLoadPersistedAssignmentsPopulatesEmptySelection(t *testing.T) {
 	if ma.ProviderID != "anthropic" || ma.ModelID != "claude-sonnet-4" {
 		t.Errorf("ModelAssignments[sdd-init] = %+v, want anthropic/claude-sonnet-4", ma)
 	}
+	vs := selection.VSCodeModelAssignments["sdd-apply"]
+	if vs.ProviderID != "github-copilot" || vs.ModelID != "gpt-4.1" {
+		t.Errorf("VSCodeModelAssignments[sdd-apply] = %+v, want github-copilot/gpt-4.1", vs)
+	}
 }
 
 // TestLoadPersistedAssignmentsDoesNotOverrideExisting verifies that when the
@@ -704,6 +739,9 @@ func TestLoadPersistedAssignmentsDoesNotOverrideExisting(t *testing.T) {
 		ModelAssignments: map[string]state.ModelAssignmentState{
 			"sdd-init": {ProviderID: "google", ModelID: "gemini-pro"},
 		},
+		VSCodeModelAssignments: map[string]state.ModelAssignmentState{
+			"sdd-apply": {ProviderID: "github-copilot", ModelID: "old-model"},
+		},
 	})
 	if err != nil {
 		t.Fatalf("state.Write: %v", err)
@@ -717,6 +755,9 @@ func TestLoadPersistedAssignmentsDoesNotOverrideExisting(t *testing.T) {
 		ModelAssignments: map[string]model.ModelAssignment{
 			"sdd-init": {ProviderID: "anthropic", ModelID: "claude-sonnet-4"},
 		},
+		VSCodeModelAssignments: map[string]model.ModelAssignment{
+			"sdd-apply": {ProviderID: "github-copilot", ModelID: "new-model"},
+		},
 	}
 	loadPersistedAssignments(home, &selection)
 
@@ -728,6 +769,9 @@ func TestLoadPersistedAssignmentsDoesNotOverrideExisting(t *testing.T) {
 	if ma.ProviderID != "anthropic" {
 		t.Errorf("ModelAssignments[sdd-init].ProviderID = %q, want %q (should not be overwritten)", ma.ProviderID, "anthropic")
 	}
+	if got := selection.VSCodeModelAssignments["sdd-apply"].ModelID; got != "new-model" {
+		t.Errorf("VSCodeModelAssignments[sdd-apply].ModelID = %q, want new-model (should not be overwritten)", got)
+	}
 }
 
 // TestPersistAssignmentsPreservesInstalledAgents verifies the read-merge-write
@@ -927,6 +971,28 @@ func TestPersistAndLoadKiroModelAssignments(t *testing.T) {
 	}
 }
 
+func TestPersistAndLoadVSCodeModelAssignments(t *testing.T) {
+	home := t.TempDir()
+
+	selection := model.Selection{
+		VSCodeModelAssignments: map[string]model.ModelAssignment{
+			"sdd-orchestrator": {ProviderID: "github-copilot", ModelID: "gpt-4.1"},
+			"sdd-apply":        {ProviderID: "github-copilot", ModelID: "claude-sonnet-4", Effort: "low"},
+		},
+	}
+	persistAssignments(home, selection)
+
+	loaded := model.Selection{}
+	loadPersistedAssignments(home, &loaded)
+
+	if got := loaded.VSCodeModelAssignments["sdd-orchestrator"].ModelID; got != "gpt-4.1" {
+		t.Fatalf("VSCodeModelAssignments[sdd-orchestrator].ModelID = %q, want gpt-4.1", got)
+	}
+	if got := loaded.VSCodeModelAssignments["sdd-apply"].Effort; got != "low" {
+		t.Fatalf("VSCodeModelAssignments[sdd-apply].Effort = %q, want low", got)
+	}
+}
+
 // TestPersistAssignmentsNoOpWhenEmpty verifies that persistAssignments does
 // not write to state.json when the selection has no assignments.
 func TestPersistAssignmentsNoOpWhenEmpty(t *testing.T) {

internal/assets/assets.go

@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@ package assets
 
 import "embed"
 
-//go:embed all:claude all:opencode all:generic all:skills all:gga all:gemini all:codex all:antigravity all:windsurf all:cursor all:kimi all:qwen all:kiro all:hermes
+//go:embed all:claude all:opencode all:generic all:skills all:gga all:gemini all:codex all:antigravity all:windsurf all:cursor all:vscode all:kimi all:qwen all:kiro all:hermes
 var FS embed.FS
 
 // MustRead returns the content of an embedded file or panics.