Microsoft/vscode

Option to focus main and floating windows when focusing back to the application

Open

#248,462 opened on May 9, 2025

View on GitHub
 (6 comments) (4 reactions) (0 assignees)TypeScript (74,848 stars) (10,221 forks)batch import
feature-requesthelp wantedworkbench-auxwindow

Description

Love that you added a native "Always on Top" toggle for secondary windows. Here's a variant pain point though:

I have a large monitor with space to breathe, so I often break out a file or two into a secondary window and place them to the side of the main VSCode window. If I then bring a different program into focus (e.g. Windows Terminal is a common one for me) it might be positioned to obscure the secondary VSCode window by some amount. When I switch back to VSCode I find myself wishing that the secondary window would also come back to the foreground as well. I don't need it to be "always on top", I just want my choice to bring VSCode back into focus to also include any secondary windows attached to it.

Image

Image

Possible setting:

Setting ID: window.surfaceAllInstanceWindowsOnRefocus Hint Text: "Refocusing any VS Code window will also bring to the foreground all other windows belonging to that same VS Code instance"

Then reactivation of either the main window or any of its secondary windows will automatically bring all of them back to the surface. The actual pain point though is just that I like to have my notes on the side when I'm writing code. When I switch back to the code I want the notes to come back too. So whatever solution makes that possible would be a welcome addition to see in a future release.

Contributor guide

Tech stack
typescript
Domain
desktop
Issue type
feature
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
4
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
half day
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
fresh
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
Familiarity with TypeScriptUnderstanding of Electron window managementKnowledge of VSCode's window handling code
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
45
Research direction
Examine how VSCode manages secondary windows, particularly the 'Always on Top' toggle introduced for secondary windows. Look at the implementation in the window platform code (e.g., src/vs/platform/windows/*) and the main window focus events. Implement a new setting 'window.surfaceAllInstanceWindowsOnRefocus' that when enabled, brings all windows of the same VSCode instance to the foreground when any one is focused. Consider using Electron's BrowserWindow event 'focus' to trigger refocusing all sibling windows. Review existing window management code for patterns and ensure cross platform compatibility.