VS Code agent sessions can use disk space in two distinct ways: session records save conversation and tool history, while an isolated session worktree holds project files and changes. Worktrees can become the larger contributor when multiple inactive sessions retain project data, but VS Code does not publish a typical size per session or a universal breakdown of storage by category.
Why VS Code agent sessions consume disk space
A session groups agent work, such as chats, a workspace, and code changes. If you use an isolated worktree, the session also has its own working tree. VS Code warns that worktree-isolated agent sessions can accumulate and use significant disk space. The amount depends on the repository, session mode, work performed, and provider; documentation does not establish that every worktree is a full repository duplicate.
Conversation records and indexes also take storage, but VS Code does not quantify their share relative to project files. A session may therefore involve both saved history and a worktree, rather than one file or one transcript accounting for all its disk use.
What files and data a session can contain
| Storage layer | What it may contain | What is established |
|---|---|---|
| Conversation and tool history | Prompts, agent responses, tool calls, and accumulated context. | The exact byte-level schema is not published for all providers. |
| Copilot searchable history | Session metadata, conversation turns, repository and branch details, working directory, timestamps, agent or participant, file paths from tool calls, and external references such as pull requests, issues, and commit SHAs. | VS Code documents a local SQLite database for this feature. See Sync and query session history. |
| Core local chat-session storage | Session files, with JSON and, when enabled, JSONL append logs described in VS Code’s implementation. | This implementation detail can change. The source is the ChatSessionStore implementation. |
| Workspace or isolated worktree | Project files and changes or generated files from agent work. | Worktree contents depend on the repository and work performed; these files are separate from conversation records. |
| Synced session history | Copilot session history associated with a GitHub account. | Sync is separate from local worktree storage. See Sync and query session history. |
There is no single portable path that covers every VS Code build, profile, provider, and local or remote workspace. A report for VS Code 1.122.0-Insider describes .json and .jsonl files under workspaceStorage/{workspaceId}/chatSessions/ in a particular profile and authentication case; after profile context changed, the files remained but the history was no longer discoverable. That issue is a case report, not a universal storage rule: VS Code issue #318152.
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For session terminology, see Understand sessions and chats. To identify a particular storage location safely, first establish the VS Code build, operating system, profile, session provider, and whether the workspace or session is local or remote. Avoid deleting a guessed folder: it may not map to the history you intend to remove.
How to find and clean up inactive worktrees
- Open the Command Palette and run Chat: Open Worktree Cleanup.
- Choose an inactivity filter of 7, 15, 30, 60, or 90 days. These are available filter choices, not recommended retention periods.
- Review the estimated sizes shown in the cleanup editor. Deselect any worktrees you want to keep.
- Confirm removal only after checking that you do not need the work or changes in the selected worktrees.
The cleanup editor does not offer every worktree as a removal candidate. It excludes active, running, waiting-for-input, pinned, done, archived, untitled, error-state, too-recent, or unmeasurable worktrees. Estimates are not a complete meter of all VS Code session-related storage.
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VS Code tries to commit uncommitted changes to the session branch before removing a worktree. If changes cannot be preserved or safe removal conditions are not met, the worktree may remain. Automatic cleanup of merged sessions also depends on safe Git conditions and does not force-remove a worktree. Inspect or preserve uncommitted work before deleting a session.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Cleanup suggestions, archiving, and deletion are different
The experimental cleanup suggestion is off by default. Enable chat.agentSessions.sessionStorageCleanupSuggestion.enabled to use it. According to the AI settings reference, the suggestion can trigger when inactive worktrees use at least 5 GiB or when 20 worktrees are eligible for cleanup. These are suggestion thresholds, not a typical session size, a complete disk-usage measurement, or a promise of automatic deletion.
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- Archive or mark done: organizes a session; it is not the same as deleting its conversation or removing its worktree.
- Clean up a worktree: removes eligible worktree files when safe conditions allow; it does not mean every kind of session history has been deleted.
- Delete a session: permanent. Supported Copilot deletion can remove associated worktrees, subject to shared-worktree and cleanup rules.
- Delete synced history: a separate choice for Copilot session history. The
chat.sessionSync.enabledsetting controls sync, and the Delete Session Sync Data command offers local-and-cloud or cloud-only deletion. Turning sync off does not delete existing cloud copies; delete those separately if that is what you intend.
See Manage agent sessions in VS Code for worktree cleanup and deletion behavior, and Sync and query session history for sync and deletion scopes.
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