VS Code IDE Daemon Adapter

Overview

packages/vscode-ide-companion/src/services/daemonIdeConnection.ts is the VS Code extension’s daemon adapter. It lets the IDE companion connect to a running qwen serve daemon over HTTP + SSE instead of launching an in-process qwen --acp stdio child (the legacy AcpConnectionState path). It is the sibling-transport equivalent of 14-cli-tui-adapter.md for VS Code hosts.

The IDE’s chat webview consumes daemon events through this adapter; permission prompts surface as native VS Code quick-pick dialogs.

Responsibilities

• Construct a DaemonClient + DaemonSessionClient from a loopback-validated baseUrl passed to connect(options).
• Pump SSE events from the session client into per-callback dispatch (onSessionUpdate, onPermissionRequest, onAskUserQuestion, onEndTurn, onDisconnected).
• Enforce a loopback-only invariant in connect(options) (the IDE should only ever connect to a daemon on the same host).
• Bridge daemon events into webview postMessages so the chat panel stays in sync.
• Surface permission requests through VS Code’s native quick-pick UI.
• Serialize calls into a queue so a rapid double-connect() from the host does not race.

Architecture

Public surface

class DaemonIdeConnection {
  connect(options: DaemonIdeConnectionOptions): Promise<void>;
  disconnect(): Promise<void>;
  sendPrompt(prompt: string | ContentBlock[]): Promise<DaemonIdePromptResult>;
  cancelSession(): Promise<void>;
  setModel(modelId: string): Promise<DaemonIdeSetModelResult>;
 
  onSessionUpdate: (data: SessionNotification) => void;
  onPermissionRequest: (
    data: RequestPermissionRequest,
  ) => Promise<{ optionId?: string }>;
  onAskUserQuestion: (data: AskUserQuestionRequest) => Promise<{
    optionId: string;
    answers?: Record<string, string>;
  }>;
  onEndTurn: (reason?: string) => void;
  onDisconnected: (code: number | null, signal: string | null) => void;
}
 
interface DaemonIdeConnectionOptions {
  baseUrl: string; // MUST be loopback (127.0.0.1 / localhost / [::1])
  token?: string;
  workspaceCwd?: string;
  modelServiceId?: string;
  lastEventId?: number;
  sessionFactory?: DaemonIdeSessionFactory;
}

Loopback validation

In connectInternal():

const baseUrl = validateDaemonBaseUrl(options.baseUrl);

This is a client-side hard constraint distinct from the daemon’s own hostAllowlist (see 12-auth-security.md). The IDE companion will never connect to a remote daemon — even if the operator configured one. Rationale: VS Code’s threat model assumes the workspace and the daemon share the same host, including filesystem trust and related assumptions.

createSdkDaemonSessionFactory()

createSdkDaemonSessionFactory() constructs DaemonClient and calls DaemonSessionClient.createOrAttach() from @qwen-code/sdk. The connection class holds the factory rather than instantiating directly so tests can inject a fake.

Event dispatch

The connection runs one SSE consumer (for await over session.events()) and routes each event by type:

onEndTurn is not produced by SSE dispatch. sendPrompt() waits for the daemon HTTP prompt response and calls it with response.stopReason; non-abort exception paths call onEndTurn('error').

Webview bridging

The connection class is transport-only. The actual VS Code integration lives in packages/vscode-ide-companion/src/webview/providers/ChatWebviewViewProvider.ts (and friends). The provider subscribes to the connection’s callbacks and translates them into webview postMessage calls. The webview itself uses the shared packages/webui/ component library to render — see Adapter Matrix in 01-architecture.md.

Connect serialization

connect() uses an internal queue so a rapid double call from the host (e.g. user opens the panel twice during an in-flight handshake) does not race. The second call awaits the first; the connection ends up in a single, deterministic state.

Workflow

Initial connect

Permission via quick-pick

Disconnect / recover

State & Lifecycle

• Construction is synchronous; no network I/O until connect(options).
• connect() is idempotent through the internal queue; calling twice serializes.
• disconnect() aborts the SSE iterator (AbortController on the pump) and clears callback registrations.
• lastEventId is captured from the SDK’s DaemonSessionClient on disconnect and can be re-supplied on the next connect() for resume.

Dependencies

• packages/sdk-typescript/src/daemon/ — DaemonClient, DaemonSessionClient (the actual transport).
• VS Code extension API (vscode.*) — host APIs, quick-pick, webview.
• packages/webui/src/adapters/ACPAdapter.ts — webview rendering of ACP-shaped messages relayed via postMessage.

Configuration

Caveats & Known Limits

• Loopback-only — hard refusal in connect(options). Operators who want to point the IDE at a remote daemon need to use SSH port-forward / local proxy; the adapter will not connect to a non-loopback URL.
• The legacy AcpConnectionState path is still primary in the IDE companion (stdio child). This adapter is the sibling-transport for Mode-B migration; see ../daemon-client-adapters/ide.md for the migration blockers and the planned BridgeFileSystem parity work.
• No reverse RPC or editor-affordance surface yet over HTTP. Features that require the agent to call back into the IDE (e.g. read-only buffer access, diff preview integration) currently live only on the stdio path.
• Webview ↔ connection coupling is host-owned, not in this adapter. Do not push webview-specific logic into DaemonIdeConnection.
• workspaceCwd mismatch with the daemon’s bound workspace returns 400 workspace_mismatch — surface this as a clear setup error rather than retrying.

References

• packages/vscode-ide-companion/src/services/daemonIdeConnection.ts
• packages/vscode-ide-companion/src/services/daemonIdeConnection.ts (createSdkDaemonSessionFactory)
• packages/vscode-ide-companion/src/types/connectionTypes.ts (legacy AcpConnectionState)
• packages/vscode-ide-companion/src/webview/providers/ChatWebviewViewProvider.ts (webview bridge)
• packages/webui/src/adapters/ACPAdapter.ts (webview ACP-message adapter)
• Draft design: ../daemon-client-adapters/ide.md
• SDK reference: 13-sdk-daemon-client.md