Confused as to why terminal keeps crashing! Continuously, even when chat does a simple file check, alignment

[imachew]

Prerequisites

• I have written a descriptive issue title.
• I have searched all open and closed issues to ensure it has not already been reported.
• I have read the troubleshooting guide.
• I am sure this issue is with the extension itself and does not reproduce in a standalone PowerShell instance.
• I have verified that I am using the latest version of Visual Studio Code and the PowerShell extension.
• If this is a security issue, I have read the security issue reporting guidance.

Summary

I do not know why it does it, but sometimes it can happen every so many minutes. I can be just asking it to format a file so that it has correct spacing etc. and even for that, it crashes, I have to reload terminal, constantly. But then chat stops at the same time.

PowerShell Version

Name                           Value
----                           -----
PSVersion                      7.6.0
PSEdition                      Core
GitCommitId                    7.6.0
OS                             Microsoft Windows 10.0.26300
Platform                       Win32NT
PSCompatibleVersions           {1.0, 2.0, 3.0, 4.0.}
PSRemotingProtocolVersion      2.4
SerializationVersion           1.1.0.1
WSManStackVersion              3.0

Visual Studio Code Version

1.114.0
x64

Extension Version

ms-vscode.powershell@2025.4.0

Steps to Reproduce

It can vary. Especially if I try and steer or re task chat.

Visuals

No response

Logs

No response

[nellygem-Hub]

I’m seeing what looks like the same class of problem on Windows with the PowerShell VS Code extension in pre-release 2026.1.0.

Symptoms:

PowerShell terminals kept getting spawned / respawned
CPU load and terminal/PTy host activity went up noticeably
the issue could be triggered even during light editor/chat activity
Relevant logs from PowerShell.log:

Sending document notification textDocument/didOpen failed
TypeError: Cannot read properties of undefined (reading 'started')
Connection to PowerShell Editor Services was closed
Additional clue:

disabling the PowerShell extension stopped the behavior
This may be the same issue family as this report, but with a more specific failure in PSES startup / document open handling.

[psdarwin]

I'm hitting the same issue and have been systematically narrowing
the cause over several weeks.

Environment:

• VS Code 1.130.0, x64, Windows 11
• PowerShell Extension v2025.4.0
• PowerShell 7.6.4

Key finding: Copilot inline completions are the trigger.

My workspace has a module manifest (.psd1) with 166 nested .psm1
modules. PSES disconnects its named pipe every 30-120 minutes during
normal editing. The disconnection is graceful -- no crash dump, no
Windows Event Log entry, no non-zero exit code.

Controlled test:

Mitigation	Result
Reduce orphan terminals (9 -> 1)	Still crashes
powershell.analyzeOpenDocumentsOnly: true	Still crashes
powershell.scriptAnalysis.enable: false	Still crashes
github.copilot.enable: { "powershell": false }	Stable for 3+ days
Re-enable Copilot inline	Crashes resume within hours

The issue also reproduces immediately when running Pester tests that
spawn child pwsh processes from the Extension Terminal.

Hypothesis: Copilot sends frequent language server requests
(hover, completions, signature help). Each request forces PSES to
resolve commands through a large module manifest. Under sustained
load the named pipe response pipeline backs up and PSES disconnects
rather than recovering.

Workaround: Disable Copilot inline suggestions for PowerShell
only ("github.copilot.enable": { "powershell": false }). Copilot
Chat still works -- only ghost-text suggestions are lost.