52 lines
2.5 KiB
Markdown
52 lines
2.5 KiB
Markdown
# Copilot Chat Incident Report: Context Loss After Project Context Change
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Date observed: 2026-04-21
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Reporter: Michael Shallop (Gramps)
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Environment: VS Code on Linux, GitHub Copilot Chat extension present
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## Summary
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Switching/loading project context in the VS Code project window caused Copilot Chat conversational context to reset. This resulted in loss of recently generated conclusion/plan data that was intended to be implemented immediately after loading the new project.
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## Impact
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- Lost actionable conclusions from the active design/planning thread.
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- Interrupted workflow at a critical handoff point (planning -> implementation).
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- Forced reconstruction from memory instead of exact prior content.
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- Increased risk of omissions and rework.
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## Reproduction Steps
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1. Have an active Copilot Chat conversation containing planning/conclusion details.
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2. Load or switch project context in the current project window.
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3. Return to Copilot Chat and continue the thread.
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4. Observe that prior context is no longer available in-chat as expected.
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## Expected Behavior
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- Prior active conversation context should remain available, or
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- The user should be prompted before context-destructive operations, and
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- Recovery path should be obvious and reliable.
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## Actual Behavior
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- Current chat context was effectively reset.
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- The previously concluded upgrade notes were not recoverable from active context.
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- Local transcript/debug artifacts did not provide the full prior thread needed.
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## Severity
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High (workflow-breaking for planning-heavy sessions)
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## User-visible Failure Mode
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The user lost conclusion data that was intended for immediate implementation once the new project loaded.
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## Suggested Fixes
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1. Preserve active chat state across workspace/project context changes by default.
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2. Show a blocking warning before any action that can drop active conversation state.
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3. Add one-click export/snapshot of current conversation before context switch.
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4. Improve transcript durability and discoverability for immediate recovery.
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5. Add explicit session continuity indicator so users can verify state retention.
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## Notes
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- This incident occurred in a real implementation workflow and caused direct productivity loss.
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- Regression tests should include workspace switch/load scenarios with active chat state.
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## Escalation Constraint
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- Current product constraints prevented the assistant from directly self-reporting this incident to the Copilot/VS Code dev team from within the chat runtime.
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- User feedback to include verbatim: "it is idiotic to keep you from self-reporting issues like this."
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