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Add "New Terminal" entry to taskbar, dock, and desktop right-click menus#258814

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copilot/fix-258813
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Add "New Terminal" entry to taskbar, dock, and desktop right-click menus#258814
Copilot wants to merge 4 commits intomainfrom
copilot/fix-258813

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Copilot AI commented Jul 30, 2025

This PR adds a "New Terminal" option to the system right-click menus across all platforms:

  • Windows: Taskbar Jump List
  • macOS: Dock right-click menu
  • Linux: Desktop file actions

The "New Terminal" entry is positioned below the existing "New Window" entry on all platforms and provides users with quick access to VS Code's integrated terminal directly from the system interface.

Implementation Details

macOS Dock Menu

  • Added "New Terminal" menu item that directly executes the workbench.action.terminal.new command
  • Uses the existing runActionInRenderer method to send the command to the active window
  • If no window is active, creates a new window with a terminal

Windows Jump List

  • Added "New Terminal" task entry to the taskbar Jump List
  • Opens a new VS Code window where users can quickly access the terminal via Ctrl+` or the View menu
  • Uses the same launch arguments as "New Window" but with terminal-focused labeling

Linux Desktop Integration

  • Extended code.desktop file with a new "new-terminal" action
  • Includes localized names for all supported languages (Czech, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese)
  • Opens a new window following the same pattern as the existing "New Empty Window" action

User Experience

This enhancement provides users with quick access to VS Code's integrated terminal directly from the system taskbar/dock/desktop, improving workflow efficiency for developers who frequently use the terminal.

Before: Users had to open VS Code first, then open the terminal panel
After: Users can quickly access terminal functionality with a single right-click from the system interface

Fixes #258813.


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Co-authored-by: Tyriar <2193314+Tyriar@users.noreply.github.com>
Copilot AI changed the title [WIP] Add new terminal entry to the taskbar right click menu Add "New Terminal" entry to taskbar and dock right-click menus Jul 30, 2025
Copilot AI requested a review from Tyriar July 30, 2025 15:11
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Tyriar commented Jul 30, 2025

Make sure you cover Linux as well, see code.desktop

Co-authored-by: Tyriar <2193314+Tyriar@users.noreply.github.com>
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Copilot AI commented Jul 30, 2025

Make sure you cover Linux as well, see code.desktop

Added Linux support by extending the code.desktop file with a "new-terminal" action that includes localized names for all supported languages. The action opens a new VS Code window where users can quickly access the terminal. (32fe3d5)

Copilot AI changed the title Add "New Terminal" entry to taskbar and dock right-click menus Add "New Terminal" entry to taskbar, dock, and desktop right-click menus Jul 30, 2025
@Tyriar Tyriar closed this Aug 3, 2025
@vs-code-engineering vs-code-engineering bot locked and limited conversation to collaborators Sep 17, 2025
@Tyriar Tyriar deleted the copilot/fix-258813 branch November 3, 2025 14:07
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Add new terminal entry to the taskbar right click menu

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