agent-host-logs
Analyze Agent Host debug log exports. Use when given an ah-logs or ahp-logs zip/folder, an Export Agent Host Debug Logs bundle, events.jsonl, AHP JSONL…
npx skills add https://github.com/microsoft/vscode --skill agent-host-logsAgent Host Debug Logs
Use this skill to orient to bundles produced by Developer: Export Agent Host Debug Logs.... These are different from the normal timestamped Code OSS log directory.
Treat the bundle as sensitive: it can contain tokens, prompts, file contents, terminal output, paths, and settings. Keep analysis local and avoid quoting secrets or unrelated user content. Timestamps, event names, IDs, status values, and general property values are fine.
Open the Bundle
The export name usually starts with ah-logs and may be a zip or an already-unpacked folder. For a zip, use the bundled extractor:
python3 .github/skills/agent-host-logs/scripts/extract.py "<archive>.zip"
The final line gives the temporary extraction path. Work from that folder and delete only that exact folder when finished.
Files are collected best-effort, so a valid bundle may contain only some of these:
events.jsonl
Agent Host.log
Window.log
Shared.log
ahp/*.jsonl
copilot-logs/*.log
remote-agenthost.log
What the Files Mean
The basic flow is:
Window/client <-> AHP <-> Agent Host process <-> Copilot SDK
| Path | What it shows |
|---|---|
events.jsonl | Persisted Copilot SDK events for the selected session: turns, messages, tools, permissions, hooks, skills, and subagents. It can cover a much longer period than the other logs. |
ahp/*.jsonl | AHP traffic for a client connection. _ahpLog.dir is c2s or s2c; _ahpLog.ts is the wire timestamp. Use this to see requests, responses, subscriptions, actions, notifications, and client-visible ordering. |
Agent Host.log | Local Agent Host process behavior: startup, auth, sessions, provider events, tools, Git/worktrees, and host-side errors. |
copilot-logs/*.log | Copilot SDK process logs that mention the selected session ID. A process log may contain other sessions too. |
Window.log | Renderer/client behavior: connections, session adapters, UI state, permissions, rendering, and client-side errors. |
Shared.log | Shared-process activity. Usually secondary evidence and often noisy. |
Agent Host (<name>).log | Forwarded logs from a named remote Agent Host. |
remote-agenthost.log | A directly downloaded remote agenthost.log, when available. |
How to Start
- List the files and note their sizes.
- Identify the reported symptom, approximate time, local or remote host, and any known session, chat, turn, request, or tool ID.
- Start with the file closest to the symptom:
- Turn or provider behavior:
events.jsonl - Client/server state or ordering:
ahp/*.jsonl - Host implementation failure:
Agent Host.log - SDK behavior:
copilot-logs/*.log - UI behavior:
Window.log
- Turn or provider behavior:
- Search by the known time or ID, then follow the same operation into the adjacent layer.
Useful correlation fields include the raw session ID, session/chat URI, turnId, interactionId, tool/request IDs, JSON-RPC request id, AHP serverSeq, and event id/parentId.
Important Tips
events.jsonl, Copilot SDK logs, and AHP timestamps are normally UTC. The plain.logfiles may use local machine time; remote logs may use another timezone.- An AHP log is connection-scoped and can contain multiple sessions. A Copilot SDK process log can also contain multiple sessions.
- AHP files rotate as
.jsonl,.1.jsonl,.2.jsonl, and so on. Use_ahpLog.tsto reconstruct order. - A
subscriberesult can contain a full snapshot; its contents did not necessarily change at subscription time. _ahpLog.truncated: truemeans large values were omitted from that log record.- Warning or error severity alone does not prove causality. Look for the matching failed response, missing completion, or user-visible consequence.
- Missing files are normal because export collection is best-effort.