report tool calls while their arguments stream (LSP progress and ACP preview) #53

`

Summary

In agent mode, a client learns nothing about a tool call until the model has finished generating all of its arguments. For file-writing tools this means a long silence. A large create_file (about 12.5k characters) leaves the client idle for 30–40 s, with no indication that a file is being written or which one. The server already receives the arguments in pieces from the model; it just doesn't forward them. We're asking for an opt-in way to receive them, in LSP mode and in the ACP preview.

Environment

• @github/copilot-language-server 1.551.2 (latest on npm), macOS arm64
• LSP mode (--stdio): conversation/create with chatMode: "Agent", client tools registered with conversation/registerTools
• Model: Claude Sonnet 5.5 (similar behaviour with GPT models)

What we observed (LSP mode)

We logged every JSON-RPC message in both directions, with millisecond timestamps, for a prompt that writes one large index.html through a client create_file tool:

Reply text does stream live in the same turn. Only the tool-call arguments are held back.

Why (from reading the published dist/main.js)

• The stream handlers for the Messages, Responses and Chat Completions APIs already produce beginToolCalls (name and id, at content_block_start / output_item.added) and copilotToolCallStreamUpdates (the arguments so far, on each input_json_delta / function_call_arguments.delta).
• The only consumer of these fields appears to be FetchStreamRecorder (timing). The agent loop's stream callback (ConversationFinishCallback.isFinishedAfter) forwards text, annotations, references, errors and thinking, but not tool-call starts or argument deltas.
• AgentToolCalls.init sets the status "not started", but that status is never reported. The first status a client sees is "running", with the arguments already complete.
• We found no copilotCapabilities flag, initialization option or feature flag that changes this.

ACP (preview)

• Through the server's --acp relay to the Copilot CLI (1.0.93, observed with a scripted model stand-in): a tool_call with status: "pending" arrives about 7 ms after the model finishes the arguments. It carries the title ("Creating …/index.html") and the full rawInput. During the 18.6 s of argument streaming, no session/update was sent.
• The internal ACP pipeline (GITHUB_COPILOT_ACP_USE_CLI=0) builds its tool_call from the same progress reports, so we expect the same timing. We read this from the code but couldn't run it live.
• The Copilot CLI's own SDK stream already exposes this (assistant.tool_call_delta with toolCallId, toolName, inputDelta), so the data and the event shape exist. Since ACP is in preview, this looks like a good time to carry it through ACP too.

Request (opt-in, no change for existing clients)

For example initializationOptions.copilotCapabilities.toolCallStreaming: true:

1. Tool-call start. When the model starts a tool call, report it right away:
   • LSP: an editAgentRounds[].toolCalls[] entry with id, name and status: "not started" (or a new "streaming").
   • ACP: a tool_call with status: "pending" and the tool's title.
2. Argument progress. Send throttled updates (for example every 100–250 ms) carrying the arguments accumulated so far, as raw partial JSON:
   • LSP: a partialInput field.
   • ACP: a tool_call_update with rawInput. That lets clients show the file path as soon as it appears, and the content growing.
3. Same id throughout, so the call carries on into running / conversation/invokeClientTool and then completed.

Why it matters

Users see an idle spinner for the entire time a large file is being written, and it looks like the agent is stuck. Other agent hosts show "Creating <file>" and a growing line count during this phase. This change would let LSP and ACP clients do the same, with data the server already has.