[BUG] Custom agents no longer work in VSCode extension

[pranavwagh]

Preflight Checklist

• [x] I have searched existing issues and this hasn't been reported yet
• [x] This is a single bug report (please file separate reports for different bugs)
• [x] I am using the latest version of Claude Code

What's Wrong?

Description: Custom agents defined in ~/.claude/agents/ worked in previous versions but are no longer recognized by the VSCode extension, causing a regression in functionality.

What Should Happen?

Expected Behavior: Custom agents in ~/.claude/agents/ (global) and .claude/agents/ (project-specific) should be loaded and available for use, as documented in the Claude Code documentation.

Actual Behavior: Only built-in agents (general-purpose, statusline-setup, output-style-setup) are recognized. Custom agents are completely ignored.

Error Messages/Logs

Steps to Reproduce

Steps to Reproduce:

1. Create a custom agent in ~/.claude/agents/agent-name.md with proper YAML frontmatter
2. Attempt to use it via the Task tool with subagent_type: "agent-name"
3. Receive error: "Agent type 'agent-name' not found. Available agents: general-purpose, statusline-setup, output-style-setup"

Claude Model

None

Is this a regression?

Yes, this worked in a previous version

Last Working Version

No response

Claude Code Version

2.0.8 (Claude Code)

Platform

Anthropic API

Operating System

Windows

Terminal/Shell

VS Code integrated terminal

Additional Information

Impact:

• Users who defined custom agents for workflows can no longer use them in VSCode extension
• Forces users to switch to CLI version to access custom agents
• Breaking change with no migration path or notification to users
• Documentation describes feature that doesn't work in VSCode extension

Environment:

• VSCode Extension (latest version)
• Windows 11
• Custom agent exists at: C:\Users\[user]\.claude\agents\agent-protocol-enforcer.md

Additional Context: This appears to be a regression or incomplete feature parity between CLI and VSCode extension. The documentation clearly describes custom agents as a supported feature, but they don't work in the VSCode extension.