Microsoft please get your tab to autocomplete shit together

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

VS Code / Visual Studio C# Autocomplete Issues

  • Multiple comments describe C# (often Unity) autocomplete in VS Code as “weirdly bad”: wrong symbols, nonsensical suggestions, braces eaten, and fragile language server behavior.
  • Some report Visual Studio proper is much better for Unity/C#, while others say recent Visual Studio versions have also regressed (e.g., LINQ lambdas hijacked by irrelevant symbol completions).

Copilot, Tab vs Enter, and Confusing UX

  • A core complaint: Tab now accepts Copilot/AI completions, while Enter accepts traditional language-server suggestions.
  • This clashes with long‑standing muscle memory (Tab for Intellisense), causes accidental acceptance of AI code, and makes simple indentation painful when AI offers suggestions on empty lines.
  • Some users disable Copilot entirely; others like Copilot’s inline suggestions but turn off standard Intellisense instead.

Terminal Autocomplete Rollout

  • New terminal suggestions in VS Code are heavily criticized: breaking shell completion, inserting wrong absolute paths, interfering with history search and custom keybindings, and even crashing terminals.
  • A VS Code team member explains the goal is to lower the barrier for newcomers, cites positive Insiders feedback and ~80% “success” metrics, and notes the feature is configurable and being refined (e.g., WSL path issues).
  • Critics argue Insiders are a biased sample, telemetry is intrusive, and breaking existing terminal behavior by default is unacceptable.

Perceived Regression and AI-First Direction

  • Several users feel VS Code “worked flawlessly for years” but recent releases are dominated by AI‑driven features that regress core functionality (C++, Rust, Python suggestions, Git tooling).
  • Some suspect non‑AI autocomplete isn’t being dogfooded anymore; others see similar decline in competing tools (e.g., PyCharm hallucinating completions).

Alternatives and Editor Ecosystem

  • Rider, Zed, neovim (and helix), Sublime Text, and “real” Visual Studio are mentioned as escapes from VS Code’s AI/UX changes, though each has trade‑offs (missing features, VC/ROI worries, different key models).

Broader Microsoft UX Critique

  • The discussion broadens into longstanding frustration with Windows Search and the Start Menu: slow, network‑dependent, ad‑laden, and unreliable compared to older versions.
  • This is framed as part of a pattern: core tools degraded by telemetry, ads, and AI branding (“Copilot 365”), with users resorting to debloating scripts, registry hacks, and third‑party utilities.