Add recently used branches tracking for PR creation by Copilot · Pull Request #8300 · microsoft/vscode-pull-request-github

Copilot · 2025-12-11T10:19:54Z

Users with repositories containing thousands of branches couldn't find commonly used base branches (e.g., develop) because the branch list would timeout and be incomplete. Even when branches were fetched, scrolling through hundreds or thousands to find the right one was impractical.

Changes

Workspace state tracking: RECENTLY_USED_BRANCHES

Stores base branch history per repository using owner/repo key
Tracks up to 10 most recently used base branches (hard-coded)
Updates when a base branch is selected or when a PR is successfully created
Maintains most recent branches (FIFO)

Enhanced branch picker UI:

Shows "Recently Used" section at top with tracked branches
Shows "All Branches" section below
Shows recently used branches even if they weren't fetched - this ensures branches like develop appear even when timeout cuts off the branch list

Implementation

Modified BaseCreatePullRequestViewProvider.branchPicks() to show all recently used branches:

// Get recently used branches for base branches only
let recentBranches: string[] = [];
if (isBase) {
    const recentlyUsed = this.getRecentlyUsedBranches(owner, repositoryName);
    // Include all recently used branches, even if they're not in the current branch list
    // This allows showing branches that weren't fetched due to timeout
    recentBranches = recentlyUsed;
    otherBranches = branchNames.filter(name => !recentBranches.includes(name));
}

Branches are saved in two locations:

When user selects a base branch in processRemoteAndBranchResult()
When PR creation succeeds in create()

The existing branchListTimeout setting remains available for users who want to fetch more branches within a longer timeout window.

Original prompt

This section details on the original issue you should resolve

<issue_title>Support showing more branches when a repository has many branches</issue_title>
<issue_description>

I am trying to create a Pull Request, but I cannot find the branch to merge into it (I am looking for the branch develop).

It started to happen a couple of versions ago, the issue is probably happening because we have thousands of branches (most of them associated with merged PRs), and the extension is just displaying a bunch of them (like 900) but not all we have.

Some versions ago, the extension was selecting the default branch to merge into (develop), but now it not even displaying it.

Extension version: 0.28.0

VSCode Version: 1.59.0-insider

OS: Windows 10

Steps to Reproduce:

GitHub Pull Requests: Create Pull Request
</issue_description>

<agent_instructions>Have a setting to increase the timeout, have an option to list more branches, and save the users recently used branches. </agent_instructions>

Comments on the Issue (you are @copilot in this section)
@alexr00 For users who have many branches, the extension would just freeze. We now have a timeout so that we don't freeze, but it does mean that not all branches will show. @alexr00 If anyone wants to contribute such a setting I would accept a PR for it! In addition to a setting, we would ideally save recently used branches and show those immediately. @alexr00 @libra850 that would help, but I think we should also keep track of the the recently used branches and show those immediately.

Fixes Support showing more branches when a repository has many branches #2840

💬 We'd love your input! Share your thoughts on Copilot coding agent in our 2 minute survey.

Co-authored-by: alexr00 <38270282+alexr00@users.noreply.github.com>

- Added RECENTLY_USED_BRANCHES state key and RecentlyUsedBranchesState interface - Added RECENTLY_USED_BRANCHES_COUNT setting key (default: 5, range: 0-20) - Added setting in package.json with localization - Implemented getRecentlyUsedBranches() and saveRecentlyUsedBranch() helper methods - Modified branchPicks() to show recently used branches at the top with separators - Added calls to save base branch when selected and when PR is created Co-authored-by: alexr00 <38270282+alexr00@users.noreply.github.com>

- Extract getRecentlyUsedBranchesMaxCount() to avoid redundant config reads - Both getRecentlyUsedBranches() and saveRecentlyUsedBranch() now use the helper Co-authored-by: alexr00 <38270282+alexr00@users.noreply.github.com>

alexr00 · 2025-12-12T11:01:23Z

package.json

 					"minimum": 1000,
 					"markdownDescription": "%githubPullRequests.branchListTimeout.description%"
 				},
+				"githubPullRequests.recentlyUsedBranchesCount": {


@copilot, no need to have a setting for this, just hard code it to 10.

Done. Hard-coded to 10 and removed the setting in commit 5c10ed4.

alexr00 · 2025-12-12T11:03:39Z

src/github/createPRViewProvider.ts

+			// Filter to only include branches that exist in the current branch list
+			recentBranches = recentlyUsed.filter(recent => branchNames.includes(recent));


@copilot allow branches that aren't in branch list.

Done. Recently used branches are now shown even if they weren't fetched in the current branch list. This ensures branches like 'develop' appear at the top even when the timeout cuts off the fetch. Commit 5c10ed4.

…n list - Remove recentlyUsedBranchesCount setting as requested - Hard-code limit to 10 branches instead of using configurable setting - Allow recently used branches even if they're not in the fetched branch list This ensures branches like 'develop' are shown even when timeout cuts off the list Co-authored-by: alexr00 <38270282+alexr00@users.noreply.github.com>

Initial plan

75624de

Copilot AI assigned Copilot and alexr00 Dec 11, 2025

Copilot started work on behalf of alexr00 December 11, 2025 10:20 View session

Copilot AI and others added 3 commits December 11, 2025 10:25

Initial plan for supporting more branches in PR creation

87cdab6

Co-authored-by: alexr00 <38270282+alexr00@users.noreply.github.com>

Optimize configuration reads by extracting helper method

5766796

- Extract getRecentlyUsedBranchesMaxCount() to avoid redundant config reads - Both getRecentlyUsedBranches() and saveRecentlyUsedBranch() now use the helper Co-authored-by: alexr00 <38270282+alexr00@users.noreply.github.com>

Copilot AI changed the title ~~[WIP] Fix branch selection issue for large repositories~~ Add recently used branches tracking for PR creation Dec 11, 2025

Copilot AI requested a review from alexr00 December 11, 2025 10:43

Copilot finished work on behalf of alexr00 December 11, 2025 10:43

alexr00 requested changes Dec 12, 2025

View reviewed changes

Copilot started work on behalf of alexr00 December 12, 2025 11:04 View session

Copilot AI requested a review from alexr00 December 12, 2025 11:11

Copilot finished work on behalf of alexr00 December 12, 2025 11:11

Merge branch 'main' into copilot/fix-branch-selection-issue

580b56d

alexr00 marked this pull request as ready for review December 12, 2025 11:52

alexr00 approved these changes Dec 12, 2025

View reviewed changes

alexr00 enabled auto-merge (squash) December 12, 2025 11:52

vs-code-engineering bot added this to the December / January 2026 milestone Dec 12, 2025

lszomoru approved these changes Dec 12, 2025

View reviewed changes

alexr00 merged commit 0a4aae5 into main Dec 12, 2025
6 checks passed

alexr00 deleted the copilot/fix-branch-selection-issue branch December 12, 2025 12:05

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Add recently used branches tracking for PR creation#8300

Add recently used branches tracking for PR creation#8300
alexr00 merged 6 commits intomainfrom
copilot/fix-branch-selection-issue

Copilot AI commented Dec 11, 2025 •

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		// Filter to only include branches that exist in the current branch list
		recentBranches = recentlyUsed.filter(recent => branchNames.includes(recent));

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Copilot AI commented Dec 11, 2025 •

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