What is 'Restricted mode' in the VS Code status bar and how can I disable it?

Question

In VS Code 1.57, I see this on the left of my status bar:

What is Restricted mode and how I can I remove this from my status bar?

Answer 1

How to disable the "Trust" feature

This will disable all prompts and trust mode features, making vscode behave exactly like it did before this feature was added.

• GUI (ctrl ,)

  • Search for "Trust" in the settings menu and uncheck: security.workspace.trust.enabled

• settings.json

  • add the following line: "security.workspace.trust.enabled": false

Answer 2

What is Restricted Mode?

At first glance, this new "Restricted Mode" seems unnecessary and obtrusive.

I believe its purpose is to prevent execution of untrusted code - e.g. as a result of an extension or using the "debug" option on an untrusted file. It seems to work in a similar manner to the restricted mode on MS Office apps, like MS Word, which restricts editing, saving and printing files until manually enabled.

From the Visual Studio Code documentation on Workspace Trust:

Restricted Mode tries to prevent automatic code execution by disabling or limiting the operation of several VS Code features: tasks, debugging, workspace settings, and extensions.

Personally, I have never come up against a situation where this would have been a problem and it seems like a constant nuisance for the sake of the one occasion it could be useful. That said, I imagine some people work with potentially dodgy files more often.

What can I do about it?

There are four new settings that allow us to customise this feature:

If you wanted to remove the feature, you can just switch off Trust, which "Controls whether or not workspace trust is enabled within VS Code". I have tried this and it does seem to completely disable this new feature - even removing related options from the command palette.

You can also control how VS Code works when opening an empty environment and how VS Code behaves with regards to untrusted files.

If you keep "Trust" enabled, you can also configure folders that you consider "safe" - for example your usual workspace, vs. your downloads folder.

Follow these steps to configure your trusted folders:

1. Hit CTRL+SHIFT+P (or your local equivalent) to open the Command Palette.
2. Start typing Workspaces: Manage Workspace Trust and select the entry when it comes up.
3. Alternatively, click the cog and select "Manage Workplace Trust", as it seems there is a new entry for it there.
4. You will be presented with the following form, showing the option to trust/untrust the current window and an option at the bottom-left to configure trusted folders:

5. Select the "Add Folder" button at the bottom and add folders that you trust.

Where can I find more information?

The release notes for VS Code v1.57 can be found on GitHub. There is also a specific page dedicated to workspace trust on code.visualstudio.com.