Skip to content

Updating CodeQL CLI stalls EVERY TIME visual studio code is opened #4453

Description

@jessehouwing

Describe the bug
Every time I open Visual Studio Code a pop-up appears:

Updating CodeQL CLI: Extracting CodeQL CLI v2.26.o... [658.2MB of 658.8 MB]
Source: CodeQL

But the download/extract never seems to finish.

From the Output log, it seems that the download did finish and the CodeQL CLI is being extracted:

Starting GitHub.vscode-codeql extension
INFO: Could not find CodeQL on path.
INFO: Could not find CodeQL on path.
Searching for latest release including codeql-win64.zip.
Extracting CodeQL CLI to c:\Users\JesseHouwing\AppData\Roaming\Code\User\globalStorage\github.vscode-codeql\distribution15

Version
Identifier
github.vscode-codeql
Version
1.17.7
Last Updated
4 days ago

Version: 1.128.0 (user setup)
Commit: fc3def6774c76082adf699d366f31a557ce5573f
Date: 2026-07-07T15:14:24-07:00
Electron: 42.5.0
ElectronBuildId: 14525058
Chromium: 148.0.7778.271
Node.js: 24.17.0
V8: 14.8.178.33-electron.0
OS: Windows_NT x64 10.0.26200

To reproduce
Open any visual studio code window, a notification toast appears and the download starts. But never seems to finish.

Expected behavior
Either the download completes correctly and installation completes
Or I get a clear message helping me figure out what's wrong.

Additional context
Add any other context about the problem here.

Activity

  1. TobiasHeckAtos commented on Jul 13, 2026

    @TobiasHeckAtos

    I've got the same issue. And the "Updating CodeQL CLI..." dialog is blocking parts of the GitHub Copilot pane.

    Image
  2. jessehouwing commented on Jul 13, 2026

    @jessehouwing
    Author

    I've got the same issue. And the "Updating CodeQL CLI..." dialog is blocking parts of the GitHub Copilot pane.

    Image

    You can make that go away by clicking the little bell icon:

    Image
  3. fl0mb commented on Jul 14, 2026

    @fl0mb

    I have the same problem.

    Extensions logs:

    Starting GitHub.vscode-codeql extension
    INFO: Could not find CodeQL on path.
    INFO: Could not find CodeQL on path.
    Searching for latest release including codeql-linux64.zip.
    Extracting CodeQL CLI to /home/user/.config/Code/User/globalStorage/github.vscode-codeql/distribution10

    The notification is stuck at the following:
    Image

    VS Code Version:
    Version: 1.128.0
    Commit: fc3def6774c76082adf699d366f31a557ce5573f
    Date: 2026-07-07T15:14:24-07:00
    Electron: 42.5.0
    ElectronBuildId: 14525058
    Chromium: 148.0.7778.271
    Node.js: 24.17.0
    V8: 14.8.178.33-electron.0
    OS: Linux x64 7.0.14-1.qubes.fc41.x86_64

  4. josefs commented on Jul 14, 2026

    @josefs
    Contributor

    Thanks for the report. We're seeing the same problem internally and we are investigating it.

    In the meantime, if you're keen on using the latest CodeQL version, here's a workaround.

    1. Install the CodeQL CLI by yourself, following the instructions here: https://docs.github.com/en/code-security/how-tos/find-and-fix-code-vulnerabilities/scan-from-the-command-line/set-up-codeql-cli
    2. Go the the VSCode settings and change the CodeQL Cli: Executable Path setting to point to where you installed the CodeQL cli binary. Here's a screenshot:

    Image

  5. jessehouwing commented on Jul 14, 2026

    @jessehouwing
    Author

    I was surprised this isn't available through Winget/choco/Microsoft Store on the windows side.

  6. yodancristino commented on Jul 15, 2026

    @yodancristino

    It is still happening to the latest release v1.128.1.

  7. cklin commented on Jul 16, 2026

    @cklin
    Contributor

    The fix has been merged, and we will make a release in the next few days to make the fix available.

Sign up for free to join this conversation on GitHub. Already have an account? Sign in to comment

Metadata

Metadata

Assignees

No one assigned

    Labels

    VSCodebugSomething isn't working

    Type

    No type

    Projects

    No projects

      Milestone

      No milestone

      Relationships

      None yet

      Development

      No branches or pull requests

      Issue actions