levelcodeai · ndemianc · Jul 20, 2026 · Jul 20, 2026 · Jul 20, 2026
diff --git a/docs/CORE-PATCHES.md b/docs/CORE-PATCHES.md
@@ -26,7 +26,7 @@ So a full rebuild from nothing is: `bootstrap.sh` (clone → brand → extension
 To re-create the core patch after changing core files in `vscode/`:
 
 ```bash
-# STRUCTURAL patch only (11 files). Display-string rebrands are NOT here — they live in scripts/de-brand.mjs.
+# STRUCTURAL patch only (14 files). Display-string rebrands are NOT here — they live in scripts/de-brand.mjs.
 git -C vscode diff HEAD -- \
   src/vs/workbench/contrib/files/browser/files.contribution.ts \
   build/lib/extensions.ts build/lib/copilot.ts \
@@ -38,12 +38,22 @@ git -C vscode diff HEAD -- \
   src/vs/workbench/contrib/welcomeOnboarding/browser/welcomeOnboarding.contribution.ts \
   src/vs/workbench/api/node/loopbackServer.ts \
   src/vs/workbench/contrib/chat/browser/chatSetup/chatSetupContributions.ts \
+  src/vs/base/common/product.ts \
+  src/vs/platform/dialogs/electron-browser/dialog.ts \
+  src/vs/workbench/contrib/update/browser/updateTooltip.ts \
   > patches/levelcode-core.patch
 # NOTE 1: use `diff HEAD` (not plain `diff`) — bootstrap's `git apply` may leave these STAGED,
 # and plain `git diff` shows only UNSTAGED changes, silently dropping the staged patches.
 # NOTE 2: regenerate BEFORE running de-brand.mjs. de-brand's global MS-doc-link sweep (pass 2) also
 # strips links from `files.contribution.ts` (a patched file); if you regen after de-brand, those
 # link-strips leak into the patch. Order: patch → regen → de-brand (this is also bootstrap's order).
+# NOTE 3: if the checkout is ALREADY de-branded (the usual case after a build) do NOT regen wholesale —
+# it silently fattened `files.contribution.ts` by ~95 lines of link-strips the one time we tried. Instead
+# APPEND only the new file's entry to the existing patch, which stays valid because bootstrap applies it
+# to a fresh, pre-de-brand checkout:
+#     git -C vscode diff HEAD -- <only/the/new/file.ts> >> patches/levelcode-core.patch
+# Then verify: the pre-existing entries are byte-identical to before, the appended entry contains no
+# `aka.ms`/`code.visualstudio.com` strips, and `git -C vscode apply --check --reverse` accepts it.
 ```
 
 To find every core touch in the checkout:
@@ -74,6 +84,10 @@ compile-client` after touching a core file.**
 | 10 | `api/node/loopbackServer.ts` (`getHtml`) | Replace the `this._appName === 'Visual Studio Code'` / `'… - Insiders'` branches (which embedded the VS Code stable/Insiders **shields**, falling through to the blue VS Code **"book"** default) with a single **LevelCode chevron** data-URI. | De-brand (WS-C/L5). A latent bug **and** a leak: `appName` is now "LevelCode" so no branch matched → every GitHub OAuth success page flashed a VS Code logo. `this._appName` is still used in the page text, so no unused-field error. |
 | 11 | `chat/browser/chatSetup/chatSetupContributions.ts` | **Hide** the two GitHub Copilot sign-in call-to-actions (Accounts menu + title bar) with `when: ContextKeyExpr.false()`, and drop the two imports that becomes unused (`ChatEntitlementContextKeys`, `InEditorZenModeContext` — strict build). | De-brand (WS-A/B4). A sign-in funnel for an extension we don't ship. **Gated per MENU ITEM on purpose.** The previous attempt forced `IChatEntitlementService.setForceHidden(true)` instead — but `Setup.hidden` is upstream's *hide-ALL-chat/agent-UI* flag, not a CTA gate: it also gates `OPEN_AGENTS_WINDOW_PRECONDITION` (constants.ts), the **Agent Plugins view**, chat participants and several chat/plugin actions. That shipped in v0.6.0–v0.7.0 and made **Open Agents Window disappear from the Command Palette**. Never gate a de-brand on `Setup.hidden`; gate the item. |
 
+| 12 | `src/vs/base/common/product.ts` | Add optional `levelcodeVersion` + `levelcodeReleaseDate` to `IProductConfiguration`. | `version` is the Code-OSS base (`1.126.0`) and **must stay 1.x** — it is what extensions' `engines.vscode` is validated against, so it cannot be renamed to the LevelCode release. These carry the human-facing release identity alongside it. Stamped into the built `product.json` by `scripts/stamp-levelcode-version.mjs` (run from `build-macos.sh`, tag-derived); both optional, so a dev build with no reachable tag still renders. |
+| 13 | `update/browser/updateTooltip.ts` | `Current Version:` shows `levelcodeVersion ?? version`; `Released` prefers `levelcodeReleaseDate`. | The update tooltip read **“Current Version: 1.126.0 (cdf2549)” — a Code-OSS version next to a LevelCode commit**, and a “Released” date from the upstream base's build (months before the build the user installed). Reported as counter-intuitive after the first real auto-update. `Latest Version:` already used the feed's `productVersion` and needed no change. |
+| 14 | `platform/dialogs/electron-browser/dialog.ts` | About shows `0.8.0 … — Code-OSS 1.126.0`, and the Date row prefers `levelcodeReleaseDate`. | Same root cause as #13, on the native About dialog. Keeps **both** here on purpose: About is pasted into bug reports, so the release version identifies the build while the base version explains extension-compatibility behaviour. |
+
 ## String + link rebrands — `scripts/de-brand.mjs` (NOT in the patch)
 
 Content-based replacements — matched on the string, not its line number — so they survive upstream line

diff --git a/patches/levelcode-core.patch b/patches/levelcode-core.patch
@@ -290,3 +290,104 @@ index 1a1f1e1d..56af75ac 100644
 -	order: 3
 -});
 +// [LevelCode] Removed the Help ▸ "Editor Playground" menu item (Microsoft VS Code walkthrough content).
+diff --git a/src/vs/base/common/product.ts b/src/vs/base/common/product.ts
+index 5a1a2018..7d238537 100644
+--- a/src/vs/base/common/product.ts
++++ b/src/vs/base/common/product.ts
+@@ -89,6 +89,25 @@ export interface IProductConfiguration {
+ 	readonly quality?: string;
+ 	readonly commit?: string;
+
++	/**
++	 * [LevelCode] The LevelCode RELEASE version ("0.8.0"), stamped at build time from the git tag.
++	 *
++	 * Distinct from `version`, which is and must remain the Code-OSS base ("1.126.0") — that is the
++	 * value extensions' `engines.vscode` is validated against, so renaming it would reject every
++	 * extension requiring ^1.x. Use this for anything a HUMAN reads (update UI, About); use `version`
++	 * for compatibility checks. Absent in dev builds, so always fall back to `version`.
++	 */
++	readonly levelcodeVersion?: string;
++
++	/**
++	 * [LevelCode] When this build's commit was COMMITTED (ISO 8601, git `%cI`), stamped alongside
++	 * `levelcodeVersion`. Committer date, not author date: "Released" means when the build's commit
++	 * landed, and a cherry-picked or rebased commit's author date can predate the release by weeks.
++	 * `date` is the Code-OSS build date and is misleading in release UI — it reflects the upstream base,
++	 * not when this LevelCode release shipped.
++	 */
++	readonly levelcodeReleaseDate?: string;
++
+ 	readonly nameShort: string;
+ 	readonly nameLong: string;
+
+diff --git a/src/vs/platform/dialogs/electron-browser/dialog.ts b/src/vs/platform/dialogs/electron-browser/dialog.ts
+index ec26804c..766198c2 100644
+--- a/src/vs/platform/dialogs/electron-browser/dialog.ts
++++ b/src/vs/platform/dialogs/electron-browser/dialog.ts
+@@ -11,19 +11,33 @@ import { IProductService } from '../../product/common/productService.js';
+ import { process } from '../../../base/parts/sandbox/electron-browser/globals.js';
+
+ export function createNativeAboutDialogDetails(productService: IProductService, osProps: IOSProperties): { title: string; details: string; detailsToCopy: string } {
+-	let version = productService.version;
++	// [LevelCode] Lead with the RELEASE version — that is what a user installed and what the release,
++	// the update feed and the download page all call it. `productService.version` is the Code-OSS base
++	// ("1.126.0") and must stay 1.x for extensions' engines.vscode, so it cannot simply be renamed.
++	// About is a diagnostics surface people paste into bug reports, so keep BOTH: the release version
++	// identifies the build, the base version explains extension-compatibility behaviour. Dev builds
++	// carry no stamp and fall back to showing the base alone.
++	let version = productService.levelcodeVersion ?? productService.version;
+ 	if (productService.target) {
+ 		version = `${version} (${productService.target} setup)`;
+ 	} else if (productService.darwinUniversalAssetId) {
+ 		version = `${version} (Universal)`;
+ 	}
++	if (productService.levelcodeVersion) {
++		version = `${version} — Code-OSS ${productService.version}`;
++	}
+
+ 	const getDetails = (useAgo: boolean): string => {
+ 		return localize({ key: 'aboutDetail', comment: ['Electron, Chromium, Node.js and V8 are product names that need no translation'] },
+ 			"Version: {0}\nCommit: {1}\nDate: {2}\nElectron: {3}\nElectronBuildId: {4}\nChromium: {5}\nNode.js: {6}\nV8: {7}\nOS: {8}",
+ 			version,
+ 			productService.commit || 'Unknown',
+-			productService.date ? `${productService.date}${useAgo ? ' (' + fromNow(new Date(productService.date), true) + ')' : ''}` : 'Unknown',
++			// [LevelCode] Same reasoning as the version: `date` is the Code-OSS base's build date, reading as a
++			// release date months before the build the user actually installed.
++			(() => {
++				const d = productService.levelcodeReleaseDate ?? productService.date;
++				return d ? `${d}${useAgo ? ' (' + fromNow(new Date(d), true) + ')' : ''}` : 'Unknown';
++			})(),
+ 			process.versions['electron'],
+ 			process.versions['microsoft-build'],
+ 			process.versions['chrome'],
+diff --git a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/update/browser/updateTooltip.ts b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/update/browser/updateTooltip.ts
+index 85e34cca..3f9b67ba 100644
+--- a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/update/browser/updateTooltip.ts
++++ b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/update/browser/updateTooltip.ts
+@@ -137,7 +137,11 @@ export class UpdateTooltip extends Disposable {
+ 	}
+
+ 	private updateCurrentVersion() {
+-		const productVersion = this.productService.version;
++		// [LevelCode] Show the RELEASE version ("0.8.0"), never `version` — that is the Code-OSS base
++		// ("1.126.0"), which must stay 1.x for extensions' engines.vscode. Pairing it with a LevelCode
++		// commit made this read as a different product than the one that was installed. Dev builds carry
++		// no stamp, so fall back rather than showing nothing.
++		const productVersion = this.productService.levelcodeVersion ?? this.productService.version;
+ 		if (productVersion) {
+ 			const currentCommitId = this.productService.commit?.substring(0, 7);
+ 			this.currentVersionNode.textContent = currentCommitId
+@@ -381,8 +385,11 @@ export class UpdateTooltip extends Disposable {
+ 			this.latestVersionNode.parentElement!.style.display = 'none';
+ 		}
+
+-		// Release date
+-		const releaseDate = update?.timestamp ?? tryParseDate(this.productService.date);
++		// [LevelCode] Release date: for the running build prefer the LevelCode date — `date` is the Code-OSS
++		// base's build date, so it reported a "Released" months before the release the user installed.
++		const releaseDate = update?.timestamp
++			?? tryParseDate(this.productService.levelcodeReleaseDate)
++			?? tryParseDate(this.productService.date);
+ 		if (typeof releaseDate === 'number' && releaseDate > 0) {
+ 			this.releaseDateNode.textContent = localize('updateTooltip.releasedLabel', "Released {0}", formatDate(releaseDate));
+ 			this.releaseDateNode.style.display = '';
diff --git a/scripts/build-macos.sh b/scripts/build-macos.sh
@@ -85,6 +85,27 @@ node "$SCRIPT_DIR/strip-proprietary.mjs" "$BUILT_APP/LevelCode.app/Contents/Reso
 echo "[build] Hiding not-yet-ready features from the app (LevelCode Sync) …"
 node "$SCRIPT_DIR/strip-unreleased.mjs" "$BUILT_APP/LevelCode.app/Contents/Resources/app"
 
+# Stamp the LevelCode RELEASE version for anything a human reads (update tooltip, About). product.json
+# `version` deliberately stays the Code-OSS base — it is what extensions' engines.vscode is validated
+# against — so the release version rides ALONGSIDE it rather than replacing it. Without this the update
+# UI reports "1.126.0", the upstream base, next to a LevelCode commit. See stamp-levelcode-version.mjs.
+# Tag-derived. NOTE the deliberate absence of --abbrev=0: at the exact tag (what CI checks out for a
+# release) `describe` returns a clean "v0.8.0", but OFF the tag it returns "v0.8.0-1-g404ef20". With
+# --abbrev=0 a dev build five commits past a release stamps a bare "0.8.0" and impersonates it in the
+# UI; the suffix makes such a build self-identifying. A checkout with no reachable tag skips the stamp
+# entirely and the UI falls back to `version`.
+# %cI is the COMMITTER date on purpose: "Released" means when this build's commit landed, not when the
+# work was originally written — a cherry-picked commit's author date can predate the release by weeks.
+if LC_VERSION="$(git -C "$ROOT_DIR" describe --tags 2>/dev/null)" && [ -n "$LC_VERSION" ]; then
+  LC_DATE="$(git -C "$ROOT_DIR" log -1 --format=%cI HEAD 2>/dev/null || true)"
+  echo "[build] Stamping the LevelCode release version ($LC_VERSION) …"
+  node "$SCRIPT_DIR/stamp-levelcode-version.mjs" \
+    "$BUILT_APP/LevelCode.app/Contents/Resources/app" "$LC_VERSION" "$LC_DATE"
+else
+  echo "[build] WARN: no reachable git tag — skipping the release-version stamp. The update UI will"
+  echo "[build]       show the Code-OSS base version instead of a LevelCode one."
+fi
+
 # The .app inside is named from product.json nameLong -> "LevelCode.app".
 echo "[build] Done."
 echo "[build] Output folder: $BUILT_APP"

diff --git a/scripts/stamp-levelcode-version.mjs b/scripts/stamp-levelcode-version.mjs
@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+/*---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
+ *  LevelCode — stamp the RELEASE version into the BUILT app's product.json.
+ *
+ *  Usage:  node stamp-levelcode-version.mjs <app>/Contents/Resources/app <version> [isoDate]
+ *
+ *  WHY THIS EXISTS
+ *  product.json `version` is, and must remain, the Code-OSS base ("1.126.0"). That value is what
+ *  extensions' `engines.vscode` is validated against — set it to "0.8.0" and every extension
+ *  requiring ^1.x is rejected. But it is also what the update UI and About dialog display, so a
+ *  LevelCode build reported itself as "1.126.0", released on the upstream base's build date, while
+ *  carrying a LevelCode commit. Half Code-OSS, half LevelCode, and confusing either way.
+ *
+ *  So we add SEPARATE, human-facing fields rather than overloading `version`:
+ *    levelcodeVersion      "0.8.0"                 ← from the git tag
+ *    levelcodeReleaseDate  "2026-07-20T02:51:22Z"  ← when this build's commit was COMMITTED (%cI)
+ *
+ *  Compatibility checks keep reading `version`; humans read these. Both are optional in the type,
+ *  so a dev build with neither still renders (it falls back to `version`).
+ *
+ *  Idempotent + loud: re-stamping overwrites, and every outcome is printed.
+ *--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
+import fs from "node:fs";
+import path from "node:path";
+
+const appDir = process.argv[2];
+const version = process.argv[3];
+const isoDate = process.argv[4];
+
+if (!appDir || !version) {
+	console.error("[stamp] ERROR: usage: stamp-levelcode-version.mjs <.../Resources/app> <version> [isoDate]");
+	process.exit(1);
+}
+if (!fs.existsSync(appDir)) {
+	console.error(`[stamp] ERROR: ${appDir} not found — pass the built app's Contents/Resources/app dir.`);
+	process.exit(1);
+}
+
+// A release version, not a tag: "v0.8.0" would render as "Current Version: v0.8.0".
+//
+// Accepted: X.Y.Z, optionally followed by a `-` or `+` suffix. The suffix is REQUIRED, not tolerated —
+// build-macos.sh runs `git describe --tags` without --abbrev=0, so an off-tag build passes
+// "v0.8.0-1-g404ef20" and must keep that suffix: it is exactly what stops a dev build from
+// impersonating the release it happens to sit after. An exact-tag build (what CI does for a release)
+// passes a clean "v0.8.0" and gets a clean "0.8.0".
+//
+// Rejected: anything else — "v0.8", a branch name, an empty describe. Those exit non-zero so the build
+// fails rather than shipping a nonsense product version.
+const clean = String(version).replace(/^v/, "");
+if (!/^\d+\.\d+\.\d+([-+].+)?$/.test(clean)) {
+	console.error(`[stamp] ERROR: "${version}" is not X.Y.Z or X.Y.Z-<suffix> — refusing to stamp.`);
+	process.exit(1);
+}
+
+const productPath = path.join(appDir, "product.json");
+try {
+	const product = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(productPath, "utf8"));
+	const previous = product.levelcodeVersion;
+
+	product.levelcodeVersion = clean;
+	if (isoDate && !Number.isNaN(Date.parse(isoDate))) {
+		product.levelcodeReleaseDate = new Date(isoDate).toISOString();
+	} else if (isoDate) {
+		console.warn(`[stamp] WARN: ignoring unparseable date "${isoDate}" — the UI will fall back to product.date.`);
+	}
+
+	fs.writeFileSync(productPath, JSON.stringify(product, null, "\t") + "\n");
+	console.log(
+		`[stamp] product.json levelcodeVersion = ${clean}` +
+		(product.levelcodeReleaseDate ? `, levelcodeReleaseDate = ${product.levelcodeReleaseDate}` : "") +
+		(previous && previous !== clean ? `  (was ${previous})` : "")
+	);
+	// `version` stays put on purpose — see the header.
+	console.log(`[stamp] product.json version left at ${product.version} (Code-OSS base, for engines.vscode).`);
+} catch (e) {
+	console.error(`[stamp] ERROR: could not stamp ${productPath}: ${(e && e.message) || e}`);
+	process.exit(1);
+}