Problem
I use the Google Antigravity VS Code extension (google.google-antigravity, installed version 1.5.0) for my Gemini workflow. I would like its UI to appear as a tab in the Secondary Side Bar alongside Chat, Codex, and Claude Code after installation, without patching extension files.
The installed Antigravity 1.5.0 manifest declares its antigravity-sidebar view container under contributes.viewsContainers.activitybar only. For comparison, my installed Codex extension declares a secondarySidebar container with a conditional Activity Bar fallback. VS Code therefore already provides a contribution mechanism for this placement.
Requested behavior
- Contribute an Antigravity tab to the Secondary Side Bar on supported VS Code versions, with an appropriate fallback for older versions.
- Respect user-selected placement and ensure reveal, focus, and close commands work in the selected region.
- Keep the experience working across restarts and extension updates without modifying installed files or VS Code’s internal layout database.
Working customization
I implemented a local workaround here:
The script moves the manifest container from activitybar to secondarySidebar, assigns a new container ID, and labels it Gemini. It also changes the extension’s internal viewLocation from sidebar to auxiliarybar, updates saved layout entries, and clears stale extension scan caches before a full restart.
The Gemini label is my local customization; the main request is native sidebar placement, independent of the tab’s product name.
Why native support matters
Updating or reinstalling the extension replaces the patched installation files, so I must reapply the workaround. Native support would remove this maintenance burden and let me switch assistants while keeping my editor and primary sidebar available.
I initially filed this with VS Code, but closed that request after checking the extension manifests and identifying this as an extension integration request: Support persistent extension tabs beside Chat in the Secondary Side Bar (Gemini/Antigravity use case) · Issue #337925 · microsoft/vscode · GitHub
Environment: macOS; Google Antigravity VS Code extension 1.5.0.