Refactoring at scale is a time-consuming and error-prone process for developers. In large codebases, developers have relied on manual searches and incremental edits across multiple files to accomplish these tasks.

Modern development workflows depend on fast and accurate code navigation to avoid these pitfalls. When developers refactor existing code, explore unfamiliar areas of a large codebase, or make targeted changes, they naturally rely on IDE language service features such as Find All References, Go to Definition, and Go to Implementation to understand how code is structured and connected.

Agent mode now has access to these same language-aware capabilities through the new find_symbol tool. This goes beyond traditional text or file search traditionally available in agent mode by enabling symbol-level reasoning powered by enterprise-grade language services.

What is find_symbol?

Find_symbol exposes rich, language-specific symbol information to Copilot Agent Mode, allowing the agent to reason about symbols (including functions, classes, interfaces, and variables).

Specifically, this tool allows Copilot agent mode to:

• View all references of a given symbol across the entire codebase
• Understand symbol metadata such as type, declaration, implementation, and scope

The find_symbol tool is available today in the latest Visual Studio 2026 Insiders version 18.4. Supported languages include: C++, C#, Razor, TypeScript, and any other language for which you have a supported Language Server Protocol (LSP) extension installed.

For best results, write clear prompts and use AI models that support tool-calling. Learn more at AI model comparison – GitHub Docs

Example scenarios

All examples below were showcased using bullet3, an open-source C++ physics simulation engine.

Adding additional functionality to existing code

As applications evolve, you often need to enhance existing functions without breaking current behavior. This can include adding logging or performance metrics.

These tools help the agent quickly identify all relevant references, ensuring complete and accurate updates for feature additions.

API Refactoring

Refactoring an API, such as hardening it, requires deep understanding of how the API is consumed across a codebase. With symbol-level insight, the agent can discover all usages, distinguish between call paths, and propose safe refactors with minimal breakage.

Tell us what you think

We appreciate the time you’ve spent reporting issues/suggestions and hope you continue to give us feedback when using Visual Studio on what you like and what we can improve. You can share feedback with us via Developer Community: report any bugs or issues via report a problem and share your suggestions for new features or improvements to existing ones.

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