Visual Studio Code - Gemini Code Assist plugin - fails to start - Cannot create a string longer than

Google Cloud Cloud Foundations & Onboarding
1

Reporting a problem with the Gemini Code Assist plugin for Visual Studio Code v.2.30.3.

When loading the plugin, the side bar for the plugin has the clock loading icon and never loads. and I had to go to the command palette > Developer : Show Logs > Extension Host > then I filter by “google” and find the following error logs:

2025-04-08 16:49:52.738 [info] ExtensionService#_doActivateExtension google.geminicodeassist, startup: false, activationEvent: ‘onStartupFinished’
2025-04-08 16:49:55.487 [error] Error: Cannot create a string longer than 0x1fffffe8 characters
at Buffer.toString (node:buffer:834:17)
at /Users/rl740o/.vscode/extensions/google.geminicodeassist-2.30.3/dist/extension.js:2:13519669
at /Users/rl740o/.vscode/extensions/google.geminicodeassist-2.30.3/dist/extension.js:2:11955580
at FSReqCallback.readFileAfterClose [as oncomplete] (node:internal/fs/read/context:68:3)

Steps Taken:

  • VS Code has been reinstalled.
  • The extension has been reinstalled.
  • VS Code settings have been purged (deleted settings.json).
  • VS Code cache has been cleared.
  • NVM and Node.js have been uninstalled, and shell configuration cleaned.
  • The issue occurs even without a workspace loaded, and with a minimal VS Code setup.

Version: 1.99.1 (Universal)
Commit: 7c6fdfb0b8f2f675eb0b47f3d95eeca78962565b
Date: 2025-04-04T15:58:59.624Z
Electron: 34.3.2
ElectronBuildId: 11161073
Chromium: 132.0.6834.210
Node.js: 20.18.3
V8: 13.2.152.41-electron.0
OS: Darwin arm64 24.3.0

2

Hi @rl740o ,

Welcome to the Google Cloud Community!

Thanks for sharing the troubleshooting steps you’ve completed. Our team is currently aware of similar reports where the Gemini Code Assist for VS Code extension crashes or fails to start. We’re working to resolve this, along with the list of known issues.

To narrow down the issue further, could you check the following:

As a workaround, consider installing an older version of the extension to see if that resolves the issue.

I also recommend cross posting your thread on the following channels for more visibility:

Was this helpful? If so, please accept this answer as “Solution”. If you need additional assistance, reply here within 2 business days and I’ll be happy to help.