Feature Request: CPU Usage Limiting for Extension Host Process

[technic960183]

Description

Allow users to limit CPU usage for the Extension Host process, particularly during its initialization phase.

Background

In high-performance computing (HPC) environments, resources on login nodes are tightly restricted to maintain system stability for all users. During VS Code remote SSH startup, the Extension Host process often creates a significant CPU usage spike, specifically while initializing. For users on HPC login nodes, this spike can exceed system limits, resulting in the process of the Extension Host being automatically killed by the system. Once the initialization completes, the Extension Host runs with minimal CPU needs, so the issue is specific to the startup phase.

Details of Investigation

I have done extensive profiling to isolate this issue and verify that the spike occurs specifically in the initialization phase of the Extension Host process. This peak CPU demand is transient but high enough to exceed the limits in shared HPC environments. While this issue could also arise when there are many extensions installed, users in remote SSH environments often accept a slower initialization process in comparison to personal computers, as long as essential extensions can be loaded successfully.
The process that cause the issue: /work1/username/.vscode-server/cli/servers/Stable-e8653663e8840adaf45af01eab5c627a5af81807/server/node --dns-result-order=ipv4first /work1/username/.vscode-server/cli/servers/Stable-e8653663e8840adaf45af01eab5c627a5af81807/server/out/bootstrap-fork --type=extensionHost --transformURIs --useHostProxy=false

Feature Request

I am requesting a feature that would allow users to set a CPU usage cap for the Extension Host process. A configuration or setting within VS Code to limit its CPU usage, even temporarily during initialization, would enable smoother integration in HPC environments.

While this may not be an issue for most VS Code users on personal computers, HPC users often encounter CPU usage limits rules that will kill the process. Introducing this feature could also benefit other restricted environments where resources are shared, making VS Code a more viable editor for scientific and high-performance computing users.

Thank you for considering this feature to improve VS Code’s compatibility with HPC systems.