Display some error message about the fact that some remote kernels are no longer usable to avoid long spinnings of kernels in kernel picker

[p-i-]

Type: Bug

In my .ipynb I select a working kernel and can execute cells. However the kernel-picker spins for an additional 7+ minutes.

It turns out I had a dead/zombie kernel (http://10.3.0.1:6666/) -- removing it fixed the issue.

My own guess: When the kernel-picker is initially clicked, and the user has to choose which kernel to use, presumably VSCode attempts to communicate with each kernel in its list, in order to populate a list of available kernels. Maybe it launches a thread for each. And the kernel-picker icon is set to spin (🔄) until ALL have completed.

SUGGESTION 1: Before the user has made a selection, for each kernel in the list indicate the STATE of that kernel, maybe with icons: ✅ (ready to use), 🔄 (spinning), ❌ (failed)

SUGGESTION 2: When the user selects a kernel, any other threads should be cancelled, and the kernel-picker icon should reflect the status of the SELECTED kernel.

PS Issue was originally reported in #15911

I'm creating a fresh issue as there's a lot of fluff in that thread (as @DonJayamanne and I figured out which symptoms are (ir)relevant).

VS Code version: Code 1.92.0 (b1c0a14de1414fcdaa400695b4db1c0799bc3124, 2024-07-31T23:26:45.634Z)
OS version: Darwin arm64 23.5.0
Modes:

System Info

Item	Value
CPUs	Apple M2 (8 x 2400)
GPU Status	2d_canvas: enabled canvas_oop_rasterization: enabled_on direct_rendering_display_compositor: disabled_off_ok gpu_compositing: enabled multiple_raster_threads: enabled_on opengl: enabled_on rasterization: enabled raw_draw: disabled_off_ok skia_graphite: disabled_off video_decode: enabled video_encode: enabled webgl: enabled webgl2: enabled webgpu: enabled webnn: disabled_off
Load (avg)	1, 2, 2
Memory (System)	24.00GB (2.35GB free)
Process Argv	--crash-reporter-id f10d97cd-2115-4dba-a34a-07be9312995a
Screen Reader	no
VM	0%

Extensions (21)

Extension	Author (truncated)	Version
dvt-remote-ssh	ami	1.0.0
nestedtext	bma	2.0.0
githistory	don	0.6.20
copilot	Git	1.221.1038
copilot-chat	Git	0.19.2024073102
vsc-python-indent	Kev	1.18.0
rainbow-csv	mec	3.12.0
vscode-docker	ms-	1.29.1
debugpy	ms-	2024.10.0
python	ms-	2024.12.2
vscode-pylance	ms-	2024.8.1
jupyter	ms-	2024.7.0
jupyter-keymap	ms-	1.1.2
jupyter-renderers	ms-	1.0.19
vscode-jupyter-cell-tags	ms-	0.1.9
vscode-jupyter-slideshow	ms-	0.1.6
remote-containers	ms-	0.380.0
remote-ssh	ms-	0.113.1
remote-ssh-edit	ms-	0.86.0
remote-explorer	ms-	0.4.3
yaml-cloudformation-highlighter	paq	2.0.4

(1 theme extensions excluded)

A/B Experiments

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pythonmypyd1:30879173
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dsvsc016:30899300
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pythoncenvpt:31062603
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dvdeprecation:31068756
dwnewjupytercf:31046870
impr_priority:31102340
refactort:31108082
ccplc:31103425
pythonrstrctxt:31112756
wkspc-onlycs-c:31111717
wkspc-ranged-c:31111712

[vs-code-engineering]

Thanks for creating this issue! It looks like you may be using an old version of VS Code, the latest stable release is 1.92.1. Please try upgrading to the latest version and checking whether this issue remains.

Happy Coding!

[p-i-]

@vs-code-engineering bot: I'm unable to easily reproduce, as I've since removed the zombie kernel.

[DonJayamanne]

@p-i-
The other issues had all of the information and that was actually useful and was also in the correct repo
Moving back to Jupiter extension

[p-i-]

My thinking was that there is a maybe a problem more fundamental than the failing to report unresponsive kernels -- the problem that once the user has selected a working kernel, the picker-icon is not reflecting the state of the selected kernel. And I think logically it should be.

Yes it would also be nice to be notified of any unresponsive kernel.

When the user clicks the picker to select a kernel, presumably they want to see a list of available kernels. And next to each item, an icon showing the status of this item, which I imagine would be something like:

• currently running (🟢?)
• responsive (✅?)
• querying-in-progress / spinning (🔄)
• unresponsive / given-up-trying (⚠️ ! etc.)
• certified dead (❌?) (not sure if this makes sense)

And these stati would be refreshed in realtime.
And whichever kernel they click, the ongoing status is now represented by the picker-icon.

I didn't want to dilute the original issue, so posted a fresh one, linking back to the original. Maybe was my mistake to close the original one.

Anyway, I have nothing further useful to contribute to this topic, and so will leave it in the capable hands and minds of the VSCode team (thankyou for all your hard work!).