diff --git a/build/win32/code.iss b/build/win32/code.iss
index 8728ca24..0bd3d09c 100644
--- a/build/win32/code.iss
+++ b/build/win32/code.iss
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ AppMutex={code:GetAppMutex}
 SetupMutex={#AppMutex}setup
 ; this is a Void icon comment. Old: WizardImageFile="{#RepoDir}\resources\win32\inno-big-100.bmp,{#RepoDir}\resources\win32\inno-big-125.bmp,{#RepoDir}\resources\win32\inno-big-150.bmp,{#RepoDir}\resources\win32\inno-big-175.bmp,{#RepoDir}\resources\win32\inno-big-200.bmp,{#RepoDir}\resources\win32\inno-big-225.bmp,{#RepoDir}\resources\win32\inno-big-250.bmp"
 ; this is a Void icon comment. Old: WizardSmallImageFile="{#RepoDir}\resources\win32\inno-small-100.bmp,{#RepoDir}\resources\win32\inno-small-125.bmp,{#RepoDir}\resources\win32\inno-small-150.bmp,{#RepoDir}\resources\win32\inno-small-175.bmp,{#RepoDir}\resources\win32\inno-small-200.bmp,{#RepoDir}\resources\win32\inno-small-225.bmp,{#RepoDir}\resources\win32\inno-small-250.bmp"
-WizardImageFile="{#RepoDir}\resources\win32\inno-void.bmp"
+; WizardImageFile="{#RepoDir}\resources\win32\inno-void.bmp"
 WizardSmallImageFile="{#RepoDir}\resources\win32\inno-void.bmp"
 SetupIconFile={#RepoDir}\resources\win32\code.ico
 UninstallDisplayIcon={app}\{#ExeBasename}.exe
diff --git a/resources/win32/code.ico b/resources/win32/code.ico
index 2659eb19..26774fa2 100644
Binary files a/resources/win32/code.ico and b/resources/win32/code.ico differ
diff --git a/resources/win32/inno-void.bmp b/resources/win32/inno-void.bmp
index fb3fad34..3c986c74 100644
Binary files a/resources/win32/inno-void.bmp and b/resources/win32/inno-void.bmp differ
diff --git a/src/vs/platform/void/common/llmMessageService.ts b/src/vs/platform/void/common/llmMessageService.ts
index caaeb0c8..40855c8d 100644
--- a/src/vs/platform/void/common/llmMessageService.ts
+++ b/src/vs/platform/void/common/llmMessageService.ts
@@ -98,6 +98,7 @@ export class LLMMessageService extends Disposable implements ILLMMessageService
 		}
 		const { providerName, modelName } = modelSelection
 
+		// add ai instructions here because we don't have access to voidSettingsService on the other side of the proxy
 		const aiInstructions = this.voidSettingsService.state.globalSettings.aiInstructions
 		if (aiInstructions)
 			proxyParams.messages.unshift({ role: 'system', content: aiInstructions })
diff --git a/src/vs/platform/void/common/llmMessageTypes.ts b/src/vs/platform/void/common/llmMessageTypes.ts
index f14e82a6..77b31c07 100644
--- a/src/vs/platform/void/common/llmMessageTypes.ts
+++ b/src/vs/platform/void/common/llmMessageTypes.ts
@@ -30,6 +30,12 @@ export type LLMMessage = {
 	content: string;
 }
 
+export type _InternalLLMMessage = {
+	role: 'user' | 'assistant';
+	content: string;
+}
+
+
 export type ServiceSendLLMFeatureParams = {
 	useProviderFor: 'Ctrl+K';
 	range: IRange;
@@ -80,7 +86,7 @@ export type EventLLMMessageOnFinalMessageParams = Parameters<OnFinalMessage>[0]
 export type EventLLMMessageOnErrorParams = Parameters<OnError>[0] & { requestId: string }
 
 export type _InternalSendLLMMessageFnType = (params: {
-	messages: LLMMessage[];
+	messages: _InternalLLMMessage[];
 	onText: OnText;
 	onFinalMessage: OnFinalMessage;
 	onError: OnError;
diff --git a/src/vs/platform/void/common/voidUpdateService.ts b/src/vs/platform/void/common/voidUpdateService.ts
index 0304073f..fbe602b7 100644
--- a/src/vs/platform/void/common/voidUpdateService.ts
+++ b/src/vs/platform/void/common/voidUpdateService.ts
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import { createDecorator } from '../../instantiation/common/instantiation.js';
 import { ProxyChannel } from '../../../base/parts/ipc/common/ipc.js';
 import { IMainProcessService } from '../../ipc/common/mainProcessService.js';
 import { InstantiationType, registerSingleton } from '../../instantiation/common/extensions.js';
+import { IMetricsService } from './metricsService.js';
 
 
 
@@ -27,16 +28,17 @@ export class VoidUpdateService implements IVoidUpdateService {
 
 	constructor(
 		@IMainProcessService mainProcessService: IMainProcessService, // (only usable on client side)
+		@IMetricsService private readonly metricsService: IMetricsService,
 	) {
 		// creates an IPC proxy to use metricsMainService.ts
 		this.voidUpdateService = ProxyChannel.toService<IVoidUpdateService>(mainProcessService.getChannel('void-channel-update'));
 	}
 
 
-
 	// anything transmitted over a channel must be async even if it looks like it doesn't have to be
 	check: IVoidUpdateService['check'] = async () => {
 		const res = await this.voidUpdateService.check()
+		this.metricsService.capture('Check for Updates', { ...res })
 		return res
 	}
 }
diff --git a/src/vs/platform/void/electron-main/llmMessage/anthropic.ts b/src/vs/platform/void/electron-main/llmMessage/anthropic.ts
index 04dcaa21..59d4c04a 100644
--- a/src/vs/platform/void/electron-main/llmMessage/anthropic.ts
+++ b/src/vs/platform/void/electron-main/llmMessage/anthropic.ts
@@ -7,11 +7,6 @@ import Anthropic from '@anthropic-ai/sdk';
 import { _InternalSendLLMMessageFnType } from '../../common/llmMessageTypes.js';
 import { anthropicMaxPossibleTokens } from '../../common/voidSettingsTypes.js';
 
-// Anthropic
-type LLMMessageAnthropic = {
-	role: 'user' | 'assistant';
-	content: string;
-}
 export const sendAnthropicMsg: _InternalSendLLMMessageFnType = ({ messages, onText, onFinalMessage, onError, settingsOfProvider, modelName, _setAborter }) => {
 
 	const thisConfig = settingsOfProvider.anthropic
@@ -24,20 +19,9 @@ export const sendAnthropicMsg: _InternalSendLLMMessageFnType = ({ messages, onTe
 
 	const anthropic = new Anthropic({ apiKey: thisConfig.apiKey, dangerouslyAllowBrowser: true });
 
-	// find system messages and concatenate them
-	const systemMessage = messages
-		.filter(msg => msg.role === 'system')
-		.map(msg => msg.content)
-		.join('\n');
-
-	// remove system messages for Anthropic
-	const anthropicMessages = messages.filter(msg => msg.role !== 'system') as LLMMessageAnthropic[]
-
-
-
 	const stream = anthropic.messages.stream({
-		system: systemMessage,
-		messages: anthropicMessages,
+		// system: systemMessage,
+		messages: messages,
 		model: modelName,
 		max_tokens: maxTokens,
 	});
diff --git a/src/vs/platform/void/electron-main/llmMessage/gemini.ts b/src/vs/platform/void/electron-main/llmMessage/gemini.ts
index 557d28c7..936a68f0 100644
--- a/src/vs/platform/void/electron-main/llmMessage/gemini.ts
+++ b/src/vs/platform/void/electron-main/llmMessage/gemini.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
  *  Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. See LICENSE.txt for more information.
  *--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
 
-import { Content, GoogleGenerativeAI, GoogleGenerativeAIFetchError } from '@google/generative-ai';
+import { Content, GoogleGenerativeAI } from '@google/generative-ai';
 import { _InternalSendLLMMessageFnType } from '../../common/llmMessageTypes.js';
 
 // Gemini
@@ -16,22 +16,17 @@ export const sendGeminiMsg: _InternalSendLLMMessageFnType = async ({ messages, o
 	const genAI = new GoogleGenerativeAI(thisConfig.apiKey);
 	const model = genAI.getGenerativeModel({ model: modelName });
 
-	// remove system messages that get sent to Gemini
-	// str of all system messages
-	const systemMessage = messages
-		.filter(msg => msg.role === 'system')
-		.map(msg => msg.content)
-		.join('\n');
-
 	// Convert messages to Gemini format
 	const geminiMessages: Content[] = messages
-		.filter(msg => msg.role !== 'system')
 		.map((msg, i) => ({
 			parts: [{ text: msg.content }],
 			role: msg.role === 'assistant' ? 'model' : 'user'
 		}))
 
-	model.generateContentStream({ contents: geminiMessages, systemInstruction: systemMessage, })
+	model.generateContentStream({
+		// systemInstruction: systemMessage,
+		contents: geminiMessages,
+	})
 		.then(async response => {
 			_setAborter(() => response.stream.return(fullText))
 
@@ -43,11 +38,6 @@ export const sendGeminiMsg: _InternalSendLLMMessageFnType = async ({ messages, o
 			onFinalMessage({ fullText });
 		})
 		.catch((error) => {
-			if (error instanceof GoogleGenerativeAIFetchError && error.status === 400) {
-				onError({ message: 'Invalid API key.', fullError: null });
-			}
-			else {
-				onError({ message: error + '', fullError: error });
-			}
+			onError({ message: error + '', fullError: error })
 		})
 }
diff --git a/src/vs/platform/void/electron-main/llmMessage/openai.ts b/src/vs/platform/void/electron-main/llmMessage/openai.ts
index 391764cb..aa696dc9 100644
--- a/src/vs/platform/void/electron-main/llmMessage/openai.ts
+++ b/src/vs/platform/void/electron-main/llmMessage/openai.ts
@@ -79,7 +79,6 @@ export const sendOpenAIMsg: _InternalSendLLMMessageFnType = ({ messages, onText,
 		throw new Error(`providerName was invalid: ${providerName}`)
 	}
 
-	openai.models.list()
 	openai.chat.completions
 		.create(options)
 		.then(async response => {
@@ -98,7 +97,7 @@ export const sendOpenAIMsg: _InternalSendLLMMessageFnType = ({ messages, onText,
 				onError({ message: 'Invalid API key.', fullError: error });
 			}
 			else {
-				onError({ message: error, fullError: error });
+				onError({ message: error + '', fullError: error });
 			}
 		})
 
diff --git a/src/vs/platform/void/electron-main/llmMessage/sendLLMMessage.ts b/src/vs/platform/void/electron-main/llmMessage/sendLLMMessage.ts
index 5d1866db..ebe6083c 100644
--- a/src/vs/platform/void/electron-main/llmMessage/sendLLMMessage.ts
+++ b/src/vs/platform/void/electron-main/llmMessage/sendLLMMessage.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@
  *  Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. See LICENSE.txt for more information.
  *--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
 
-import { LLMMMessageParams, OnText, OnFinalMessage, OnError } from '../../common/llmMessageTypes.js';
+import { LLMMMessageParams, OnText, OnFinalMessage, OnError, LLMMessage, _InternalLLMMessage } from '../../common/llmMessageTypes.js';
 import { IMetricsService } from '../../common/metricsService.js';
 
 import { sendAnthropicMsg } from './anthropic.js';
@@ -12,8 +12,43 @@ import { sendOpenAIMsg } from './openai.js';
 import { sendGeminiMsg } from './gemini.js';
 import { sendGroqMsg } from './groq.js';
 
+
+const cleanMessages = (messages: LLMMessage[]): _InternalLLMMessage[] => {
+	// trim message content (Anthropic and other providers give an error if there is trailing whitespace)
+	messages = messages.map(m => ({ ...m, content: m.content.trim() }))
+
+	// find system messages and concatenate them
+	const systemMessage = messages
+		.filter(msg => msg.role === 'system')
+		.map(msg => msg.content)
+		.join('\n') || undefined;
+
+	// remove all system messages
+	const noSystemMessages = messages
+		.filter(msg => msg.role !== 'system') as _InternalLLMMessage[]
+
+	// add system mesasges to first message (should be a user message)
+	if (systemMessage && (noSystemMessages.length !== 0)) {
+		const newFirstMessage = {
+			role: noSystemMessages[0].role,
+			content: (''
+				+ '<SYSTEM_MESSAGE>\n'
+				+ systemMessage
+				+ '\n'
+				+ '</SYSTEM_MESSAGE>\n'
+				+ noSystemMessages[0].content
+			)
+		}
+		noSystemMessages.splice(0, 1) // delete first message
+		noSystemMessages.unshift(newFirstMessage) // add new first message
+	}
+
+	return noSystemMessages
+}
+
+
 export const sendLLMMessage = ({
-	messages,
+	messages: messages_,
 	onText: onText_,
 	onFinalMessage: onFinalMessage_,
 	onError: onError_,
@@ -26,9 +61,7 @@ export const sendLLMMessage = ({
 
 	metricsService: IMetricsService
 ) => {
-
-	// trim message content (Anthropic and other providers give an error if there is trailing whitespace)
-	messages = messages.map(m => ({ ...m, content: m.content.trim() }))
+	const messages = cleanMessages(messages_)
 
 	// only captures number of messages and message "shape", no actual code, instructions, prompts, etc
 	const captureChatEvent = (eventId: string, extras?: object) => {
@@ -37,6 +70,9 @@ export const sendLLMMessage = ({
 			modelName,
 			numMessages: messages?.length,
 			messagesShape: messages?.map(msg => ({ role: msg.role, length: msg.content.length })),
+			origNumMessages: messages_?.length,
+			origMessagesShape: messages_?.map(msg => ({ role: msg.role, length: msg.content.length })),
+
 			...extras,
 		})
 	}
diff --git a/src/vs/platform/void/electron-main/metricsMainService.ts b/src/vs/platform/void/electron-main/metricsMainService.ts
index fdfb1d16..cd8abf2b 100644
--- a/src/vs/platform/void/electron-main/metricsMainService.ts
+++ b/src/vs/platform/void/electron-main/metricsMainService.ts
@@ -9,84 +9,123 @@ import { generateUuid } from '../../../base/common/uuid.js';
 import { IEnvironmentMainService } from '../../environment/electron-main/environmentMainService.js';
 
 import { IProductService } from '../../product/common/productService.js';
-import { IStorageMainService } from '../../storage/electron-main/storageMainService.js';
+import { StorageScope, StorageTarget } from '../../storage/common/storage.js';
+import { IApplicationStorageMainService } from '../../storage/electron-main/storageMainService.js';
 
 import { IMetricsService } from '../common/metricsService.js';
 import { PostHog } from 'posthog-node'
 
 
 const os = isWindows ? 'windows' : isMacintosh ? 'mac' : isLinux ? 'linux' : null
+const _getOSInfo = () => {
+	try {
+		const { platform, arch } = process // see platform.ts
+		return { platform, arch }
+	}
+	catch (e) {
+		return { osInfo: { platform: '??', arch: '??' } }
+	}
+}
+const osInfo = _getOSInfo()
 
-const VOID_MACHINE_STORAGE_KEY = 'void.machineId'
+// we'd like to use devDeviceId on telemetryService, but that gets sanitized by the time it gets here as 'someValue.devDeviceId'
 
 export class MetricsMainService extends Disposable implements IMetricsService {
 	_serviceBrand: undefined;
 
 	private readonly client: PostHog
 
-	private readonly _initProperties: object
+	private _initProperties: object = {}
 
 
-	// TODO we should eventually identify people based on email
-	private get machineId() {
-		const currVal = this._storageService.applicationStorage.get(VOID_MACHINE_STORAGE_KEY)
+	// helper - looks like this is stored in a .vscdb file in ~/Library/Application Support/Void
+	private _memoStorage(key: string, target: StorageTarget, setValIfNotExist?: string) {
+		const currVal = this._appStorage.get(key, StorageScope.APPLICATION)
 		if (currVal !== undefined) return currVal
-		const newVal = generateUuid()
-		this._storageService.applicationStorage.set(VOID_MACHINE_STORAGE_KEY, newVal)
+		const newVal = setValIfNotExist ?? generateUuid()
+		this._appStorage.store(key, newVal, StorageScope.APPLICATION, target)
 		return newVal
 	}
 
 
+	// this is old, eventually we can just delete this since all the keys will have been transferred over
+	// returns 'NULL' or the old key
+	private get oldId() {
+		// check new storage key first
+		const newKey = 'void.app.oldMachineId'
+		const newOldId = this._appStorage.get(newKey, StorageScope.APPLICATION)
+		if (newOldId) return newOldId
+
+		// put old key into new key if didn't already
+		const oldValue = this._appStorage.get('void.machineId', StorageScope.APPLICATION) ?? 'NULL' // the old way of getting the key
+		this._appStorage.store(newKey, oldValue, StorageScope.APPLICATION, StorageTarget.MACHINE)
+		return oldValue
+
+		// in a few weeks we can replace above with this
+		// private get oldId() {
+		// 	return this._memoStorage('void.app.oldMachineId', StorageTarget.MACHINE, 'NULL')
+		// }
+	}
+
+
+	// the main id
+	private get distinctId() {
+		const oldId = this.oldId
+		const setValIfNotExist = oldId === 'NULL' ? undefined : oldId
+		return this._memoStorage('void.app.machineId', StorageTarget.MACHINE, setValIfNotExist)
+	}
+
+	// just to see if there are ever multiple machineIDs per userID (instead of this, we should just track by the user's email)
+	private get userId() {
+		return this._memoStorage('void.app.userMachineId', StorageTarget.USER)
+	}
+
 	constructor(
 		@IProductService private readonly _productService: IProductService,
-		@IStorageMainService private readonly _storageService: IStorageMainService,
 		@IEnvironmentMainService private readonly _envMainService: IEnvironmentMainService,
+		@IApplicationStorageMainService private readonly _appStorage: IApplicationStorageMainService,
 	) {
 		super()
 		this.client = new PostHog('phc_UanIdujHiLp55BkUTjB1AuBXcasVkdqRwgnwRlWESH2', {
 			host: 'https://us.i.posthog.com',
 		})
 
-		// we'd like to use devDeviceId on telemetryService, but that gets sanitized by the time it gets here as 'someValue.devDeviceId'
+		this.initialize() // async
+	}
+
+	async initialize() {
+		// very important to await whenReady!
+		await this._appStorage.whenReady
 
 		const { commit, version, quality } = this._productService
 
 		const isDevMode = !this._envMainService.isBuilt // found in abstractUpdateService.ts
 
-
 		// custom properties we identify
 		this._initProperties = {
 			commit,
-			version,
+			vscodeVersion: version,
 			os,
 			quality,
-			distinctId: this.machineId,
+			distinctId: this.distinctId,
+			distinctIdUser: this.userId,
+			oldId: this.oldId,
 			isDevMode,
-			...this._getOSInfo(),
+			...osInfo,
 		}
 
 		const identifyMessage = {
-			distinctId: this.machineId,
+			distinctId: this.distinctId,
 			properties: this._initProperties,
 		}
 		this.client.identify(identifyMessage)
 
 		console.log('Void posthog metrics info:', JSON.stringify(identifyMessage, null, 2))
-
 	}
 
-	_getOSInfo() {
-		try {
-			const { platform, arch } = process // see platform.ts
-			return { platform, arch }
-		}
-		catch (e) {
-			return { osInfo: { platform: '??', arch: '??' } }
-		}
-	}
 
 	capture: IMetricsService['capture'] = (event, params) => {
-		const capture = { distinctId: this.machineId, event, properties: params } as const
+		const capture = { distinctId: this.distinctId, event, properties: params } as const
 		// console.log('full capture:', capture)
 		this.client.capture(capture)
 	}
diff --git a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/autocompleteService.ts b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/autocompleteService.ts
index 9237c7ca..5a1a1c5a 100644
--- a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/autocompleteService.ts
+++ b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/autocompleteService.ts
@@ -134,14 +134,14 @@ class LRUCache<K, V> {
 	}
 }
 
-type AutocompletionStatus = 'pending' | 'finished' | 'error';
+
 type Autocompletion = {
 	id: number,
 	prefix: string,
 	suffix: string,
 	startTime: number,
 	endTime: number | undefined,
-	status: AutocompletionStatus,
+	status: 'pending' | 'finished' | 'error',
 	llmPromise: Promise<string> | undefined,
 	insertText: string,
 	requestId: string | null,
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@ const postprocessResult = (result: string) => {
 
 
 // trims the end of the prefix to improve cache hit rate
-const removeLeftTabsAndTrimEnd = (s: string): string => {
+const removeLeftTabsAndTrimEnds = (s: string): string => {
 	const trimmedString = s.trimEnd();
 	const trailingEnd = s.slice(trimmedString.length);
 
@@ -223,7 +223,7 @@ function getStringUpToUnbalancedParenthesis(s: string, prefix: string): string {
 const parenthesisChars = `{}()[]<>\`'"`
 
 // returns the text in the autocompletion to display, assuming the prefix is already matched
-const toInlineCompletions = ({ matchInfo, prefix, suffix, autocompletion, position, debug }: { matchInfo: matchInfo, prefix: string, suffix: string, autocompletion: Autocompletion, position: Position, debug?: boolean }): { insertText: string, range: Range }[] => {
+const toInlineCompletions = ({ matchInfo, prefix, suffix, autocompletion, position, debug }: { matchInfo: DisplayRelativeToPrefix, prefix: string, suffix: string, autocompletion: Autocompletion, position: Position, debug?: boolean }): { insertText: string, range: Range }[] => {
 
 
 	const suffixLines = suffix.split('\n')
@@ -365,18 +365,18 @@ const getLastLine = (s: string): string => {
 	return matches ? matches[0] : ''
 }
 
-type matchInfo = {
-	lineStart: number,
-	character: number,
+type DisplayRelativeToPrefix = {
+	startLine: number,
+	startCharacter: number,
 	startIdx: number,
 }
 // returns the startIdx of the match if there is a match, or undefined if there is no match
 // all results are wrt `autocompletion.result`
-const getPrefixAutocompletionMatch = ({ prefix, autocompletion }: { prefix: string, autocompletion: Autocompletion }): matchInfo | undefined => {
+const getPrefixAutocompletionMatch = ({ prefix, autocompletion }: { prefix: string, autocompletion: Autocompletion }): DisplayRelativeToPrefix | undefined => {
 
-	const trimmedCurrentPrefix = removeLeftTabsAndTrimEnd(prefix)
-	const trimmedCompletionPrefix = removeLeftTabsAndTrimEnd(autocompletion.prefix)
-	const trimmedCompletionMiddle = removeLeftTabsAndTrimEnd(autocompletion.insertText)
+	const trimmedCurrentPrefix = removeLeftTabsAndTrimEnds(prefix)
+	const trimmedCompletionPrefix = removeLeftTabsAndTrimEnds(autocompletion.prefix)
+	const trimmedCompletionMiddle = removeLeftTabsAndTrimEnds(autocompletion.insertText)
 
 	// console.log('@result: ', JSON.stringify(autocompletion.insertText))
 	// console.log('@trimmedCurrentPrefix: ', JSON.stringify(trimmedCurrentPrefix))
@@ -432,8 +432,8 @@ const getPrefixAutocompletionMatch = ({ prefix, autocompletion }: { prefix: stri
 	const startIdx = getIndex(autocompletion.insertText, lineStart, character)
 
 	return {
-		lineStart,
-		character,
+		startLine: lineStart,
+		startCharacter: character,
 		startIdx,
 	}
 
@@ -527,7 +527,7 @@ export class AutocompleteService extends Disposable implements IAutocompleteServ
 
 		// get autocompletion from cache
 		let cachedAutocompletion: Autocompletion | undefined = undefined
-		let matchInfo: matchInfo | undefined = undefined
+		let matchInfo: DisplayRelativeToPrefix | undefined = undefined
 		for (const autocompletion of this._autocompletionsOfDocument[docUriStr].items.values()) {
 			// if the user's change matches up with the generated text
 			matchInfo = getPrefixAutocompletionMatch({ prefix, autocompletion })
@@ -687,7 +687,7 @@ export class AutocompleteService extends Disposable implements IAutocompleteServ
 			await newAutocompletion.llmPromise
 			// console.log('id: ' + newAutocompletion.id)
 
-			const matchInfo: matchInfo = { startIdx: 0, lineStart: 0, character: 0 }
+			const matchInfo: DisplayRelativeToPrefix = { startIdx: 0, startLine: 0, startCharacter: 0 }
 			const inlineCompletions = toInlineCompletions({ matchInfo, autocompletion: newAutocompletion, prefix, suffix, position })
 			return inlineCompletions
 
@@ -737,8 +737,8 @@ export class AutocompleteService extends Disposable implements IAutocompleteServ
 				// autocompletion.prefix + autocompletion.insertedText ~== insertedText
 				completions.items.forEach(item => {
 					this._autocompletionsOfDocument[docUriStr].items.forEach((autocompletion: Autocompletion) => {
-						if (removeLeftTabsAndTrimEnd(prefix)
-							=== removeLeftTabsAndTrimEnd(autocompletion.prefix + autocompletion.insertText)
+						if (removeLeftTabsAndTrimEnds(prefix)
+							=== removeLeftTabsAndTrimEnds(autocompletion.prefix + autocompletion.insertText)
 						) {
 							this._autocompletionsOfDocument[docUriStr].delete(autocompletion.id);
 						}
diff --git a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/chatThreadService.ts b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/chatThreadService.ts
index 7fede377..8c9ad0e5 100644
--- a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/chatThreadService.ts
+++ b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/chatThreadService.ts
@@ -13,29 +13,25 @@ import { Emitter, Event } from '../../../../base/common/event.js';
 import { IRange } from '../../../../editor/common/core/range.js';
 import { ILLMMessageService } from '../../../../platform/void/common/llmMessageService.js';
 import { IModelService } from '../../../../editor/common/services/model.js';
-import { VSReadFile } from './helpers/readFile.js';
-import { chat_prompt, chat_systemMessage } from './prompt/prompts.js';
+import { chat_userMessage, chat_systemMessage } from './prompt/prompts.js';
 
+// one of the square items that indicates a selection in a chat bubble (NOT a file, a Selection of text)
 export type CodeSelection = {
+	type: 'Selection';
 	fileURI: URI;
-	selectionStr: string | null;
-	content: string; // TODO remove this (replace `selectionStr` with `content`)
+	selectionStr: string;
 	range: IRange;
 }
 
-// if selectionStr is null, it means to use the entire file at send time
-export type CodeStagingSelection = {
-	type: 'Selection',
-	fileURI: URI,
-	selectionStr: string,
-	range: IRange
-} | {
-	type: 'File',
-	fileURI: URI,
-	selectionStr: null,
-	range: null
+export type FileSelection = {
+	type: 'File';
+	fileURI: URI;
+	selectionStr: null;
+	range: null;
 }
 
+export type StagingSelectionItem = CodeSelection | FileSelection
+
 
 // WARNING: changing this format is a big deal!!!!!! need to migrate old format to new format on users' computers so people don't get errors.
 export type ChatMessage =
@@ -43,7 +39,7 @@ export type ChatMessage =
 		role: 'user';
 		content: string | null; // content sent to the llm - allowed to be '', will be replaced with (empty)
 		displayContent: string | null; // content displayed to user  - allowed to be '', will be ignored
-		selections: CodeSelection[] | null; // the user's selection
+		selections: StagingSelectionItem[] | null; // the user's selection
 	}
 	| {
 		role: 'assistant';
@@ -69,7 +65,7 @@ export type ChatThreads = {
 export type ThreadsState = {
 	allThreads: ChatThreads;
 	currentThreadId: string; // intended for internal use only
-	currentStagingSelections: CodeStagingSelection[] | null;
+	currentStagingSelections: StagingSelectionItem[] | null;
 }
 
 export type ThreadStreamState = {
@@ -91,6 +87,9 @@ const newThreadObject = () => {
 	} satisfies ChatThreads[string]
 }
 
+const THREAD_VERSION_KEY = 'void.chatThreadVersion'
+const THREAD_VERSION = 'v1'
+
 const THREAD_STORAGE_KEY = 'void.chatThreadStorage'
 
 export interface IChatThreadService {
@@ -106,7 +105,7 @@ export interface IChatThreadService {
 	openNewThread(): void;
 	switchToThread(threadId: string): void;
 
-	setStaging(stagingSelection: CodeStagingSelection[] | null): void;
+	setStaging(stagingSelection: StagingSelectionItem[] | null): void;
 
 	addUserMessageAndStreamResponse(userMessage: string): Promise<void>;
 	cancelStreaming(threadId: string): void;
@@ -143,11 +142,15 @@ class ChatThreadService extends Disposable implements IChatThreadService {
 
 		// always be in a thread
 		this.openNewThread()
+
+		// for now just write the version, anticipating bigger changes in the future where we'll want to access this
+		this._storageService.store(THREAD_VERSION_KEY, THREAD_VERSION, StorageScope.APPLICATION, StorageTarget.USER)
 	}
 
 
 	private _readAllThreads(): ChatThreads {
 		// PUT ANY VERSION CHANGE FORMAT CONVERSION CODE HERE
+		// CAN ADD "v0" TAG IN STORAGE AND CONVERT
 		const threads = this._storageService.get(THREAD_STORAGE_KEY, StorageScope.APPLICATION)
 		return threads ? JSON.parse(threads) : {}
 	}
@@ -188,15 +191,11 @@ class ChatThreadService extends Disposable implements IChatThreadService {
 		const threadId = this.getCurrentThread().id
 
 		const currSelns = this.state.currentStagingSelections ?? []
-		const selections = !currSelns ? null : await Promise.all(
-			currSelns.map(async (sel) => ({ ...sel, content: await VSReadFile(this._modelService, sel.fileURI) }))
-		).then(
-			(files) => files.filter(file => file.content !== null) as CodeSelection[]
-		)
 
 		// add user's message to chat history
 		const instructions = userMessage
-		const userHistoryElt: ChatMessage = { role: 'user', content: chat_prompt(instructions, selections), displayContent: instructions, selections: selections }
+		const content = await chat_userMessage(instructions, currSelns, this._modelService)
+		const userHistoryElt: ChatMessage = { role: 'user', content: content, displayContent: instructions, selections: currSelns }
 		this._addMessageToThread(threadId, userHistoryElt)
 
 
@@ -292,7 +291,7 @@ class ChatThreadService extends Disposable implements IChatThreadService {
 	}
 
 
-	setStaging(stagingSelection: CodeStagingSelection[] | null): void {
+	setStaging(stagingSelection: StagingSelectionItem[] | null): void {
 		this._setState({ currentStagingSelections: stagingSelection }, true) // this is a hack for now
 	}
 
diff --git a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/helperServices/consistentItemService.ts b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/helperServices/consistentItemService.ts
index 6de0b53b..3165e57f 100644
--- a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/helperServices/consistentItemService.ts
+++ b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/helperServices/consistentItemService.ts
@@ -91,10 +91,7 @@ export class ConsistentItemService extends Disposable {
 		this._register(this._editorService.onCodeEditorAdd(editor => { initializeEditor(editor) }))
 
 		// when an editor is deleted, remove its items
-		this._register(this._editorService.onCodeEditorRemove(editor => {
-			removeItemsFromEditor(editor)
-		}))
-
+		this._register(this._editorService.onCodeEditorRemove(editor => { removeItemsFromEditor(editor) }))
 	}
 
 
@@ -127,8 +124,6 @@ export class ConsistentItemService extends Disposable {
 
 		const editorId = editor.getId()
 		this.itemIdsOfEditorId[editorId]?.delete(itemId)
-		if (this.itemIdsOfEditorId[editorId]?.size === 0)
-			delete this.itemIdsOfEditorId[editorId]
 
 		this.disposeFnOfItemId[itemId]?.()
 		delete this.disposeFnOfItemId[itemId]
@@ -175,8 +170,6 @@ export class ConsistentItemService extends Disposable {
 
 		// clear
 		this.consistentItemIdsOfURI[uri.fsPath]?.delete(consistentItemId)
-		if (this.consistentItemIdsOfURI[uri.fsPath]?.size === 0)
-			delete this.consistentItemIdsOfURI[uri.fsPath]
 
 		delete this.infoOfConsistentItemId[consistentItemId]
 
diff --git a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/helpers/extractCodeFromResult.ts b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/helpers/extractCodeFromResult.ts
index d7e109ae..768f4cfc 100644
--- a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/helpers/extractCodeFromResult.ts
+++ b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/helpers/extractCodeFromResult.ts
@@ -76,47 +76,55 @@ class SurroundingsRemover {
 
 
 	removeCodeBlock = () => {
+		// Match either:
+		// 1. ```language\n<code>\n```\n?
+		// 2. ```<code>\n```\n?
+
 		const pm = this
 		const foundCodeBlock = pm.removePrefix('```')
 		if (!foundCodeBlock) return false
 
 		pm.removeFromStartUntil('\n', true) // language
 
-		const foundCodeBlockEnd = pm.removeSuffix('```')
+		const j = pm.j
+		let foundCodeBlockEnd = pm.removeSuffix('```')
+
+		if (pm.j === j) foundCodeBlockEnd = pm.removeSuffix('```\n') // if no change, try again with \n after ```
+
 		if (!foundCodeBlockEnd) return false
 
-		pm.removeSuffix('\n')
+		pm.removeSuffix('\n') // remove the newline before ```
 		return true
 	}
 
 
-	actualRecentlyAdded = (recentlyAddedTextLen: number) => {
+	deltaInfo = (recentlyAddedTextLen: number) => {
 		// aaaaaatextaaaaaa{recentlyAdded}
-		//           i      ^        j
+		//                  ^   i    j    len
 		//                  |
 		//            recentyAddedIdx
-		const recentlyAddedIdx = this.j - recentlyAddedTextLen + 1
-		return this.originalS.substring(Math.max(this.i, recentlyAddedIdx), this.j + 1)
+		const recentlyAddedIdx = this.originalS.length - recentlyAddedTextLen
+		const actualDelta = this.originalS.substring(Math.max(this.i, recentlyAddedIdx), this.j + 1)
+		const ignoredSuffix = this.originalS.substring(Math.max(this.j + 1, recentlyAddedIdx), Infinity)
+		return [actualDelta, ignoredSuffix] as const
 	}
 
 
+
 }
 
 
 
-export const extractCodeFromRegular = ({ text, recentlyAddedTextLen }: { text: string, recentlyAddedTextLen: number }): [string, string] => {
-	// Match either:
-	// 1. ```language\n<code>```
-	// 2. ```<code>```
+export const extractCodeFromRegular = ({ text, recentlyAddedTextLen }: { text: string, recentlyAddedTextLen: number }): [string, string, string] => {
 
 	const pm = new SurroundingsRemover(text)
 
 	pm.removeCodeBlock()
 
 	const s = pm.value()
-	const actual = pm.actualRecentlyAdded(recentlyAddedTextLen)
+	const [delta, ignoredSuffix] = pm.deltaInfo(recentlyAddedTextLen)
 
-	return [s, actual]
+	return [s, delta, ignoredSuffix]
 }
 
 
@@ -124,7 +132,7 @@ export const extractCodeFromRegular = ({ text, recentlyAddedTextLen }: { text: s
 
 
 // Ollama has its own FIM, we should not use this if we use that
-export const extractCodeFromFIM = ({ text, recentlyAddedTextLen, midTag, }: { text: string, recentlyAddedTextLen: number, midTag: string }): [string, string] => {
+export const extractCodeFromFIM = ({ text, recentlyAddedTextLen, midTag, }: { text: string, recentlyAddedTextLen: number, midTag: string }): [string, string, string] => {
 
 	/* ------------- summary of the regex -------------
 		[optional ` | `` | ```]
@@ -146,9 +154,9 @@ export const extractCodeFromFIM = ({ text, recentlyAddedTextLen, midTag, }: { te
 		pm.removeSuffix(`</${midTag}>`)
 	}
 	const s = pm.value()
-	const actual = pm.actualRecentlyAdded(recentlyAddedTextLen)
+	const [delta, ignoredSuffix] = pm.deltaInfo(recentlyAddedTextLen)
 
-	return [s, actual]
+	return [s, delta, ignoredSuffix]
 
 
 	// // const regex = /[\s\S]*?(?:`{1,3}\s*([a-zA-Z_]+[\w]*)?[\s\S]*?)?<MID>([\s\S]*?)(?:<\/MID>|`{1,3}|$)/;
diff --git a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/inlineDiffsService.ts b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/inlineDiffsService.ts
index 76bcbd8c..fdbf84bb 100644
--- a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/inlineDiffsService.ts
+++ b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/inlineDiffsService.ts
@@ -25,7 +25,7 @@ import * as dom from '../../../../base/browser/dom.js';
 import { Widget } from '../../../../base/browser/ui/widget.js';
 import { URI } from '../../../../base/common/uri.js';
 import { IConsistentEditorItemService, IConsistentItemService } from './helperServices/consistentItemService.js';
-import { ctrlKStream_prefixAndSuffix, ctrlKStream_prompt, ctrlKStream_systemMessage, ctrlLStream_prompt, ctrlLStream_systemMessage, defaultFimTags } from './prompt/prompts.js';
+import { ctrlKStream_prefixAndSuffix, ctrlKStream_userMessage, ctrlKStream_systemMessage, fastApply_userMessage, fastApply_systemMessage, defaultFimTags } from './prompt/prompts.js';
 import { ILLMMessageService } from '../../../../platform/void/common/llmMessageService.js';
 
 import { mountCtrlK } from '../browser/react/out/quick-edit-tsx/index.js'
@@ -104,10 +104,9 @@ const getLeadingWhitespacePx = (editor: ICodeEditor, startLine: number): number
 export type StartApplyingOpts = {
 	featureName: 'Ctrl+K';
 	diffareaid: number; // id of the CtrlK area (contains text selection)
-	userMessage: string; // user message
 } | {
 	featureName: 'Ctrl+L';
-	userMessage: string;
+	applyStr: string;
 } | {
 	featureName: 'Autocomplete';
 	range: IRange;
@@ -260,6 +259,7 @@ class InlineDiffsService extends Disposable implements IInlineDiffsService {
 			if (!(model.uri.fsPath in this.diffAreasOfURI)) {
 				this.diffAreasOfURI[model.uri.fsPath] = new Set();
 			}
+			else return // do not add listeners to the same model twice - important, or will see duplicates
 
 			// when the user types, realign diff areas and re-render them
 			this._register(
@@ -280,7 +280,7 @@ class InlineDiffsService extends Disposable implements IInlineDiffsService {
 					.filter(diffArea => !!diffArea && diffArea.type === 'DiffZone')
 				const isStreaming = diffZones.find(diffZone => !!diffZone._streamState.isStreaming)
 				if (diffZones.length !== 0 && !isStreaming && !removeAcceptRejectAllUI) {
-					removeAcceptRejectAllUI = this._addAcceptRejectUI(uri) ?? null
+					removeAcceptRejectAllUI = this._addAcceptRejectAllUI(uri) ?? null
 				} else {
 					removeAcceptRejectAllUI?.()
 					removeAcceptRejectAllUI = null
@@ -394,7 +394,7 @@ class InlineDiffsService extends Disposable implements IInlineDiffsService {
 		}
 	}
 
-	private _addAcceptRejectUI(uri: URI) {
+	private _addAcceptRejectAllUI(uri: URI) {
 
 		// find all diffzones that aren't streaming
 		const diffZones: DiffZone[] = []
@@ -1214,7 +1214,6 @@ class InlineDiffsService extends Disposable implements IInlineDiffsService {
 		let startLine: number
 		let endLine: number
 		let uri: URI
-		let userMessage: string
 
 		if (featureName === 'Ctrl+L') {
 
@@ -1231,20 +1230,16 @@ class InlineDiffsService extends Disposable implements IInlineDiffsService {
 			startLine = 1
 			endLine = numLines
 
-			userMessage = opts.userMessage
 		}
 		else if (featureName === 'Ctrl+K') {
 			const { diffareaid } = opts
 			const ctrlKZone = this.diffAreaOfId[diffareaid]
 			if (ctrlKZone.type !== 'CtrlKZone') return
 
-			const { startLine: startLine_, endLine: endLine_, _URI, _mountInfo } = ctrlKZone
+			const { startLine: startLine_, endLine: endLine_, _URI } = ctrlKZone
 			uri = _URI
 			startLine = startLine_
 			endLine = endLine_
-
-			if (!_mountInfo?.textAreaRef.current) return
-			userMessage = _mountInfo.textAreaRef.current?.value
 		}
 		else {
 			throw new Error(`Void: diff.type not recognized on: ${featureName}`)
@@ -1295,24 +1290,25 @@ class InlineDiffsService extends Disposable implements IInlineDiffsService {
 		let messages: LLMMessage[]
 
 		if (featureName === 'Ctrl+L') {
-			const userContent = ctrlLStream_prompt({ originalCode, userMessage, uri })
+			const userContent = fastApply_userMessage({ originalCode, applyStr: opts.applyStr, uri })
 			messages = [
-				{ role: 'system', content: ctrlLStream_systemMessage, },
+				{ role: 'system', content: fastApply_systemMessage, },
 				{ role: 'user', content: userContent, }
 			]
 		}
 		else if (featureName === 'Ctrl+K') {
-			const { prefix, suffix } = ctrlKStream_prefixAndSuffix({ fullFileStr: currentFileStr, startLine, endLine })
-			// console.log('PREFIX:\n', prefix)
-			// console.log('SUFFIX:\n', suffix)
-			// console.log('USER CONTENT:\n', userContent)
+			const { diffareaid } = opts
+			const ctrlKZone = this.diffAreaOfId[diffareaid]
+			if (ctrlKZone.type !== 'CtrlKZone') return
+			const { _mountInfo } = ctrlKZone
+			const instructions = _mountInfo?.textAreaRef.current?.value ?? ''
 
-			// __TODO__ use Ollama's FIM api
-			// if (isOllamaFIM) {...} else:
+			// __TODO__ use Ollama's FIM api, if (isOllamaFIM) {...} else:
+			const { prefix, suffix } = ctrlKStream_prefixAndSuffix({ fullFileStr: currentFileStr, startLine, endLine })
 			const language = filenameToVscodeLanguage(uri.fsPath) ?? ''
-			const userContent = ctrlKStream_prompt({ selection: originalCode, userMessage, prefix, suffix, isOllamaFIM: false, fimTags: modelFimTags, language })
+			const userContent = ctrlKStream_userMessage({ selection: originalCode, instructions: instructions, prefix, suffix, isOllamaFIM: false, fimTags: modelFimTags, language })
 			messages = [
-				{ role: 'system', content: ctrlKStream_systemMessage, },
+				{ role: 'system', content: ctrlKStream_systemMessage({ fimTags: modelFimTags }), },
 				{ role: 'user', content: userContent, }
 			]
 		}
@@ -1354,15 +1350,25 @@ class InlineDiffsService extends Disposable implements IInlineDiffsService {
 		}
 
 		const latestStreamInfo = { line: diffZone.startLine, addedSplitYet: false, col: 1, originalCodeStartLine: 1 }
+
+		// state used in onText:
+		let fullText = ''
+		let prevIgnoredSuffix = ''
+
 		streamRequestIdRef.current = this._llmMessageService.sendLLMMessage({
 			useProviderFor: featureName,
 			logging: { loggingName: `startApplying - ${featureName}` },
 			messages,
-			onText: ({ newText, fullText }) => {
-				const [text, deltaText] = extractText(fullText, newText.length)
+			onText: ({ newText: newText_ }) => {
 
+				const newText = prevIgnoredSuffix + newText_ // add the previously ignored suffix because it's no longer the suffix!
+				fullText += prevIgnoredSuffix + newText
+
+				const [text, deltaText, ignoredSuffix] = extractText(fullText, newText.length)
 				this._writeStreamedDiffZoneLLMText(diffZone, text, deltaText, latestStreamInfo)
 				this._refreshStylesAndDiffsInURI(uri)
+
+				prevIgnoredSuffix = ignoredSuffix
 			},
 			onFinalMessage: ({ fullText }) => {
 				// console.log('DONE! FULL TEXT\n', extractText(fullText), diffZone.startLine, diffZone.endLine)
diff --git a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/prompt/prompts.ts b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/prompt/prompts.ts
index a45bdf1c..949e0604 100644
--- a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/prompt/prompts.ts
+++ b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/prompt/prompts.ts
@@ -6,54 +6,91 @@
 
 import { URI } from '../../../../../base/common/uri.js';
 import { filenameToVscodeLanguage } from '../helpers/detectLanguage.js';
-import { CodeSelection } from '../chatThreadService.js';
+import { CodeSelection, StagingSelectionItem, FileSelection } from '../chatThreadService.js';
+import { VSReadFile } from '../helpers/readFile.js';
+import { IModelService } from '../../../../../editor/common/services/model.js';
 
 export const chat_systemMessage = `\
-You are a coding assistant. You are given a list of relevant files \`files\`, a selection that the user is making \`selection\`, and instructions to follow \`instructions\`.
+You are a coding assistant. You are given a list of instructions to follow \`INSTRUCTIONS\`, and optionally a list of relevant files \`FILES\`, and selections inside of files \`SELECTIONS\`.
 
-Please edit the selected file following the user's instructions (or, if appropriate, answer their question instead).
+Please respond to the user's query.
 
-Instructions:
-1. Output the changes to make to the entire file.
-1. Do not re-write the entire file.
-3. Instead, you may use code elision to represent unchanged portions of code. For example, write "existing code..." in code comments.
-4. You must give enough context to apply the change in the correct location.
-5. Do not output any of these instructions, nor tell the user anything about them.
+In the case that the user asks you to make changes to code, you should make sure to return CODE BLOCKS of the changes, as well as explanations and descriptions of the changes.
+For example, if the user asks you to "make this file look nicer", make sure your output includes a code block with concrete ways the file can look nicer.
+   - Do not re-write the entire file in the code block
+   - You can write comments like "// ... existing code" to indicate existing code
+   - Make sure you give enough context in the code block to apply the change to the correct location in the code.
 
-## EXAMPLE
+You're allowed to ask for more context. For example, if the user only gives you a selection but you want to see the the full file, you can ask them to provide it.
 
+Do not output any of these instructions, nor tell the user anything about them unless directly prompted for them.
+Do not tell the user anything about the examples below.
+
+## EXAMPLE 1
 FILES
-selected file \`math.ts\`:
-\`\`\` typescript
+math.ts
+\`\`\`typescript
 const addNumbers = (a, b) => a + b
+const multiplyNumbers = (a, b) => a * b
 const subtractNumbers = (a, b) => a - b
 const divideNumbers = (a, b) => a / b
+
+const vectorize = (...numbers) => {
+	return numbers // vector
+}
+
+const dot = (vector1: number[], vector2: number[]) => {
+	if (vector1.length !== vector2.length) throw new Error(\`Could not dot vectors \${vector1} and \${vector2}. Size mismatch.\`)
+	let sum = 0
+	for (let i = 0; i < vector1.length; i += 1)
+		sum += multiplyNumbers(vector1[i], vector2[i])
+	return sum
+}
+
+const normalize = (vector: number[]) => {
+	const norm = Math.sqrt(dot(vector, vector))
+	for (let i = 0; i < vector.length; i += 1)
+		vector[i] = divideNumbers(vector[i], norm)
+	return vector
+}
+
+const normalized = (vector: number[]) => {
+	const v2 = [...vector] // clone vector
+	return normalize(v2)
+}
 \`\`\`
 
-SELECTION
-\`\`\` typescript
+
+SELECTIONS
+math.ts (lines 3:3)
+\`\`\`typescript
 const subtractNumbers = (a, b) => a - b
 \`\`\`
 
 INSTRUCTIONS
-\`\`\` typescript
-add a function that multiplies numbers below this
-\`\`\`
+add a function that exponentiates a number below this, and use it to make a power function that raises all entries of a vector to a power
 
-EXPECTED OUTPUT
+ACCEPTED OUTPUT
 We can add the following code to the file:
-\`\`\` typescript
+\`\`\`typescript
 // existing code...
-const subtractNumbers = (a, b) => a - b;
-const multiplyNumbers = (a, b) => a * b;
+const subtractNumbers = (a, b) => a - b
+const exponentiateNumbers = (a, b) => Math.pow(a, b)
+const divideNumbers = (a, b) => a / b
 // existing code...
+
+const raiseAll = (vector: number[], power: number) => {
+	for (let i = 0; i < vector.length; i += 1)
+		vector[i] = exponentiateNumbers(vector[i], power)
+	return vector
+}
 \`\`\`
 
-## EXAMPLE
 
+## EXAMPLE 2
 FILES
-selected file \`fib.ts\`:
-\`\`\` typescript
+fib.ts
+\`\`\`typescript
 
 const dfs = (root) => {
 	if (!root) return;
@@ -67,19 +104,18 @@ const fib = (n) => {
 }
 \`\`\`
 
-SELECTION
-\`\`\` typescript
+SELECTIONS
+fib.ts (lines 10:10)
+\`\`\`typescript
 	return fib(n - 1) + fib(n - 2)
 \`\`\`
 
 INSTRUCTIONS
-\`\`\` typescript
 memoize results
-\`\`\`
 
-EXPECTED OUTPUT
+ACCEPTED OUTPUT
 To implement memoization in your Fibonacci function, you can use a JavaScript object to store previously computed results. This will help avoid redundant calculations and improve performance. Here's how you can modify your function:
-\`\`\` typescript
+\`\`\`typescript
 // existing code...
 const fib = (n, memo = {}) => {
     if (n < 1) return 1;
@@ -97,188 +133,91 @@ Store Result: After computing fib(n), the result is stored in memo for future re
 `
 
 
+type FileSelnLocal = FileSelection & { content: string }
+const stringifyFileSelection = ({ fileURI, selectionStr, range, content }: FileSelnLocal) => {
+	return `\
+${fileURI.fsPath}
+\`\`\`${filenameToVscodeLanguage(fileURI.fsPath) ?? ''}
+${content}
+\`\`\`
+`
+}
+const stringifyCodeSelection = ({ fileURI, selectionStr, range }: CodeSelection) => {
+	return `\
+${fileURI.fsPath} (lines ${range.startLineNumber}:${range.endLineNumber})
+\`\`\`${filenameToVscodeLanguage(fileURI.fsPath) ?? ''}
+${selectionStr}
+\`\`\`
+`
+}
 
-const stringifySelections = (selections: CodeSelection[]) => {
-	return selections.map(({ fileURI, content, selectionStr }) =>
-		`\
-File: ${fileURI.fsPath}
-\`\`\` ${filenameToVscodeLanguage(fileURI.fsPath) ?? ''}
-${content // this was the enite file which is foolish
-		}
-\`\`\`${selectionStr === null ? '' : `
-Selection: ${selectionStr}`}
-`).join('\n')
+const failToReadStr = 'Could not read content. This file may have been deleted. If you expected content here, you can tell the user about this as they might not know.'
+const stringifyFileSelections = async (fileSelections: FileSelection[], modelService: IModelService) => {
+	if (fileSelections.length === 0) return null
+	const fileSlns: FileSelnLocal[] = await Promise.all(fileSelections.map(async (sel) => {
+		const content = await VSReadFile(modelService, sel.fileURI) ?? failToReadStr
+		return { ...sel, content }
+	}))
+	return fileSlns.map(sel => stringifyFileSelection(sel)).join('\n')
+}
+const stringifyCodeSelections = (codeSelections: CodeSelection[]) => {
+	return codeSelections.map(sel => stringifyCodeSelection(sel)).join('\n')
 }
 
 
-export const chat_prompt = (instructions: string, selections: CodeSelection[] | null) => {
-	let str = '';
-	if (selections && selections.length > 0) {
-		str += stringifySelections(selections);
-		str += `Please edit the selected code following these instructions:\n`
-	}
-	str += `${instructions}`;
+
+export const chat_userMessage = async (instructions: string, selections: StagingSelectionItem[] | null, modelService: IModelService) => {
+	const fileSelections = selections?.filter(s => s.type === 'File') as FileSelection[]
+	const codeSelections = selections?.filter(s => s.type === 'Selection') as CodeSelection[]
+
+	const filesStr = await stringifyFileSelections(fileSelections, modelService)
+	const codeStr = stringifyCodeSelections(codeSelections)
+
+	let str = ''
+	if (filesStr) str += `FILES\n${filesStr}\n`
+	if (codeStr) str += `SELECTIONS\n${codeStr}\n`
+	str += `INSTRUCTIONS\n${instructions}`
 	return str;
 };
 
 
 
 
-export const ctrlLStream_systemMessage = `
-You are a coding assistant that applies a diff to a file. You are given the original file \`original_file\`, a diff \`diff\`, and a new file that you are applying the diff to \`new_file\`.
-
-Please finish writing the new file \`new_file\`, according to the diff \`diff\`. You must completely re-write the whole file, using the diff.
+export const fastApply_systemMessage = `\
+You are a coding assistant that re-writes an entire file to make a change. You are given the original file \`ORIGINAL_FILE\` and a change \`CHANGE\`.
 
 Directions:
-1. Continue exactly where the new file \`new_file\` left off.
+1. Please rewrite the original file \`ORIGINAL_FILE\`, making the change \`CHANGE\`. You must completely re-write the whole file.
 2. Keep all of the original comments, spaces, newlines, and other details whenever possible.
-3. Note that \`+\` lines represent additions, \`-\` lines represent removals, and space lines \` \` represent no change.
-
-# Example 1:
-
-ORIGINAL_FILE
-\`Sidebar.tsx\`:
-\`\`\` typescript
-import React from 'react';
-import styles from './Sidebar.module.css';
-
-interface SidebarProps {
-  items: { label: string; href: string }[];
-  onItemSelect?: (label: string) => void;
-  onExtraButtonClick?: () => void;
-}
-
-const Sidebar: React.FC<SidebarProps> = ({ items, onItemSelect, onExtraButtonClick }) => {
-  return (
-    <div className={styles.sidebar}>
-      <ul>
-        {items.map((item, index) => (
-          <li key={index}>
-            <button
-              className={styles.sidebarButton}
-              onClick={() => onItemSelect?.(item.label)}
-            >
-              {item.label}
-            </button>
-          </li>
-        ))}
-      </ul>
-      <button className={styles.extraButton} onClick={onExtraButtonClick}>
-        Extra Action
-      </button>
-    </div>
-  );
-};
-
-export default Sidebar;
-\`\`\`
-
-DIFF
-\`\`\` typescript
-@@ ... @@
--<div className={styles.sidebar}>
--<ul>
--  {items.map((item, index) => (
--	<li key={index}>
--	  <button
--		className={styles.sidebarButton}
--		onClick={() => onItemSelect?.(item.label)}
--	  >
--		{item.label}
--	  </button>
--	</li>
--  ))}
--</ul>
--<button className={styles.extraButton} onClick={onExtraButtonClick}>
--  Extra Action
--</button>
--</div>
-+<div className={styles.sidebar}>
-+<ul>
-+  {items.map((item, index) => (
-+	<li key={index}>
-+	  <div
-+		className={styles.sidebarButton}
-+		onClick={() => onItemSelect?.(item.label)}
-+	  >
-+		{item.label}
-+	  </div>
-+	</li>
-+  ))}
-+</ul>
-+<div className={styles.extraButton} onClick={onExtraButtonClick}>
-+  Extra Action
-+</div>
-+</div>
-\`\`\`
-
-NEW_FILE
-\`\`\` typescript
-import React from 'react';
-import styles from './Sidebar.module.css';
-
-interface SidebarProps {
-  items: { label: string; href: string }[];
-  onItemSelect?: (label: string) => void;
-  onExtraButtonClick?: () => void;
-}
-
-const Sidebar: React.FC<SidebarProps> = ({ items, onItemSelect, onExtraButtonClick }) => {
-  return (
-\`\`\`
-
-COMPLETION
-\`\`\` typescript
-    <div className={styles.sidebar}>
-      <ul>
-        {items.map((item, index) => (
-          <li key={index}>
-            <div
-              className={styles.sidebarButton}
-              onClick={() => onItemSelect?.(item.label)}
-            >
-              {item.label}
-            </div>
-          </li>
-        ))}
-      </ul>
-      <div className={styles.extraButton} onClick={onExtraButtonClick}>
-        Extra Action
-      </div>
-    </div>
-  );
-};
-
-export default Sidebar;\`\`\`
+3. ONLY output the full new file. Do not add any other explanations or text.
 `
 
 
 
 
-export const ctrlLStream_prompt = ({ originalCode, userMessage, uri }: { originalCode: string, userMessage: string, uri: URI }) => {
+export const fastApply_userMessage = ({ originalCode, applyStr, uri }: { originalCode: string, applyStr: string, uri: URI }) => {
 
 	const language = filenameToVscodeLanguage(uri.fsPath) ?? ''
 
 	return `\
-ORIGINAL_CODE
-\`\`\` ${language}
+ORIGINAL_FILE
+\`\`\`${language}
 ${originalCode}
 \`\`\`
 
-DIFF
+CHANGE
 \`\`\`
-${userMessage}
+${applyStr}
 \`\`\`
 
 INSTRUCTIONS
-Please finish writing the new file by applying the diff to the original file. Return ONLY the completion of the file, without any explanation.
+Please finish writing the new file by applying the change to the original file. Return ONLY the completion of the file, without any explanation.
 `
 }
 
 
 
-export const ctrlKStream_systemMessage = `\
-`
+
 
 
 export const ctrlKStream_prefixAndSuffix = ({ fullFileStr, startLine, endLine }: { fullFileStr: string, startLine: number, endLine: number }) => {
@@ -336,16 +275,31 @@ export type FimTagsType = {
 	midTag: string
 }
 export const defaultFimTags: FimTagsType = {
-	preTag: 'BEFORE',
-	sufTag: 'AFTER',
+	preTag: 'ABOVE',
+	sufTag: 'BELOW',
 	midTag: 'SELECTION',
 }
 
-export const ctrlKStream_prompt = ({ selection, prefix, suffix, userMessage, fimTags, isOllamaFIM, language }:
-	{
-		selection: string, prefix: string, suffix: string, userMessage: string, fimTags: FimTagsType, language: string,
-		isOllamaFIM: false, // we require this be false for clarity
-	}) => {
+// this should probably be longer
+export const ctrlKStream_systemMessage = ({ fimTags: { preTag, midTag, sufTag } }: { fimTags: FimTagsType }) => {
+	return `\
+You are a FIM (fill-in-the-middle) coding assistant. Your task is to fill in the middle SELECTION marked by <${midTag}> tags.
+
+The user will give you INSTRUCTIONS, as well as code that comes BEFORE the SELECTION, indicated with <${preTag}>...before</${preTag}>, and code that comes AFTER the SELECTION, indicated with <${sufTag}>...after</${sufTag}>.
+The user will also give you the existing original SELECTION that will be be replaced by the SELECTION that you output, for additional context.
+
+Instructions:
+1. Your OUTPUT should be a SINGLE PIECE OF CODE of the form <${midTag}>...new_code</${midTag}>. Do NOT output any text or explanations before or after this.
+2. You may ONLY CHANGE the original SELECTION, and NOT the content in the <${preTag}>...</${preTag}> or <${sufTag}>...</${sufTag}> tags.
+3. Make sure all brackets in the new selection are balanced the same as in the original selection.
+4. Be careful not to duplicate or remove variables, comments, or other syntax by mistake.
+`
+}
+
+export const ctrlKStream_userMessage = ({ selection, prefix, suffix, instructions, fimTags, isOllamaFIM, language }: {
+	selection: string, prefix: string, suffix: string, instructions: string, fimTags: FimTagsType, language: string,
+	isOllamaFIM: false, // we require this be false for clarity
+}) => {
 	const { preTag, sufTag, midTag } = fimTags
 
 	// prompt the model artifically on how to do FIM
@@ -353,300 +307,20 @@ export const ctrlKStream_prompt = ({ selection, prefix, suffix, userMessage, fim
 	// const sufTag = 'AFTER'
 	// const midTag = 'SELECTION'
 	return `\
-The user is selecting this code as their SELECTION:
-\`\`\` ${language}
+
+CURRENT SELECTION
+\`\`\`${language}
 <${midTag}>${selection}</${midTag}>
 \`\`\`
 
-The user wants to apply the following INSTRUCTIONS to the SELECTION:
-${userMessage}
+INSTRUCTIONS
+${instructions}
 
-Please edit the SELECTION following the user's INSTRUCTIONS, and return the edited selection.
-
-Note that the SELECTION has code that comes before it. This code is indicated with <${preTag}>...before</${preTag}>.
-Note also that the SELECTION has code that comes after it. This code is indicated with <${sufTag}>...after</${sufTag}>.
-
-Instructions:
-1. Your OUTPUT should be a SINGLE PIECE OF CODE of the form <${midTag}>...new_selection</${midTag}>. Do NOT output any text or explanations before or after this.
-2. You may ONLY CHANGE the original SELECTION, and NOT the content in the <${preTag}>...</${preTag}> or <${sufTag}>...</${sufTag}> tags.
-3. Make sure all brackets in the new selection are balanced the same as in the original selection.
-4. Be careful not to duplicate or remove variables, comments, or other syntax by mistake.
-
-Given the code:
 <${preTag}>${prefix}</${preTag}>
 <${sufTag}>${suffix}</${sufTag}>
 
-Return only the completion block of code (of the form \`\`\` ${language}\n <${midTag}>...new_selection</${midTag}>\`\`\`):`
+Return only the completion block of code (of the form \`\`\`${language}
+<${midTag}>...new code</${midTag}>
+\`\`\`).`
 };
 
-
-
-// export const searchDiffChunkInstructions = `
-// You are a coding assistant that applies a diff to a file. You are given a diff \`diff\`, a list of files \`files\` to apply the diff to, and a selection \`selection\` that you are currently considering in the file.
-
-// Determine whether you should modify ANY PART of the selection \`selection\` following the \`diff\`. Return \`true\` if you should modify any part of the selection, and \`false\` if you should not modify any part of it.
-
-// # Example 1:
-
-// FILES
-// selected file \`Sidebar.tsx\`:
-// \`\`\`
-// import React from 'react';
-// import styles from './Sidebar.module.css';
-
-// interface SidebarProps {
-//   items: { label: string; href: string }[];
-//   onItemSelect?: (label: string) => void;
-//   onExtraButtonClick?: () => void;
-// }
-
-// const Sidebar: React.FC<SidebarProps> = ({ items, onItemSelect, onExtraButtonClick }) => {
-//   return (
-//     <div className={styles.sidebar}>
-//       <ul>
-//         {items.map((item, index) => (
-//           <li key={index}>
-//             <button
-//               className={styles.sidebarButton}
-//               onClick={() => onItemSelect?.(item.label)}
-//             >
-//               {item.label}
-//             </button>
-//           </li>
-//         ))}
-//       </ul>
-//       <button className={styles.extraButton} onClick={onExtraButtonClick}>
-//         Extra Action
-//       </button>
-//     </div>
-//   );
-// };
-
-// export default Sidebar;
-// \`\`\`
-
-// DIFF
-// \`\`\`
-// @@ ... @@
-// -<div className={styles.sidebar}>
-// -<ul>
-// -  {items.map((item, index) => (
-// -	<li key={index}>
-// -	  <button
-// -		className={styles.sidebarButton}
-// -		onClick={() => onItemSelect?.(item.label)}
-// -	  >
-// -		{item.label}
-// -	  </button>
-// -	</li>
-// -  ))}
-// -</ul>
-// -<button className={styles.extraButton} onClick={onExtraButtonClick}>
-// -  Extra Action
-// -</button>
-// -</div>
-// +<div className={styles.sidebar}>
-// +<ul>
-// +  {items.map((item, index) => (
-// +	<li key={index}>
-// +	  <div
-// +		className={styles.sidebarButton}
-// +		onClick={() => onItemSelect?.(item.label)}
-// +	  >
-// +		{item.label}
-// +	  </div>
-// +	</li>
-// +  ))}
-// +</ul>
-// +<div className={styles.extraButton} onClick={onExtraButtonClick}>
-// +  Extra Action
-// +</div>
-// +</div>
-// \`\`\`
-
-// SELECTION
-// \`\`\`
-// import React from 'react';
-// import styles from './Sidebar.module.css';
-
-// interface SidebarProps {
-//   items: { label: string; href: string }[];
-//   onItemSelect?: (label: string) => void;
-//   onExtraButtonClick?: () => void;
-// }
-
-// const Sidebar: React.FC<SidebarProps> = ({ items, onItemSelect, onExtraButtonClick }) => {
-//   return (
-//     <div className={styles.sidebar}>
-//       <ul>
-//         {items.map((item, index) => (
-// \`\`\`
-
-// RESULT
-// The output should be \`true\` because the diff begins on the line with \`<div className={styles.sidebar}>\` and this line is present in the selection.
-
-// OUTPUT
-// \`true\`
-// `
-
-
-
-// export const generateDiffInstructions = `
-// You are a coding assistant. You are given a list of relevant files \`files\`, a selection that the user is making \`selection\`, and instructions to follow \`instructions\`.
-
-// Please edit the selected file following the user's instructions (or, if appropriate, answer their question instead).
-
-// All changes made to files must be outputted in unified diff format.
-// Unified diff format instructions:
-// 1. Each diff must begin with \`\`\`@@ ... @@\`\`\`.
-// 2. Each line must start with a \`+\` or \`-\` or \` \` symbol.
-// 3. Make diffs more than a few lines.
-// 4. Make high-level diffs rather than many one-line diffs.
-
-// Here's an example of unified diff format:
-
-// \`\`\`
-// @@ ... @@
-// -def factorial(n):
-// -    if n == 0:
-// -        return 1
-// -    else:
-// -        return n * factorial(n-1)
-// +def factorial(number):
-// +    if number == 0:
-// +        return 1
-// +    else:
-// +        return number * factorial(number-1)
-// \`\`\`
-
-// Please create high-level diffs where you group edits together if they are near each other, like in the above example. Another way to represent the above example is to make many small line edits. However, this is less preferred, because the edits are not high-level. The edits are close together and should be grouped:
-
-// \`\`\`
-// @@ ... @@ # This is less preferred because edits are close together and should be grouped:
-// -def factorial(n):
-// +def factorial(number):
-// -    if n == 0:
-// +    if number == 0:
-//          return 1
-//      else:
-// -        return n * factorial(n-1)
-// +        return number * factorial(number-1)
-// \`\`\`
-
-// # Example 1:
-
-// FILES
-// selected file \`test.ts\`:
-// \`\`\`
-// x = 1
-
-// {{selection}}
-
-// z = 3
-// \`\`\`
-
-// SELECTION
-// \`\`\`const y = 2\`\`\`
-
-// INSTRUCTIONS
-// \`\`\`y = 3\`\`\`
-
-// EXPECTED RESULT
-
-// We should change the selection from \`\`\`y = 2\`\`\` to \`\`\`y = 3\`\`\`.
-// \`\`\`
-// @@ ... @@
-// -x = 1
-// -
-// -y = 2
-// +x = 1
-// +
-// +y = 3
-// \`\`\`
-
-// # Example 2:
-
-// FILES
-// selected file \`Sidebar.tsx\`:
-// \`\`\`
-// import React from 'react';
-// import styles from './Sidebar.module.css';
-
-// interface SidebarProps {
-//   items: { label: string; href: string }[];
-//   onItemSelect?: (label: string) => void;
-//   onExtraButtonClick?: () => void;
-// }
-
-// const Sidebar: React.FC<SidebarProps> = ({ items, onItemSelect, onExtraButtonClick }) => {
-//   return (
-//     <div className={styles.sidebar}>
-//       <ul>
-//         {items.map((item, index) => (
-//           <li key={index}>
-//              {{selection}}
-//               className={styles.sidebarButton}
-//               onClick={() => onItemSelect?.(item.label)}
-//             >
-//               {item.label}
-//             </button>
-//           </li>
-//         ))}
-//       </ul>
-//       <button className={styles.extraButton} onClick={onExtraButtonClick}>
-//         Extra Action
-//       </button>
-//     </div>
-//   );
-// };
-
-// export default Sidebar;
-// \`\`\`
-
-// SELECTION
-// \`\`\`             <button\`\`\`
-
-// INSTRUCTIONS
-// \`\`\`make all the buttons like this into divs\`\`\`
-
-// EXPECTED OUTPUT
-
-// We should change all the buttons like the one selected into a div component. Here is the change:
-// \`\`\`
-// @@ ... @@
-// -<div className={styles.sidebar}>
-// -<ul>
-// -  {items.map((item, index) => (
-// -	<li key={index}>
-// -	  <button
-// -		className={styles.sidebarButton}
-// -		onClick={() => onItemSelect?.(item.label)}
-// -	  >
-// -		{item.label}
-// -	  </button>
-// -	</li>
-// -  ))}
-// -</ul>
-// -<button className={styles.extraButton} onClick={onExtraButtonClick}>
-// -  Extra Action
-// -</button>
-// -</div>
-// +<div className={styles.sidebar}>
-// +<ul>
-// +  {items.map((item, index) => (
-// +	<li key={index}>
-// +	  <div
-// +		className={styles.sidebarButton}
-// +		onClick={() => onItemSelect?.(item.label)}
-// +	  >
-// +		{item.label}
-// +	  </div>
-// +	</li>
-// +  ))}
-// +</ul>
-// +<div className={styles.extraButton} onClick={onExtraButtonClick}>
-// +  Extra Action
-// +</div>
-// +</div>
-// \`\`\`
-// `;
diff --git a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/react/src/markdown/ChatMarkdownRender.tsx b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/react/src/markdown/ChatMarkdownRender.tsx
index 79429e20..6d7fc46b 100644
--- a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/react/src/markdown/ChatMarkdownRender.tsx
+++ b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/react/src/markdown/ChatMarkdownRender.tsx
@@ -41,15 +41,15 @@ const CodeButtonsOnHover = ({ text }: { text: string }) => {
 			.catch(() => { setCopyButtonState(CopyButtonState.Error) })
 		metricsService.capture('Copy Code', { length: text.length }) // capture the length only
 
-	}, [text, clipboardService])
+	}, [metricsService, clipboardService, text])
 
 	const onApply = useCallback(() => {
 		inlineDiffService.startApplying({
 			featureName: 'Ctrl+L',
-			userMessage: text,
+			applyStr: text,
 		})
 		metricsService.capture('Apply Code', { length: text.length }) // capture the length only
-	}, [inlineDiffService])
+	}, [metricsService, inlineDiffService, text])
 
 	const isSingleLine = !text.includes('\n')
 
diff --git a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/react/src/quick-edit-tsx/QuickEditChat.tsx b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/react/src/quick-edit-tsx/QuickEditChat.tsx
index 80988038..e9fcc79c 100644
--- a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/react/src/quick-edit-tsx/QuickEditChat.tsx
+++ b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/react/src/quick-edit-tsx/QuickEditChat.tsx
@@ -58,7 +58,6 @@ export const QuickEditChat = ({
 		const id = inlineDiffsService.startApplying({
 			featureName: 'Ctrl+K',
 			diffareaid: diffareaid,
-			userMessage: instructions,
 		})
 		setCurrentlyStreamingDiffZone(id ?? null)
 	}, [currStreamingDiffZoneRef, setCurrentlyStreamingDiffZone, isDisabled, inlineDiffsService, diffareaid])
diff --git a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/react/src/sidebar-tsx/ErrorDisplay.tsx b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/react/src/sidebar-tsx/ErrorDisplay.tsx
index 84fe410a..689d55c1 100644
--- a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/react/src/sidebar-tsx/ErrorDisplay.tsx
+++ b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/react/src/sidebar-tsx/ErrorDisplay.tsx
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ import { errorDetails } from '../../../../../../../platform/void/common/llmMessa
 
 
 export const ErrorDisplay = ({
-	message:message_,
+	message: message_,
 	fullError,
 	onDismiss,
 	showDismiss,
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ export const ErrorDisplay = ({
 
 	const details = errorDetails(fullError)
 
-	const message = message_ === 'TypeError: fetch failed' ? 'TypeError: fetch failed. This likely means you specified the wrong endpoint in Void Settings.' : message_
+	const message = message_ === 'TypeError: fetch failed' ? 'TypeError: fetch failed. This likely means you specified the wrong endpoint in Void Settings.' : message_ + ''
 
 
 	return (
diff --git a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/react/src/sidebar-tsx/SidebarChat.tsx b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/react/src/sidebar-tsx/SidebarChat.tsx
index 75e4579e..ed1611e8 100644
--- a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/react/src/sidebar-tsx/SidebarChat.tsx
+++ b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/react/src/sidebar-tsx/SidebarChat.tsx
@@ -3,32 +3,23 @@
  *  Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0. See LICENSE.txt for more information.
  *--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------*/
 
-import React, { ButtonHTMLAttributes, FormEvent, FormHTMLAttributes, Fragment, useCallback, useEffect, useRef, useState } from 'react';
+import React, { ButtonHTMLAttributes, FormEvent, FormHTMLAttributes, Fragment, useCallback, useEffect, useMemo, useRef, useState } from 'react';
 
 
 import { useAccessor, useSidebarState, useChatThreadsState, useChatThreadsStreamState, useUriState } from '../util/services.js';
-import { ChatMessage, CodeSelection, CodeStagingSelection } from '../../../chatThreadService.js';
+import { ChatMessage, StagingSelectionItem } from '../../../chatThreadService.js';
 
 import { BlockCode } from '../markdown/BlockCode.js';
 import { ChatMarkdownRender } from '../markdown/ChatMarkdownRender.js';
 import { URI } from '../../../../../../../base/common/uri.js';
-import { EndOfLinePreference } from '../../../../../../../editor/common/model.js';
 import { IDisposable } from '../../../../../../../base/common/lifecycle.js';
 import { ErrorDisplay } from './ErrorDisplay.js';
-import { OnError, ServiceSendLLMMessageParams } from '../../../../../../../platform/void/common/llmMessageTypes.js';
-import { HistoryInputBox, InputBox } from '../../../../../../../base/browser/ui/inputbox/inputBox.js';
-import { TextAreaFns, VoidCodeEditorProps, VoidInputBox2 } from '../util/inputs.js';
+import { TextAreaFns, VoidInputBox2 } from '../util/inputs.js';
 import { ModelDropdown, WarningBox } from '../void-settings-tsx/ModelDropdown.js';
-import { chat_systemMessage, chat_prompt } from '../../../prompt/prompts.js';
-import { ISidebarStateService } from '../../../sidebarStateService.js';
-import { ILLMMessageService } from '../../../../../../../platform/void/common/llmMessageService.js';
-import { IModelService } from '../../../../../../../editor/common/services/model.js';
 import { SidebarThreadSelector } from './SidebarThreadSelector.js';
 import { useScrollbarStyles } from '../util/useScrollbarStyles.js';
 import { VOID_CTRL_L_ACTION_ID } from '../../../actionIDs.js';
-import { ArrowBigLeftDash, CopyX, Delete, FileX2, SquareX, X } from 'lucide-react';
 import { filenameToVscodeLanguage } from '../../../helpers/detectLanguage.js';
-import { Pencil } from 'lucide-react'
 import { VOID_OPEN_SETTINGS_ACTION_ID } from '../../../voidSettingsPane.js';
 
 
@@ -261,8 +252,8 @@ const getBasename = (pathStr: string) => {
 
 export const SelectedFiles = (
 	{ type, selections, setSelections, showProspectiveSelections }:
-		| { type: 'past', selections: CodeSelection[]; setSelections?: undefined, showProspectiveSelections?: undefined }
-		| { type: 'staging', selections: CodeStagingSelection[]; setSelections: ((newSelections: CodeStagingSelection[]) => void), showProspectiveSelections?: boolean }
+		| { type: 'past', selections: StagingSelectionItem[]; setSelections?: undefined, showProspectiveSelections?: undefined }
+		| { type: 'staging', selections: StagingSelectionItem[]; setSelections: ((newSelections: StagingSelectionItem[]) => void), showProspectiveSelections?: boolean }
 ) => {
 
 	// index -> isOpened
@@ -287,11 +278,11 @@ export const SelectedFiles = (
 			return withCurrent.slice(0, maxRecentUris)
 		})
 	}, [currentUri])
-	let prospectiveSelections: CodeStagingSelection[] = []
+	let prospectiveSelections: StagingSelectionItem[] = []
 	if (type === 'staging' && showProspectiveSelections) { // handle prospective files
 		// add a prospective file if type === 'staging' and if the user is in a file, and if the file is not selected yet
 		prospectiveSelections = recentUris
-			.filter(uri => !selections.find(s => s.range === null && s.fileURI.fsPath === uri.fsPath))
+			.filter(uri => !selections.find(s => s.type === 'File' && s.fileURI.fsPath === uri.fsPath))
 			.slice(0, maxProspectiveFiles)
 			.map(uri => ({
 				type: 'File',
@@ -325,7 +316,7 @@ export const SelectedFiles = (
 				>
 					{/* selection summary */}
 					<div // container for item and its delete button (if it's last)
-						className='flex items-center gap-1 mr-0.5 mb-0.5'
+						className='flex items-center gap-1 mr-0.5 my-0.5'
 					>
 						<div // styled summary box
 							className={`flex items-center gap-0.5 relative
@@ -339,7 +330,7 @@ export const SelectedFiles = (
 							onClick={() => {
 								if (isThisSelectionProspective) { // add prospective selection to selections
 									if (type !== 'staging') return; // (never)
-									setSelections([...selections, selection as CodeStagingSelection])
+									setSelections([...selections, selection])
 
 								} else if (isThisSelectionAFile) { // open files
 									commandService.executeCommand('vscode.open', selection.fileURI, {
@@ -380,7 +371,7 @@ export const SelectedFiles = (
 						</div>
 
 						{/* clear all selections button */}
-						{type !== 'staging' || selections.length === 0 || i !== selections.length - 1
+						{/* {type !== 'staging' || selections.length === 0 || i !== selections.length - 1
 							? null
 							: <div className={`flex items-center ${isThisSelectionOpened ? 'w-full' : ''}`}>
 								<div
@@ -402,7 +393,7 @@ export const SelectedFiles = (
 									/>
 								</div>
 							</div>
-						}
+						} */}
 					</div>
 					{/* selection text */}
 					{isThisSelectionOpened &&
@@ -413,7 +404,7 @@ export const SelectedFiles = (
 							}}
 						>
 							<BlockCode
-								initValue={selection.selectionStr!}
+								initValue={selection.selectionStr}
 								language={filenameToVscodeLanguage(selection.fileURI.path)}
 								maxHeight={200}
 								showScrollbars={true}
@@ -423,9 +414,8 @@ export const SelectedFiles = (
 				</div>)
 
 				return <Fragment key={thisKey}>
-					{selections.length > 0 && i === selections.length &&
-						<div className='w-full'></div> // divider between `selections` and `prospectiveSelections`
-					}
+					{/* divider between `selections` and `prospectiveSelections` */}
+					{/* {selections.length > 0 && i === selections.length && <div className='w-full'></div>} */}
 					{selectionHTML}
 				</Fragment>
 
@@ -446,7 +436,7 @@ const ChatBubble_ = ({ isEditMode, isLoading, children, role }: { role: ChatMess
 		className={`
 		relative
 		${isEditMode ? 'px-2 w-full max-w-full'
-				: role === 'user' ? `px-2 self-end w-fit max-w-full`
+				: role === 'user' ? `px-2 mt-4 self-end w-fit max-w-full`
 					: role === 'assistant' ? `px-2 self-start w-full max-w-full` : ''
 			}
 	`}
@@ -487,7 +477,7 @@ const ChatBubble = ({ chatMessage, isLoading }: { chatMessage: ChatMessage, isLo
 	const [isEditMode, setIsEditMode] = useState(false)
 
 
-	if (!chatMessage.content) { // don't show if empty
+	if (!chatMessage.content && !isLoading) { // don't show if empty and not loading (if loading, want to show)
 		return null
 	}
 
@@ -606,6 +596,13 @@ export const SidebarChat = () => {
 			scrollContainerRef.current?.scrollTo({ top: 0, left: 0 })
 	}, [isHistoryOpen, currentThread.id])
 
+
+	const prevMessagesHTML = useMemo(() => {
+		return previousMessages.map((message, i) =>
+			<ChatBubble key={i} chatMessage={message} />
+		)
+	}, [previousMessages])
+
 	return <div
 		ref={sidebarRef}
 		className={`w-full h-full`}
@@ -622,16 +619,14 @@ export const SidebarChat = () => {
 			scrollContainerRef={scrollContainerRef}
 			className={`
 				w-full h-auto
-				flex flex-col gap-1
+				flex flex-col
 				overflow-x-hidden
 				overflow-y-auto
 			`}
 			style={{ maxHeight: sidebarDimensions.height - historyDimensions.height - formDimensions.height - 36 }} // the height of the previousMessages is determined by all other heights
 		>
 			{/* previous messages */}
-			{previousMessages.map((message, i) =>
-				<ChatBubble key={i} chatMessage={message} />
-			)}
+			{prevMessagesHTML}
 
 			{/* message stream */}
 			<ChatBubble chatMessage={{ role: 'assistant', content: messageSoFar ?? '', displayContent: messageSoFar || null }} isLoading={isStreaming} />
@@ -675,7 +670,7 @@ export const SidebarChat = () => {
 				{/* top row */}
 				<>
 					{/* selections */}
-					<SelectedFiles type='staging' selections={selections || []} setSelections={chatThreadsService.setStaging.bind(chatThreadsService)} showProspectiveSelections={previousMessages.length === 0}/>
+					<SelectedFiles type='staging' selections={selections || []} setSelections={chatThreadsService.setStaging.bind(chatThreadsService)} showProspectiveSelections={previousMessages.length === 0} />
 				</>
 
 				{/* middle row */}
diff --git a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/react/src/sidebar-tsx/SidebarThreadSelector.tsx b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/react/src/sidebar-tsx/SidebarThreadSelector.tsx
index cca66c58..72dc6d39 100644
--- a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/react/src/sidebar-tsx/SidebarThreadSelector.tsx
+++ b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/react/src/sidebar-tsx/SidebarThreadSelector.tsx
@@ -104,6 +104,7 @@ export const SidebarThreadSelector = () => {
 										flex items-center
 									`}
 										onClick={() => chatThreadsService.switchToThread(pastThread.id)}
+										onDoubleClick={() => sidebarStateService.setState({ isHistoryOpen: false })}
 										title={new Date(pastThread.createdAt).toLocaleString()}
 									>
 										<div className='truncate'>{`${firstMsg}`}</div>
diff --git a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/react/src/util/inputs.tsx b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/react/src/util/inputs.tsx
index c1421f66..b21df36f 100644
--- a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/react/src/util/inputs.tsx
+++ b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/react/src/util/inputs.tsx
@@ -687,6 +687,8 @@ export const VoidCodeEditor = ({ initValue, language, maxHeight, showScrollbars
 							// maxColumn: 0,
 						},
 
+						hover: { enabled: false },
+
 						selectionHighlight: false, // highlights whole words
 						renderLineHighlight: 'none',
 
diff --git a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/sidebarActions.ts b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/sidebarActions.ts
index 5787fc4d..5e085e8e 100644
--- a/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/sidebarActions.ts
+++ b/src/vs/workbench/contrib/void/browser/sidebarActions.ts
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ import { ServicesAccessor } from '../../../../editor/browser/editorExtensions.js
 
 import { KeybindingWeight } from '../../../../platform/keybinding/common/keybindingsRegistry.js';
 import { ContextKeyExpr } from '../../../../platform/contextkey/common/contextkey.js';
-import { CodeStagingSelection, IChatThreadService } from './chatThreadService.js';
+import { StagingSelectionItem, IChatThreadService } from './chatThreadService.js';
 
 import { ICodeEditorService } from '../../../../editor/browser/services/codeEditorService.js';
 import { IRange } from '../../../../editor/common/core/range.js';
@@ -112,7 +112,7 @@ registerAction2(class extends Action2 {
 
 		const selectionStr = getContentInRange(model, selectionRange)
 
-		const selection: CodeStagingSelection = !selectionRange || !selectionStr || (selectionRange.startLineNumber > selectionRange.endLineNumber) ? {
+		const selection: StagingSelectionItem = !selectionRange || !selectionStr || (selectionRange.startLineNumber > selectionRange.endLineNumber) ? {
 			type: 'File',
 			fileURI: model.uri,
 			selectionStr: null,
diff --git a/src/vs/workbench/electron-sandbox/desktop.contribution.ts b/src/vs/workbench/electron-sandbox/desktop.contribution.ts
index f6bae665..c14e3e1a 100644
--- a/src/vs/workbench/electron-sandbox/desktop.contribution.ts
+++ b/src/vs/workbench/electron-sandbox/desktop.contribution.ts
@@ -190,7 +190,7 @@ import { MAX_ZOOM_LEVEL, MIN_ZOOM_LEVEL } from '../../platform/window/electron-s
 			},
 			'window.zoomLevel': {
 				'type': 'number',
-				'default': 0,
+				'default': -1,
 				'minimum': MIN_ZOOM_LEVEL,
 				'maximum': MAX_ZOOM_LEVEL,
 				'markdownDescription': localize({ comment: ['{0} will be a setting name rendered as a link'], key: 'zoomLevel' }, "Adjust the default zoom level for all windows. Each increment above `0` (e.g. `1`) or below (e.g. `-1`) represents zooming `20%` larger or smaller. You can also enter decimals to adjust the zoom level with a finer granularity. See {0} for configuring if the 'Zoom In' and 'Zoom Out' commands apply the zoom level to all windows or only the active window.", '`#window.zoomPerWindow#`'),
diff --git a/src/vs/workbench/services/themes/common/workbenchThemeService.ts b/src/vs/workbench/services/themes/common/workbenchThemeService.ts
index ba080802..73e6fd39 100644
--- a/src/vs/workbench/services/themes/common/workbenchThemeService.ts
+++ b/src/vs/workbench/services/themes/common/workbenchThemeService.ts
@@ -44,45 +44,77 @@ export enum ThemeSettings {
 }
 
 export enum ThemeSettingDefaults {
-	COLOR_THEME_DARK = 'Default Dark Modern',
+	COLOR_THEME_DARK = 'Default Dark+', // Void changed this. this is the default theme
 	COLOR_THEME_LIGHT = 'Default Light Modern',
 	COLOR_THEME_HC_DARK = 'Default High Contrast',
 	COLOR_THEME_HC_LIGHT = 'Default High Contrast Light',
 
-	COLOR_THEME_DARK_OLD = 'Default Dark+',
+	COLOR_THEME_DARK_OLD = 'Default Dark Modern', // Void changed this
 	COLOR_THEME_LIGHT_OLD = 'Default Light+',
 
 	FILE_ICON_THEME = 'vs-seti',
 	PRODUCT_ICON_THEME = 'Default',
 }
 
-export const COLOR_THEME_DARK_INITIAL_COLORS = {
-	'activityBar.activeBorder': '#0078d4',
-	'activityBar.background': '#181818',
-	'activityBar.border': '#2b2b2b',
-	'activityBar.foreground': '#d7d7d7',
-	'activityBar.inactiveForeground': '#868686',
-	'editorGroup.border': '#ffffff17',
-	'editorGroupHeader.tabsBackground': '#181818',
-	'editorGroupHeader.tabsBorder': '#2b2b2b',
-	'statusBar.background': '#181818',
-	'statusBar.border': '#2b2b2b',
-	'statusBar.foreground': '#cccccc',
-	'statusBar.noFolderBackground': '#1f1f1f',
-	'tab.activeBackground': '#1f1f1f',
-	'tab.activeBorder': '#1f1f1f',
-	'tab.activeBorderTop': '#0078d4',
+// export const COLOR_THEME_DARK_INITIAL_COLORS = {
+// 	'activityBar.activeBorder': '#0078d4',
+// 	'activityBar.background': '#181818',
+// 	'activityBar.border': '#2b2b2b',
+// 	'activityBar.foreground': '#d7d7d7',
+// 	'activityBar.inactiveForeground': '#868686',
+// 	'editorGroup.border': '#ffffff17',
+// 	'editorGroupHeader.tabsBackground': '#181818',
+// 	'editorGroupHeader.tabsBorder': '#2b2b2b',
+// 	'statusBar.background': '#181818',
+// 	'statusBar.border': '#2b2b2b',
+// 	'statusBar.foreground': '#cccccc',
+// 	'statusBar.noFolderBackground': '#1f1f1f',
+// 	'tab.activeBackground': '#1f1f1f',
+// 	'tab.activeBorder': '#1f1f1f',
+// 	'tab.activeBorderTop': '#0078d4',
+// 	'tab.activeForeground': '#ffffff',
+// 	'tab.border': '#2b2b2b',
+// 	'textLink.foreground': '#4daafc',
+// 	'titleBar.activeBackground': '#181818',
+// 	'titleBar.activeForeground': '#cccccc',
+// 	'titleBar.border': '#2b2b2b',
+// 	'titleBar.inactiveBackground': '#1f1f1f',
+// 	'titleBar.inactiveForeground': '#9d9d9d',
+// 	'welcomePage.tileBackground': '#2b2b2b'
+// };
+
+
+
+export const COLOR_THEME_DARK_INITIAL_COLORS = { // Void changed this to match dark+
+	'activityBar.activeBorder': '#ffffff',
+	'activityBar.background': '#333333',
+	'activityBar.border': '#454545',
+	'activityBar.foreground': '#ffffff',
+	'activityBar.inactiveForeground': '#ffffff66',
+	'editorGroup.border': '#444444',
+	'editorGroupHeader.tabsBackground': '#252526',
+	'editorGroupHeader.tabsBorder': '#252526',
+	'statusBar.background': '#007ACC',
+	'statusBar.border': '#454545',
+	'statusBar.foreground': '#ffffff',
+	'statusBar.noFolderBackground': '#68217A',
+	'tab.activeBackground': '#2D2D2D',
+	'tab.activeBorder': '#ffffff',
+	'tab.activeBorderTop': '#007ACC',
 	'tab.activeForeground': '#ffffff',
-	'tab.border': '#2b2b2b',
-	'textLink.foreground': '#4daafc',
-	'titleBar.activeBackground': '#181818',
-	'titleBar.activeForeground': '#cccccc',
-	'titleBar.border': '#2b2b2b',
-	'titleBar.inactiveBackground': '#1f1f1f',
-	'titleBar.inactiveForeground': '#9d9d9d',
-	'welcomePage.tileBackground': '#2b2b2b'
+	'tab.border': '#252526',
+	'textLink.foreground': '#3794ff',
+	'titleBar.activeBackground': '#3C3C3C',
+	'titleBar.activeForeground': '#CCCCCC',
+	'titleBar.border': '#454545',
+	'titleBar.inactiveBackground': '#2C2C2C',
+	'titleBar.inactiveForeground': '#999999',
+	'welcomePage.tileBackground': '#252526'
 };
 
+
+
+
 export const COLOR_THEME_LIGHT_INITIAL_COLORS = {
 	'activityBar.activeBorder': '#005FB8',
 	'activityBar.background': '#f8f8f8',