Pyrefly is Meta's new Python type checker and VS Code extension, released earlier this year. While auditing the VSIX before installing it, I found that on activation it silently writes `disableLanguageServices = true` to the user's global settings for three named extensions: basedpyright, windsurfpyright, and cursorpyright.
The write uses `ConfigurationTarget.Global`, so it affects all workspaces. There is no `deactivate()` cleanup, so the setting persists after Pyrefly is uninstalled.
This was verified by live reproduction: installed Pyrefly alongside basedpyright, opened a Python file, and observed the key appear in `settings.json`. Uninstalled Pyrefly — key remained, basedpyright still broken.
The code is in plain TypeScript in the public repo (`lsp/src/extension-interop.ts`), added December 2025. This isn't obfuscated or hidden — it just hasn't been noticed.
Bug report with full details, source references, and reproduction steps: https://github.com/facebook/pyrefly/issues/3292
The fix is straightforward: ask the user before touching settings they didn't set, and restore them in `deactivate()`.
Have you just completely retired your brain in favor of a bidirectional pipe to an LLM?