This is a bug in the walkthroughs contribution point.

In general, the extension API allows icons to be embedded in text by referencing them inside of $(...). This functionality does not work consistently in the walkthroughs API.

Does this issue occur when all extensions are disabled?: N/A; this is a bug in the extension API

• VS Code Version: 1.69
• OS Version: macOS 12.4

Steps to Reproduce:

1. Create a walkthrough step in your extension, e.g.

    "walkthroughs": [
    	{
    		"id": "welcome",
    		"title": "Example $(github)",
    		"description": "See? The icon looks nice, doesn't it?",
    		"steps": [
    			{
    				"id": "example-step",
    				"title": "Example step",
    				"description": "Example description",
    				"media": {
    					"image": "icon.png",
    					"altText": ""
    				}
    			}
    		]
    	}
    ]
   

2 Observe that the icon in the title ($(github) in the example above) renders correctly in the Open Walkthrough… quickpick list:

3. Open up the walkthrough and observe that the icon is not rendered, and instead you see the literal string $(github):