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fix(cli): Always process @file references in interactive mode

Open edlsh opened this issue 2 months ago • 1 comments

Summary

Fixes #14919

When users create prompts using the external editor (Ctrl+X), @file references were not being automatically loaded. Instead, the LLM had to initiate file reads itself, wasting tokens.

Root Cause

Interactive mode used isAtCommand() as a guard before calling handleAtCommand(). This heuristic (query.startsWith('@') || /\s@/.test(query)) failed in certain cases—especially for multi-line prompts from the external editor where @file might not be at the start or preceded by whitespace.

Non-interactive mode already calls handleAtCommand() unconditionally, so the fix is to match that behavior.

Changes

  1. useGeminiStream.ts: Remove the isAtCommand() conditional guard—now always calls handleAtCommand() to match non-interactive behavior
  2. atCommandProcessor.ts: Add a fast-path early exit (if (!query.includes('@'))) to avoid unnecessary parsing when no @ symbol exists
  3. atCommandProcessor.test.ts: Add 3 new tests for edge cases:
    • Prompts without @ symbol (verifies fast path)
    • Email addresses (verifies they don't trigger file loading)
    • Multi-line prompts with @file on non-first line

Testing

  • All 47 tests in atCommandProcessor.test.ts pass
  • Full npm run preflight passes (build, typecheck, tests)
  • Manual verification recommended with external editor workflow

edlsh avatar Dec 11 '25 18:12 edlsh

Summary of Changes

Hello @edlsh, I'm Gemini Code Assist[^1]! I'm currently reviewing this pull request and will post my feedback shortly. In the meantime, here's a summary to help you and other reviewers quickly get up to speed!

This pull request resolves a bug that prevented @file references from being correctly processed when users composed prompts using the external editor in interactive mode. By ensuring that @-commands are always evaluated, regardless of the input method, the change standardizes behavior across different modes and optimizes token usage. Additionally, a performance improvement has been introduced for queries that do not contain @ symbols, alongside new tests to validate these scenarios.

Highlights

  • Consistent @file processing: The pull request fixes an issue where @file references were not automatically loaded when prompts were created using the external editor in interactive mode, leading to wasted LLM tokens. The fix ensures handleAtCommand() is always called, aligning interactive mode behavior with non-interactive mode.
  • Performance Optimization: A fast-path early exit (if (!query.includes('@'))) has been added to atCommandProcessor.ts. This prevents unnecessary parsing when a query does not contain an @ symbol, improving efficiency.
  • Enhanced Test Coverage: Three new tests have been added to atCommandProcessor.test.ts to cover edge cases, including prompts without @ symbols, email addresses (to ensure they are not misinterpreted as file references), and multi-line prompts with @file on a non-first line.
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gemini-code-assist[bot] avatar Dec 11 '25 18:12 gemini-code-assist[bot]