Auto-delete task history on plugin load (retention + checkpoint cleanup) #9262

hannesrudolph · 2025-11-14T05:52:17Z

Summary

Adds an auto-delete task history feature that purges old tasks on extension reload, helping users manage disk space and keep their task history clean.

Changes

New Setting

Auto-delete task history dropdown in Settings → About
Options: Never (default), 90 days, 60 days, 30 days, 7 days, 3 days
Stored in VS Code global configuration as roo-cline.taskHistoryRetention

Purge Logic (`src/utils/task-history-retention.ts`)

Runs once on extension activation
Deletes tasks older than the configured retention period based on task_metadata.json timestamp
Falls back to directory mtime for legacy tasks without metadata
Detects and removes orphan checkpoint-only folders (directories containing only a checkpoints/ subdirectory)
Uses ClineProvider.deleteTaskWithId() to ensure consistent cleanup of checkpoints, shadow repositories, and task state
Includes retry logic with backoff for stubborn filesystem operations

UI Updates

Added retention dropdown to About.tsx settings panel
Full i18n support across 17 languages
Warning text about permanent deletion

Testing

New test suite task-history-retention.spec.ts covering:
- Retention periods (3, 7, 30 days)
- Dry run mode
- Invalid metadata handling
- Never (disabled) setting

Technical Notes

Purge executes sequentially (not in parallel) to avoid race conditions when updating task state
Verbose logging available but disabled by default to reduce noise
Schema allows string enum values for UI compatibility

Important

Introduces auto-delete task history feature with configurable retention periods, UI updates, and comprehensive testing.

Behavior:
- Adds auto-delete task history feature, purging old tasks on extension reload based on retention settings.
- Retention options: Never, 90, 60, 30, 7, 3 days.
- Purge logic in task-history-retention.ts deletes tasks older than retention period, handles orphan checkpoint-only folders, and retries stubborn filesystem operations.
UI Updates:
- Adds retention dropdown to About.tsx in settings panel.
- Supports 17 languages with i18n updates.
- Displays warning about permanent deletion.
Testing:
- New test suite task-history-retention.spec.ts for retention periods, dry run mode, and invalid metadata handling.
Technical Notes:
- Sequential purge execution to avoid race conditions.
- Verbose logging available but disabled by default.
Misc:
- Updates global-settings.ts and vscode-extension-host.ts for new settings.
- Adds task-storage-size.ts for calculating task storage size.

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roomote · 2025-11-14T05:52:39Z

Oroocle See task on Roo Cloud

Re-reviewed latest commit(s) on this PR (2ade8a0). No new issues found.

Race condition in concurrent task state updates during purge
settings:taskHistoryStorage i18n added only in en (missing in other locales)
task-storage-size test suite mocks fs/promises but not VS Code config access via getStorageBasePath (can make tests environment-dependent)
settings.taskHistoryRetention.description copy says "runs on extension reload" but purge now runs on activation
common:taskHistoryRetention.* i18n keys exist only in src/i18n/locales/en/common.json (purge toast/actions can show missing-key strings in non-English UIs)
Settings save should persist normalized taskHistoryRetention value (avoid re-saving legacy/invalid values)

Previous reviews

cfc0b86: Review #1

ee34d6a: Review #2

69efab6: Review #3

f5f7272: Review #4

51e1ab1: Review #5

4729908: Review #6

d50d6a7: Review #7

f109eb7: Review #8

db6b195: Review #9

2423706: Review #10

7d20cc0: Review #11

48666c4: Review #12

3a5d03e: Review #13

32a6639: Review #14

82df612: Review #15

ab6d3ab: Review #16

cc67f71: Review #17

84853c9: Review #18

4f822b5: Review #19

d8e63d7: Review #20

f24227c: Review #21

16e6835: Review #22

42d73fe: Review #23

d9b68d5: Review #24

cb175d6: Review #25

edbe270: Review #26

67c7629: Review #27

784a70d: Review #28

454fd8c: Review #29

9ad332f: Review #30

_{Mention @roomote in a comment to request specific changes to this pull request or fix all unresolved issues.}

src/package.nls.json

src/utils/task-history-retention.ts

webview-ui/src/i18n/locales/ca/settings.json

heyseth

Executive Summary

This PR introduces an auto-delete task history feature that purges old tasks on extension reload. The implementation is well-architected, type-safe, and thoroughly tested. The code demonstrates solid engineering practices with proper error handling, i18n support, and integration with existing deletion logic.

Strengths

✅Consistency: Excellent reuse of existing deleteTaskWithId() logic ensures checkpoints, shadow repos, and state are cleaned up alongside files.
✅Reliability: Sequential deletion prevents race conditions, and robust retry logic handles stubborn filesystem operations.
✅Quality: Full i18n support across 17 languages and type-safe schema validation with Zod.

Suggested Enhancements (Code Included)

I have included specific code snippets in the comments to address performance and user trust:

1. Performance: Non-blocking Activation (Critical)
The current implementation awaits the purge process during the activate phase. On machines with large histories or slow disks, this will block the extension startup.

Fix: I provided a snippet to wrap the logic in a background "fire-and-forget" task (void (async ...)), ensuring the extension activates immediately.
Optimization: Added an early return check for retention === "never" to skip the logic entirely for the majority of users.

2. UX: Visibility & Trust
Silent deletion of user data can be alarming if a user expects to find a task.

Fix: I added a Toast Notification logic to the background task. It only triggers if files were actually deleted and provides a direct link to Settings.

3. Testing: Edge Case Coverage
Since we are permanently deleting files, I identified a gap in testing regarding "Orphan Checkpoints" and "Legacy Mtime Fallback."

Fix: I drafted 4 specific test cases to verify we strictly target garbage data and do not accidentally delete recent, valid tasks that lack metadata.

Conclusion

This is a high-value maintenance feature. Once the activation blocking issue is resolved (using the background task pattern I suggested), this logic is solid and ready for production!

src/extension.ts

src/__tests__/task-history-retention.spec.ts

Co-authored-by: Seth Miller <sethmillerp@gmail.com>

…plugin reload - Updated description and warning text for aboutRetention in all 18 languages - Changed 'plugin reload' to 'extension is activated' for clarity - Changed 'deletes tasks' to 'deletes old tasks' to clarify it doesn't delete all tasks

- Add storage usage display showing total size and task count - Add calculateTaskStorageSize utility to compute global storage folder sizes - Add getTaskStorageSize message handler to communicate storage info to webview - Update About settings section to display storage usage with refresh button - Add taskHistoryStorage translations for all 18 supported languages

- Add non-blocking background task history purge on extension activation - Fire-and-forget pattern prevents blocking startup - Skip purge entirely when retention is 'never' (default) - Remove duplicate 'settings.taskHistoryRetention.description' keys from all 18 package.nls.*.json files - Keep consistent 'extension reload' terminology (vs 'plugin reload')

…cleaner code - Resolved merge conflict in extension.ts, keeping extracted function approach - startBackgroundRetentionPurge() encapsulates all purge logic in task-history-retention.ts - Added getStorageBasePath mock to task-storage-size tests (addresses roomote review)

- Check if workspace repo directory exists before git operations in deleteTask() - Reduce log verbosity - only log actual errors, not expected cases - Add test case for non-existent directory handling

webview-ui/src/components/settings/SettingsView.tsx

Co-authored-by: roomote[bot] <219738659+roomote[bot]@users.noreply.github.com>

packages/types/src/global-settings.ts

src/utils/task-history-retention.ts

webview-ui/src/components/settings/SettingsView.tsx

mrubens · 2026-01-21T01:35:01Z

webview-ui/src/components/settings/SettingsView.tsx

+	const normalizedTaskHistoryRetention: TaskHistoryRetentionSetting = TASK_HISTORY_RETENTION_OPTIONS.includes(
+		taskHistoryRetention as TaskHistoryRetentionSetting,
+	)
+		? (taskHistoryRetention as TaskHistoryRetentionSetting)
+		: "never"


Same thing here - can this logic go inside the AboutTab (or whichever tab is best for this to live in)?

Ehhh I guess if we have the logic for all of the other tabs in SettingsView this is following the pattern, not blocking feedback

mrubens · 2026-01-21T01:37:31Z

webview-ui/src/i18n/locales/en/settings.json

+		"warning": "Warning: This action permanently deletes old tasks and runs when the extension is activated.",
+		"options": {
+			"never": "Never",
+			"90": "90 days",


Code might be cleaner if we pass in the number of days and don't need so many strings, but not a blocker

mrubens · 2026-01-21T01:39:27Z

src/utils/task-history-retention.ts

+
+				vscode.window.showInformationMessage(message, viewSettingsLabel, dismissLabel).then((action) => {
+					if (action === viewSettingsLabel) {
+						// Navigate to Roo Code settings About tab


Does this actually go to the About tab? I think we do have a way to open settings pointed to a specific tab fwiw

hannesrudolph requested review from cte, jr and mrubens as code owners November 14, 2025 05:52

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hannesrudolph force-pushed the chore/retention-purge-checkpoint-cleanup branch from 784a70d to 67c7629 Compare November 19, 2025 08:57

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hannesrudolph force-pushed the chore/retention-purge-checkpoint-cleanup branch from 84853c9 to cc67f71 Compare January 7, 2026 16:38

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heyseth suggested changes Jan 13, 2026

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hannesrudolph and others added 14 commits January 20, 2026 16:26

test(webview): align About component test props with new retention union

faa8daf

test: stabilize checkpoint service temp dir cleanup

fb3d09c

Update src/extension.ts

f10c771

Co-authored-by: Seth Miller <sethmillerp@gmail.com>

Update src/__tests__/task-history-retention.spec.ts

9e21a72

Co-authored-by: Seth Miller <sethmillerp@gmail.com>

i18n: add taskHistoryStorage translations to all locales

e9eccfb

fix: handle non-existent workspace repo in checkpoint cleanup

66bfb48

- Check if workspace repo directory exists before git operations in deleteTask() - Reduce log verbosity - only log actual errors, not expected cases - Add test case for non-existent directory handling

chore: move task history retention to app state

bb42349

fix: address mrubens review feedback for task history retention

711a14c

fix: add missing task history retention translations

3e31153

test(core): increase timeout for CustomToolRegistry clearCache test

ee34d6a

hannesrudolph force-pushed the chore/retention-purge-checkpoint-cleanup branch from 69efab6 to ee34d6a Compare January 20, 2026 23:36

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