fix(channels): reuse local folders, stop git-init prompt on scratch tasks by raquelmsmith · Pull Request #2793 · PostHog/code

raquelmsmith · 2026-06-20T00:06:26Z

What & why

Follow-up to #2735 (generic chat box with lazy repo attach). Fixes two local-mode regressions reported in channel tasks.

1. Reuse local folders instead of cloning from remote

When the agent decided it needed a repo, the channel system prompt sent it straight to list_repos → clone_repo, i.e. cloning from remote GitHub even though the user already has the repo checked out locally.

AgentService now fetches the user's previously-used local folders (FoldersService.getFolders) for channel sessions and embeds them in the channel system prompt. Guidance is reordered to:

Reuse a folder already on disk (cd into it).
If unsure / none match → ask the user (via AskUserQuestion) which folder, or for a local path.
Only as a last resort, clone from remote — after confirming with the user.

2. No more spurious "Initialize Git Repository?" dialog

Opening a repo-less channel task popped the native "This folder is not a git repository / initialize?" dialog. Root cause: the synthetic scratch workspace had folderId: "" (falsy), so navigationTaskBinder.ensureWorkspaceForTask's guard missed and it registered the empty scratch dir as a folder (→ FoldersService.addFolder → git-init dialog), plus wrote a bogus workspace row.

Scratch workspaces are now marked with isScratch and short-circuited in the task binder, so they are never registered or git-init'd. The dialog now only fires when a real folder is selected for a coding task.

Changes

packages/shared/src/workspace-domain.ts — isScratch? on workspaceSchema
packages/workspace-server/.../workspace/workspace.ts — buildScratchWorkspace sets isScratch: true
packages/ui/.../navigation/taskBinderImpl.ts — short-circuit scratch workspaces
packages/workspace-server/.../agent/agent.ts — inject FOLDERS_SERVICE, fetch known local folders in channel mode, embed in the channel prompt

Testing

✅ @posthog/workspace-server unit tests (516) pass; added isScratch assertions + foldersService mock
✅ Typecheck clean for touched packages (shared, core, agent, workspace-server); pre-existing unrelated @posthog/ui errors in WebsiteLayout.tsx / InteractiveFileDiff.tsx exist on the base branch
⏳ In-app E2E recommended: channel → analysis prompt (no git dialog, no folder registered) → coding prompt (agent lists local folders / asks before cloning)

Created with PostHog Code

github-actions · 2026-06-20T00:06:58Z

React Doctor found no issues in the changed files. 🎉

_{Reviewed by React Doctor for commit ed8dddb.}

greptile-apps · 2026-06-20T00:13:33Z

Prompt To Fix All With AI

Fix the following 1 code review issue. Work through them one at a time, proposing concise fixes.

---

### Issue 1 of 1
packages/workspace-server/src/services/agent/agent.test.ts:179-181
**`localFoldersBlock` branch never exercised in tests**

The mock always resolves to `[]`, so the conditional path in `buildSystemPrompt` that generates the local-folder list (`localFolders.length > 0`) is never reached. The codebase prefers parameterised tests — a case with one or more mock `RegisteredFolder` entries (covering `exists: true`, `exists: false`, and the `remoteUrl` being null/non-null) would verify that the folder list text is correctly assembled and injected, and that folders with `exists: false` are filtered out as intended.

_{Reviews (1): Last reviewed commit: "fix(channels): reuse local folders, stop..." | Re-trigger Greptile}

greptile-apps · 2026-06-20T00:13:36Z

+    foldersService: {
+      getFolders: vi.fn().mockResolvedValue([]),
+    },


localFoldersBlock branch never exercised in tests

The mock always resolves to [], so the conditional path in buildSystemPrompt that generates the local-folder list (localFolders.length > 0) is never reached. The codebase prefers parameterised tests — a case with one or more mock RegisteredFolder entries (covering exists: true, exists: false, and the remoteUrl being null/non-null) would verify that the folder list text is correctly assembled and injected, and that folders with exists: false are filtered out as intended.

Prompt To Fix With AI

This is a comment left during a code review. Path: packages/workspace-server/src/services/agent/agent.test.ts Line: 179-181 Comment: **`localFoldersBlock` branch never exercised in tests** The mock always resolves to `[]`, so the conditional path in `buildSystemPrompt` that generates the local-folder list (`localFolders.length > 0`) is never reached. The codebase prefers parameterised tests — a case with one or more mock `RegisteredFolder` entries (covering `exists: true`, `exists: false`, and the `remoteUrl` being null/non-null) would verify that the folder list text is correctly assembled and injected, and that folders with `exists: false` are filtered out as intended. How can I resolve this? If you propose a fix, please make it concise.

Note: If this suggestion doesn't match your team's coding style, reply to this and let me know. I'll remember it for next time!

Addressed in ed8dddb. Added a parameterised it.each over buildSystemPrompt in channel mode covering exists: true with a remoteUrl, exists undefined with a null remoteUrl (asserting no empty () suffix), and exists: false (filtered out, block omitted), plus a mixed-list case and the empty-list fallback. The localFolders.length > 0 branch is now exercised.

…asks Follow-up to #2735 (generic chat box with lazy repo attach). Two local-mode regressions: 1. The channel system prompt sent the agent straight to list_repos/clone_repo, cloning from remote even when the user already has the repo checked out locally. AgentService now fetches the user's previously-used local folders and embeds them in the channel prompt, with guidance to reuse a local match (or ask the user for a path) first and only clone from remote as a last resort, after confirming. 2. Opening a repo-less channel task popped the native "initialize git?" dialog: the synthetic scratch workspace has folderId "" (falsy), so the navigation task binder's guard missed and it registered the empty scratch dir as a folder. Mark scratch workspaces with isScratch and short-circuit so they are never registered or git-init'd. The dialog now only fires when a real folder is selected for a coding task. Generated-By: PostHog Code Task-Id: d7d5491e-f66a-4848-9620-98006834f3d6

The channel system prompt's local-folders block was never covered: the foldersService mock always resolved to [], so the `localFolders.length > 0` path in buildSystemPrompt never ran. Add parameterised cases over buildSystemPrompt in channel mode covering exists:true with a remoteUrl, exists undefined with a null remoteUrl (no empty parens), and exists:false (filtered out, block omitted), plus a mixed-list case and the empty-list fallback. Addresses the review comment on agent.test.ts. Generated-By: PostHog Code Task-Id: e61fbdf2-151f-42d2-9c3b-3aaac1bb7959

github-actions

No showstoppers. The optional isScratch field is schema-backward-compatible, the early-return in the task binder is correctly scoped, the new DI injection is within the same package with a safe .catch(() => []) guard, and the bot's test-coverage concern was addressed by the new parameterized test suite added in this diff.

raquelmsmith marked this pull request as ready for review June 20, 2026 00:08

greptile-apps Bot reviewed Jun 20, 2026

View reviewed changes

raquelmsmith requested a review from charlesvien June 20, 2026 00:41

charlesvien added the Stamphog This will request an autostamp by stamphog on small changes label Jun 21, 2026

charlesvien approved these changes Jun 21, 2026

View reviewed changes

raquelmsmith force-pushed the posthog-code/channel-local-folder-reuse branch from 03be99a to 10e1644 Compare June 21, 2026 15:34

github-actions Bot approved these changes Jun 21, 2026

View reviewed changes

raquelmsmith merged commit 5bf53ab into main Jun 21, 2026
23 checks passed

raquelmsmith deleted the posthog-code/channel-local-folder-reuse branch June 21, 2026 15:44

Provide feedback

Saved searches

Use saved searches to filter your results more quickly

fix(channels): reuse local folders, stop git-init prompt on scratch tasks#2793

fix(channels): reuse local folders, stop git-init prompt on scratch tasks#2793
raquelmsmith merged 2 commits into
mainfrom
posthog-code/channel-local-folder-reuse

raquelmsmith commented Jun 20, 2026

Uh oh!

github-actions Bot commented Jun 20, 2026 •

edited

Loading

Uh oh!

greptile-apps Bot commented Jun 20, 2026

Uh oh!

greptile-apps Bot Jun 20, 2026

Uh oh!

raquelmsmith Jun 21, 2026

Uh oh!

github-actions Bot left a comment

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Reviewers

Assignees

Labels

Projects

Milestone

Development

Uh oh!

2 participants

Conversation

raquelmsmith commented Jun 20, 2026

What & why

1. Reuse local folders instead of cloning from remote

2. No more spurious "Initialize Git Repository?" dialog

Changes

Testing

Uh oh!

github-actions Bot commented Jun 20, 2026 • edited Loading Uh oh! There was an error while loading. Please reload this page.

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

greptile-apps Bot commented Jun 20, 2026

Uh oh!

greptile-apps Bot Jun 20, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

raquelmsmith Jun 21, 2026

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

github-actions Bot left a comment

Choose a reason for hiding this comment

Uh oh!

Uh oh!

Reviewers

Assignees

Labels

Projects

Milestone

Development

Uh oh!

2 participants

github-actions Bot commented Jun 20, 2026 •

edited

Loading