Feature Request: Allow Hiding Built-in Modes

[JorkeyLiu]

Problem Statement:

Currently, the built-in modes (Code, Architect, Ask, Debug) are hardcoded and cannot be removed or easily managed by the user. For users who do not utilize all of these default modes, they become visual clutter in the mode selection UI. Switching between frequently used modes (especially custom ones) becomes cumbersome as users constantly need to navigate past or ignore the unused built-in modes in:

• The mode selection dropdown in the chat input area.
• The mode switching keyboard shortcut (Ctrl/Cmd + .).
• The /mode command suggestions in the chat input.

This detracts from a streamlined user experience, particularly for users who heavily rely on custom modes.

Proposed Solution:

Introduce a mechanism to allow users to hide the built-in modes they do not use. This could be implemented as follows:

1. Persistence: Add a new setting (e.g., hiddenBuiltInModes: string[]) to the global settings (settings.json via globalSettingsSchema) to store the slugs of the built-in modes the user wishes to hide.
2. UI Toggle: Add a toggle button (e.g., an eye icon) in the "Modes" configuration section within the "Prompts" view (PromptsView.tsx). Clicking this button would toggle the hidden status of all built-in modes and update the persisted setting via a message to the extension backend.
3. Filtering Logic: Implement filtering logic based on the hiddenBuiltInModes setting in all relevant UI components and functions:
   • Mode Tabs (PromptsView.tsx): Only display visible modes.
   • Mode Dropdown (ChatTextArea.tsx): Only list visible modes in the dropdown options.
   • Keyboard Shortcut (ChatView.tsx): Cycle only through visible modes.
   • /mode Command Suggestions (context-mentions.ts): Suggest only visible modes.
   • Consistency & Custom Mode Override: The filtering logic ensures consistency across the UI. Crucially, if a user creates a custom mode with the same slug as a built-in mode that they have chosen to hide, the custom mode will still be visible and accessible. This allows users to completely replace a built-in mode's behavior while still benefiting from the hiding feature for other unused built-ins.

Implementation Status:

A local implementation of this feature, including the necessary changes to state management, backend message handling, UI components, filtering logic, tests, and translations (en, zh-CN), has been completed and tested successfully.

Seeking feedback from maintainers on this proposed feature and implementation approach. If the direction is approved, a Pull Request with the completed implementation is ready to be submitted.