[BUG] RooCode cannot detect newly added folder in workspace

[kokorolx]

Problem (one or two sentences)

RooCode fails to detect newly added folders in an existing workspace.

When a user adds a new folder to their current VS Code workspace, RooCode does not automatically recognize it. The extension continues to behave as if the folder does not exist, meaning any files inside the new folder are ignored and unavailable for interaction. Even after adding the folder properly in VS Code, RooCode’s context and indexing remain outdated until the workspace is reloaded manually.

This breaks expected workflow since users frequently modify their workspace structure during development, and RooCode should dynamically pick up those changes.

Context (who is affected and when)

This issue occurs when working on multi-folder projects using RooCode in VS Code. Developers often add new folders—for example, creating a new microservice, library, or feature module—while keeping the same workspace open. Normally, extensions like RooCode should detect the updated workspace structure and include new folders in its context or indexing automatically.

However, RooCode seems to maintain a static snapshot of the workspace that doesn’t update when folders are added. As a result, any code inside the new folder cannot be accessed, searched, or analyzed by RooCode until the entire window is reloaded or the extension is reinitialized.

This impacts productivity, especially for developers frequently modifying folder structures or working on modular codebases.

Reproduction steps

1/ Open VS Code with RooCode extension active.

2/ Add a new folder to the current workspace.

3/ Try to access or open files from the new folder via RooCode.

Expected result

RooCode should automatically detect and read files from the newly added folder.

Actual result

The new folder does not appear or is not recognized by RooCode.

Variations tried (optional)

No response

App Version

3.29.2

API Provider (optional)

None

Model Used (optional)

No response

Roo Code Task Links (optional)

No response

Relevant logs or errors (optional)

[roomote]

I'm exploring a potential fix for this workspace folder detection issue and will open a PR to share progress. The issue is clear - RooCode should dynamically detect when new folders are added to the workspace without requiring a reload.

[roomote]

Opened PR #8887 with my attempt at addressing this issue: #8887

The fix implements dynamic workspace folder detection using VS Code's onDidChangeWorkspaceFolders event listener. All CI checks have passed successfully.

The implementation:

• ✅ Detects newly added folders without requiring a reload
• ✅ Properly initializes CodeIndexManager for new folders
• ✅ Cleans up resources when folders are removed
• ✅ Updates the webview state to reflect workspace changes

Feedback welcome!

[daniel-lxs]

Thanks for reporting this! This behavior is expected - Roo Code currently has limited support for multi-root workspaces.

We don’t have short-term plans to improve this, but it’s something we may revisit later as the workspace handling architecture evolves.