feat: add experimental setting to disable diff visualization for all edit tools

.changeset/disable-diff-visualization.md

@@ -0,0 +1,7 @@
+---
+"roo-cline": patch
+---
+
+Add experimental setting to disable diff visualization for all edit tools
+
+Added a new experimental setting `disableDiffVisualization` that allows users to disable diff visualization for all edit tools (write_to_file, apply_diff, insert_content, search_and_replace). When enabled, files will open directly in the editor instead of showing a side-by-side diff view. This helps prevent Language Server Protocol (LSP) crashes that can occur with very large files, particularly affecting C# developers. The changes made by Roo are still visible in the chat window.

packages/types/src/experiment.ts

@@ -6,7 +6,13 @@ import type { Keys, Equals, AssertEqual } from "./type-fu.js"
  * ExperimentId
  */
 
-export const experimentIds = ["powerSteering", "disableCompletionCommand", "marketplace", "multiFileApplyDiff"] as const
+export const experimentIds = [
+	"powerSteering",
+	"disableCompletionCommand",
+	"marketplace",
+	"multiFileApplyDiff",
+	"disableDiffVisualization",
+] as const
 
 export const experimentIdsSchema = z.enum(experimentIds)
 
@@ -21,6 +27,7 @@ export const experimentsSchema = z.object({
 	disableCompletionCommand: z.boolean().optional(),
 	marketplace: z.boolean().optional(),
 	multiFileApplyDiff: z.boolean().optional(),
+	disableDiffVisualization: z.boolean().optional(),
 })
 
 export type Experiments = z.infer<typeof experimentsSchema>

src/core/task/Task.ts

@@ -104,6 +104,7 @@ export type TaskOptions = {
 	provider: ClineProvider
 	apiConfiguration: ProviderSettings
 	enableDiff?: boolean
+	disableDiffVisualization?: boolean
 	enableCheckpoints?: boolean
 	fuzzyMatchThreshold?: number
 	consecutiveMistakeLimit?: number
@@ -198,6 +199,7 @@ export class Task extends EventEmitter<ClineEvents> {
 		provider,
 		apiConfiguration,
 		enableDiff = false,
+		disableDiffVisualization = false,
 		enableCheckpoints = true,
 		fuzzyMatchThreshold = 1.0,
 		consecutiveMistakeLimit = 3,
@@ -242,7 +244,7 @@ export class Task extends EventEmitter<ClineEvents> {
 		this.consecutiveMistakeLimit = consecutiveMistakeLimit
 		this.providerRef = new WeakRef(provider)
 		this.globalStoragePath = provider.context.globalStorageUri.fsPath
-		this.diffViewProvider = new DiffViewProvider(this.cwd)
+		this.diffViewProvider = new DiffViewProvider(this.cwd, disableDiffVisualization)
 		this.enableCheckpoints = enableCheckpoints
 
 		this.rootTask = rootTask

src/core/webview/ClineProvider.ts

@@ -534,6 +534,8 @@ export class ClineProvider
 			experiments,
 		} = await this.getState()
 
+		const disableDiffVisualization = experiments.disableDiffVisualization ?? false
+
 		if (!ProfileValidator.isProfileAllowed(apiConfiguration, organizationAllowList)) {
 			throw new OrganizationAllowListViolationError(t("common:errors.violated_organization_allowlist"))
 		}
@@ -542,6 +544,7 @@ export class ClineProvider
 			provider: this,
 			apiConfiguration,
 			enableDiff,
+			disableDiffVisualization,
 			enableCheckpoints,
 			fuzzyMatchThreshold,
 			task,
@@ -574,10 +577,13 @@ export class ClineProvider
 			experiments,
 		} = await this.getState()
 
+		const disableDiffVisualization = experiments.disableDiffVisualization ?? false
+
 		const cline = new Task({
 			provider: this,
 			apiConfiguration,
 			enableDiff,
+			disableDiffVisualization,
 			enableCheckpoints,
 			fuzzyMatchThreshold,
 			historyItem,

src/integrations/editor/DiffViewProvider.ts

@@ -34,7 +34,10 @@ export class DiffViewProvider {
 	private streamedLines: string[] = []
 	private preDiagnostics: [vscode.Uri, vscode.Diagnostic[]][] = []
 
-	constructor(private cwd: string) {}
+	constructor(
+		private cwd: string,
+		private disableDiffVisualization: boolean = false,
+	) {}
 
 	async open(relPath: string): Promise<void> {
 		this.relPath = relPath
@@ -92,7 +95,13 @@ export class DiffViewProvider {
 			this.documentWasOpen = true
 		}
 
-		this.activeDiffEditor = await this.openDiffEditor()
+		// If diff visualization is disabled, open the file directly
+		if (this.disableDiffVisualization) {
+			const document = await vscode.workspace.openTextDocument(absolutePath)
+			this.activeDiffEditor = await vscode.window.showTextDocument(document, { preview: false })
+		} else {
+			this.activeDiffEditor = await this.openDiffEditor()
+		}
 		this.fadedOverlayController = new DecorationController("fadedOverlay", this.activeDiffEditor)
 		this.activeLineController = new DecorationController("activeLine", this.activeDiffEditor)
 		// Apply faded overlay to all lines initially.

src/shared/__tests__/experiments.test.ts

@@ -30,6 +30,7 @@ describe("experiments", () => {
 				marketplace: false,
 				disableCompletionCommand: false,
 				multiFileApplyDiff: false,
+				disableDiffVisualization: false,
 			}
 			expect(Experiments.isEnabled(experiments, EXPERIMENT_IDS.POWER_STEERING)).toBe(false)
 		})
@@ -40,6 +41,7 @@ describe("experiments", () => {
 				marketplace: false,
 				disableCompletionCommand: false,
 				multiFileApplyDiff: false,
+				disableDiffVisualization: false,
 			}
 			expect(Experiments.isEnabled(experiments, EXPERIMENT_IDS.POWER_STEERING)).toBe(true)
 		})
@@ -50,6 +52,7 @@ describe("experiments", () => {
 				marketplace: false,
 				disableCompletionCommand: false,
 				multiFileApplyDiff: false,
+				disableDiffVisualization: false,
 			}
 			expect(Experiments.isEnabled(experiments, EXPERIMENT_IDS.POWER_STEERING)).toBe(false)
 		})
@@ -70,6 +73,7 @@ describe("experiments", () => {
 				marketplace: false,
 				disableCompletionCommand: false,
 				multiFileApplyDiff: false,
+				disableDiffVisualization: false,
 			}
 			expect(Experiments.isEnabled(experiments, EXPERIMENT_IDS.MARKETPLACE)).toBe(false)
 		})
@@ -80,6 +84,7 @@ describe("experiments", () => {
 				marketplace: true,
 				disableCompletionCommand: false,
 				multiFileApplyDiff: false,
+				disableDiffVisualization: false,
 			}
 			expect(Experiments.isEnabled(experiments, EXPERIMENT_IDS.MARKETPLACE)).toBe(true)
 		})

src/shared/experiments.ts

@@ -5,6 +5,7 @@ export const EXPERIMENT_IDS = {
 	MULTI_FILE_APPLY_DIFF: "multiFileApplyDiff",
 	DISABLE_COMPLETION_COMMAND: "disableCompletionCommand",
 	POWER_STEERING: "powerSteering",
+	DISABLE_DIFF_VISUALIZATION: "disableDiffVisualization",
 } as const satisfies Record<string, ExperimentId>
 
 type _AssertExperimentIds = AssertEqual<Equals<ExperimentId, Values<typeof EXPERIMENT_IDS>>>
@@ -20,6 +21,7 @@ export const experimentConfigsMap: Record<ExperimentKey, ExperimentConfig> = {
 	MULTI_FILE_APPLY_DIFF: { enabled: false },
 	DISABLE_COMPLETION_COMMAND: { enabled: false },
 	POWER_STEERING: { enabled: false },
+	DISABLE_DIFF_VISUALIZATION: { enabled: false },
 }
 
 export const experimentDefault = Object.fromEntries(

webview-ui/src/context/__tests__/ExtensionStateContext.test.tsx

@@ -223,9 +223,9 @@ describe("mergeExtensionState", () => {
 			experiments: {
 				powerSteering: true,
 				marketplace: false,
-				concurrentFileReads: true,
 				disableCompletionCommand: false,
 				multiFileApplyDiff: true,
+				disableDiffVisualization: false,
 			} as Record<ExperimentId, boolean>,
 		}
 
@@ -239,9 +239,9 @@ describe("mergeExtensionState", () => {
 		expect(result.experiments).toEqual({
 			powerSteering: true,
 			marketplace: false,
-			concurrentFileReads: true,
 			disableCompletionCommand: false,
 			multiFileApplyDiff: true,
+			disableDiffVisualization: false,
 		})
 	})
 })

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

@@ -508,6 +508,10 @@
 		"MULTI_FILE_APPLY_DIFF": {
 			"name": "Enable concurrent file edits",
 			"description": "When enabled, Roo can edit multiple files in a single request. When disabled, Roo must edit files one at a time. Disabling this can help when working with less capable models or when you want more control over file modifications."
+		},
+		"DISABLE_DIFF_VISUALIZATION": {
+			"name": "Disable diff visualization for all edit tools",
+			"description": "When enabled, files will open directly in the editor instead of showing a diff view for all edit tools (write_to_file, apply_diff, insert_content, search_and_replace). This helps prevent LSP crashes with very large files. Changes are still visible in the chat window."
 		}
 	},
 	"promptCaching": {