fix: persist and restore workspace directories on session resume

[korade-krushna]

Summary

This PR fixes issue #17409 where directories added via /dir add did not persist across sessions when using the --resume flag. It ensures that any directories added to the workspace during a session are serialized to the session JSON file and automatically restored upon resumption.

Details

The fix involves the following changes:

• State Persistence: Added a directories field to the ConversationRecord interface in packages/core/src/services/chatRecordingService.ts and a corresponding recordDirectories method to save the current workspace state.
• Persistence Trigger: Updated the /dir add command in packages/cli/src/ui/commands/directoryCommand.tsx to persist the updated directory list to the session file immediately after a successful addition.
• Restoration Logic: Modified the useSessionResume hook in packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useSessionResume.ts to read the saved directories from the session data and re-add them to the WorkspaceContext whenever a session is resumed.

Related Issues

Closes #17409

How to Validate

1. Start a new session: npm run start
2. Add a directory to the workspace: /dir add ./some-local-folder
3. Verify it's added: /dir show
4. Exit the session: /exit or Ctrl+C
5. Resume the session: npm run start -- --resume
6. Verify the directory is automatically restored: /dir show
7. Run unit tests to ensure no regressions:
   • npm test -w @google/gemini-cli-core -- src/services/chatRecordingService.test.ts
   • npm test -w @google/gemini-cli -- src/ui/hooks/useSessionResume.test.ts
   • npm test

Video

Screen.Recording.2026-01-25.at.12.31.51.AM.mov

Pre-Merge Checklist

• Updated relevant documentation and README (if needed)
• Added/updated tests (if needed)
• Noted breaking changes (if any)
• Validated on required platforms/methods:
  • MacOS
    • npm run
    • npx
    • Docker
    • Podman
    • Seatbelt
  • Windows
    • npm run
    • npx
    • Docker
  • Linux
    • npm run
    • npx
    • Docker

[gemini-code-assist]

Summary of Changes

Hello @korade-krushna, I'm Gemini Code Assist¹! I'm currently reviewing this pull request and will post my feedback shortly. In the meantime, here's a summary to help you and other reviewers quickly get up to speed!

This pull request addresses a critical issue where workspace directories added during a session were not preserved when resuming that session. The changes ensure that any directories added by the user are now correctly saved and automatically restored, providing a more consistent and reliable user experience across sessions.

Highlights

• State Persistence: Introduced a 'directories' field to the ConversationRecord interface and a 'recordDirectories' method in the chat recording service to save the current workspace state.
• Persistence Trigger: Modified the '/dir add' command to immediately persist the updated directory list to the session file after a successful addition.
• Restoration Logic: Updated the 'useSessionResume' hook to read saved directories from session data and re-add them to the WorkspaceContext upon session resumption.

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[gemini-code-assist]

Code Review

This pull request effectively addresses the issue of persisting and restoring workspace directories across sessions. The user experience during session restoration could be improved by notifying the user if any directories from the previous session could not be restored, preventing silent failures and confusion. The initial high-severity security concern was re-evaluated and deemed not applicable, as paths originating from a local user's session file are considered user-provided in a CLI context.

[jacob314]

I have reviewed PR 17454. The intent to persist and restore workspace directories added via /dir add across sessions is well-implemented and addresses the issue correctly. The implementation of recordDirectories in ChatRecordingService and its invocation in directoryCommand.tsx follows the project's service and command patterns.

Regarding the tests and React logic, I have one piece of feedback (manual review from /review-frontend by Jacob Richman):

1. In packages/cli/src/ui/hooks/useSessionResume.test.ts, please replace vi.clearAllMocks() in beforeEach with vi.restoreAllMocks() in an afterEach block. This ensures better test isolation and adheres to our project's testing standards.

I have also flagged this change to anj-s as the automatic restoration of directory context impacts the initial prompt history, which may affect model response quality.

[jacob314]

One tricky edge case we might want to handle in the future is when the only thing in the chat history is
/dir add
I would have expected resume to still work in that case but it doesn't work unless I also happened to have added a prompt to the chat history.

[korade-krushna]

Sure @jacob314 created a issue for the same
#17677

[korade-krushna]

@jacob314 all the failed CI checks are addressed and fixed now