fix(cli): hide read-only settings scopes

[cvan20191]

Summary

Fixes a bug in the /settings dialog that incorrectly allowed users to select read-only scopes. Previously, modifying these scopes would only update the temporary runtime state and fail to save permanently to settings.json

Details

• Filters read-only scopes from the editable settings list in SettingsDialog.
• Preserves readOnly metadata in LoadedSettingsSnapshot.
• Updates dependency arrays in SettingsDialog callbacks to use writableSelectedScope and effectiveSelectedScope instead of selectedScope.
• Adds regression tests for getSnapshot() and scope filtering behavior.

Related Issues

Fixes #25429

How to Validate

1. npm run test --workspace @google/gemini-cli -- src/config/settings.test.ts src/ui/components/SettingsDialog.test.tsx
2. npm run build
3. npm run typecheck

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:
  • Linux
    • npm run
    • npx

[gemini-code-assist]

Summary of Changes

Hello, 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 refines the CLI's settings management by ensuring that the settings dialog only presents editable scopes to the user. This change resolves an issue where users could select read-only scopes, leading to confusion when changes made within them were not persisted. The update enhances the clarity and reliability of the settings interface by guiding users towards valid modification targets.

Highlights

• Read-Only Scope Filtering: Implemented logic to prevent read-only settings scopes from being offered as editable targets in the /settings dialog, addressing a previous issue where changes in such scopes were non-persistent.
• Metadata Preservation: Ensured that the readOnly metadata for each settings scope is correctly preserved within the LoadedSettingsSnapshot to accurately identify editable scopes.
• Enhanced Test Coverage: Added comprehensive test cases to validate the new behavior, including scenarios where read-only scopes are hidden, the dialog falls back to writable scopes, and no save operations occur if all scopes are read-only.
• UI/UX Improvement: Refactored the SettingsDialog component to dynamically manage and display only writable scopes, improving the user experience by preventing attempts to modify uneditable settings.

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[gemini-code-assist]

Code Review

This pull request implements logic to handle read-only settings scopes within the CLI's settings dialog. It updates the LoadedSettings class to preserve readOnly metadata during snapshots and modifies the SettingsDialog component to filter out non-writable scopes from the UI. The changes include logic to automatically fall back to a writable scope if the current selection is read-only and prevent editing actions when no writable scopes are available. Comprehensive tests were added to verify these behaviors across different scope configurations. I have no feedback to provide.

[scidomino]

Great fix! The React logic and test coverage are excellent.

I have two minor suggestions regarding the core logic and test utils that could make this implementation a bit more elegant and robust against future changes:

1. Use object spread in cloneSettingsFile
In packages/cli/src/config/settings.ts, instead of manually mapping scalar properties (which is why readOnly was missed in the first place), we can use the object spread operator. This ensures that any future primitive properties added to SettingsFile are automatically copied without needing to update this function:

const cloneSettingsFile = (file: SettingsFile): SettingsFile => ({
  ...file,
  settings: structuredClone(file.settings),
  originalSettings: structuredClone(file.originalSettings),
});

2. Update MockSettingsFile directly
In packages/cli/src/ui/components/SettingsDialog.test.tsx, you created a local MockSettingsFileWithReadOnly type. It would be slightly cleaner to just add readOnly?: boolean; directly to the MockSettingsFile interface in packages/cli/src/test-utils/settings.ts. This removes the need for the local type extension and keeps the shared test abstractions accurate for future tests.

Otherwise, this is a very high-quality PR and looks good to go!

[cvan20191]

@scidomino, thanks for the review, I’ve addressed both of your suggestions.

• Updated cloneSettingsFile to use ...file while deep‑cloning settings and originalSettings.
• Added readOnly?: boolean to the shared MockSettingsFile and removed the local MockSettingsFileWithReadOnly helper.

All tests and type checks pass on my end. Let me know if there’s anything else I should adjust. On a side note, I appreciate the detailed feedback

[scidomino]

Remove this code from the useEffect and just replace it with direct code. This will be more efficient since it won't need to render twice:

  if (writableSelectedScope && selectedScope !== writableSelectedScope) {
    setSelectedScope(writableSelectedScope);
  }

[cvan20191]

@scidomino Done! thank you for the feedback