better persistance on autopilot modes + learn more permissions

[justschen]

fix #304836
fix #302813

cc @sandeep-sen

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

This PR improves persistence of the chat tool auto-approval “permission level” (including autopilot modes) across chat sessions, and adds “Learn More” entry points in permission pickers. It also refines Action Widget sizing/styling to better support mixed items with/without descriptions.

Changes:

• Persist permissionLevel in chat input state/session metadata and restore it when reopening sessions.
• Add “Learn More about Permissions” actions to permission pickers (workbench + sessions window).
• Adjust Action Widget row sizing logic and CSS for description-below layouts.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 11 out of 11 changed files in this pull request and generated 1 comment.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
src/vs/workbench/contrib/chat/common/model/chatSessionStore.ts	Adds permissionLevel to session index metadata and captures it from the model.
src/vs/workbench/contrib/chat/common/model/chatSessionOperationLog.ts	Persists permissionLevel in the operation-log schema for input state.
src/vs/workbench/contrib/chat/common/model/chatModel.ts	Extends input state serialization/deserialization to include permissionLevel.
src/vs/workbench/contrib/chat/common/chatService/chatServiceImpl.ts	Seeds remote session input state with stored permissionLevel (from session metadata).
src/vs/workbench/contrib/chat/browser/widgetHosts/viewPane/chatViewPane.ts	Attempts to keep model refs alive across session switches to preserve input state.
src/vs/workbench/contrib/chat/browser/widget/input/permissionPickerActionItem.ts	Adds a “Learn More” action (opens docs) to the permission picker UI.
src/vs/workbench/contrib/chat/browser/widget/input/chatInputPart.ts	Syncs permission level to/from the input model and persists it with the draft state.
src/vs/sessions/contrib/chat/browser/newChatViewPane.ts	Resets the sessions-window permission picker after sending a request.
src/vs/sessions/contrib/chat/browser/newChatPermissionPicker.ts	Adds “Learn More” item and opener integration; supports items without a level.
src/vs/platform/actionWidget/browser/actionWidget.css	Tweaks description-below styling and hover selector formatting.
src/vs/platform/actionWidget/browser/actionList.ts	Introduces per-item height calculation to shrink items without descriptions in description-below mode.

Comments suppressed due to low confidence (1)

src/vs/workbench/contrib/chat/browser/widgetHosts/viewPane/chatViewPane.ts:716

• oldRef is added to _cachedModelRefs, but immediately after that this.modelRef.value = undefined; disposes the previous IChatModelReference (MutableDisposable setter disposes the old value). This defeats the intended caching and can leave disposed refs in _cachedModelRefs. Use this.modelRef.clearAndLeak() (or otherwise prevent disposal) before moving the reference into _cachedModelRefs so the reference count stays alive across session switches.

		// Keep the old model reference alive so its InputModel state (permission level, etc.)
		// survives while the user switches between sessions.
		const oldRef = this.modelRef.value;
		if (oldRef && oldModelResource) {
			this._cachedModelRefs.set(oldModelResource.toString(), oldRef);
		}
		this.modelRef.value = undefined;