Add file path setup for mock policy server and improve state polling

[joshspicer]

This pull request introduces enhancements to the mock policy server, focusing on file path configuration and improving the responsiveness of the GUI to external state changes.

Changes made:

• Documentation Updates:

  • Added instructions for setting file paths in the local testing documentation.
  • Updated the README for the mock policy server with new setup instructions.

• Code Enhancements:

  • Implemented a new "Deploy as a file" section in the setup modal and policies page, allowing users to configure file-based settings.
  • Added a 2-second polling mechanism in app.ts to check for external state changes via the /api/state endpoint, ensuring the GUI reflects updates without requiring a page reload.
  • Safeguards were added to prevent clobbering user edits during polling and to ensure that the user's own saves are not reverted.

Validation:

• The changes were type-checked and validated with a mock backend, confirming that external changes are now reflected in the editor and that user interactions remain intact.

[github-actions]

Screenshot Changes

Base: d9b5c14f Current: e550f6b6

Changed (1)

chat/aiCustomizations/aiCustomizationManagementEditor/McpServersSearch/Light

Before	After

[Copilot]

Copilot review overview

Review tier: Balanced
Findings: 4 · 1

New issues introduced by this change (5)

Severity	Finding
	scripts/​mock-policy-server/​public/​app.ts — This accepts every syntactically valid JSON value, so arrays, primitives, and null get deploy…
	scripts/​mock-policy-server/​public/​app.ts — sudo tee only creates a root-owned regular file when the destination does not already exist. If…
	scripts/​mock-policy-server/​public/​app.ts — This “Go to” action only scrolls after closing the modal, leaving keyboard and screen-reader focus…
	scripts/​mock-policy-server/​README.md — The generated Unix and PowerShell snippets are multiline here-doc/here-string commands, not…
	scripts/​mock-policy-server/​public/​app.ts — applyState calls renderTabs, which replaces every endpoint tab and toggle. If an external…

What changed in this PR

Adds file-based managed-settings deployment to the mock policy server and synchronizes external server-state changes into its GUI.

Changes:

• Adds platform-specific deployment commands and setup UI.
• Polls server state every two seconds.
• Documents file-based policy testing.

File	Description
scripts/​mock-policy-server/​README.md	Documents file deployment.
scripts/​mock-policy-server/​public/​style.css	Styles the new UI.
scripts/​mock-policy-server/​public/​index.html	Adds setup and deployment controls.
scripts/​mock-policy-server/​public/​app.ts	Generates commands and polls state.
.github/​skills/​policy-and-managed-settings/​local-testing.md	Updates testing guidance.

Suppressed comments (2)

scripts/mock-policy-server/public/app.ts:690

• The polling guard only treats focus or a pending/active save as an edit. An invalid JSON/status draft (or a draft whose save failed) has neither marker once the user blurs the field, so any external state change causes applyExternalState to overwrite that unsaved draft. Track dirty drafts independently and skip/reconcile polling until the matching save succeeds rather than using focus as the source of truth.

	async function refreshState(): Promise<void> {
		if (stateWritesInFlight > 0 || pendingSaves.size > 0 || isInteractingWithEditor()) {
			return;

scripts/mock-policy-server/public/app.ts:139

• As on macOS, sudo tee preserves an existing file's ownership and mode and follows a symlink, so this does not guarantee the root-owned, regular, non-group/world-writable file promised by the UI. Replace the existing entry and set the required mode explicitly.

		return `sudo mkdir -p /etc/github-copilot && sudo tee ${linuxManagedSettingsPath} >/dev/null <<'JSON'\n${body}\nJSON`;

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