[BUG] Context condensing model selection is not persisted (reverts to default model after restart)

[SachinDandavati]

Problem (one or two sentences)

The setting to assign a different model for context condensing fails to persist after being selected in the menu. Even after saving, the selection reverts to the default primary model, preventing the use of a secondary, cost-effective model for summarization.

Context (who is affected and when)

This affects users who want to use a powerful model (like Claude 4.5 Sonnet) for coding while offloading the summarization of chat history to a faster, cheaper model (like Gemini 1.5 Flash). The issue occurs during the configuration phase in the Context settings menu.

Reproduction steps

1. Open Roo Code and click the gear icon to access Settings.
2. Navigate to the Context pane.
3. Locate the API Configuration for Context Condensing dropdown and select a non-default API profile.
4. Verify that Automatically trigger intelligent context condensing is enabled.
5. Close the settings panel or use the Developer: Reload Window command in VS Code.
6. Re-open the settings and check if the selection remained.

Expected result

The specific API configuration selected for context condensing should stay saved and be used for all future summarization triggers in that profile

Actual result

The dropdown menu reverts to the default primary configuration, and the intended condensing model is never utilized

Variations tried (optional)

I have attempted to toggle the automatic trigger checkbox on and off before selecting the model, and I tried adjusting the Context Threshold percentage to force a state update, but the model selection still reverts. I also checked the ui_state.json file in VS Code's globalStorage, where the change appears not to be written or is being overwritten upon app initialization.

App Version

Version: 3.41.3 (23717fb)

API Provider (optional)

None

Model Used (optional)

No response

Roo Code Task Links (optional)

No response

Relevant logs or errors (optional)

[Settings] Failed to persist contextCondensingConfigId to globalState.
[Storage] Overwriting ui_state.json with default profile values.

[roomote]

I've analyzed this issue and here's my proposed implementation plan:

Root Cause Analysis

After tracing the data flow through the codebase, I identified an inconsistency in how condensingApiConfigId is handled compared to the similar enhancementApiConfigId setting:

1. enhancementApiConfigId has a dedicated message handler in webviewMessageHandler.ts:

   case "enhancementApiConfigId":
       await updateGlobalState("enhancementApiConfigId", message.text)
       await provider.postStateToWebview()
       break

2. condensingApiConfigId currently relies on the generic updateSettings handler, which processes it via provider.contextProxy.setValue().

While both approaches should theoretically persist the value to VSCode's globalState, the dedicated handler pattern used for enhancementApiConfigId has proven reliable, whereas the generic approach may have subtle issues with value persistence.

Proposed Fix

1. Add a dedicated message handler for condensingApiConfigId in webviewMessageHandler.ts (similar to enhancementApiConfigId):

   case "condensingApiConfigId":
       await updateGlobalState("condensingApiConfigId", message.text)
       await provider.postStateToWebview()
       break

2. Update PromptsSettings.tsx to send condensingApiConfigId with its own dedicated message type instead of using the generic updateSettings pattern:

   // Before:
   vscode.postMessage({
       type: "updateSettings",
       updatedSettings: { condensingApiConfigId: newConfigId },
   })
   
   // After:
   vscode.postMessage({
       type: "condensingApiConfigId",
       text: newConfigId,
   })

3. Add the new message type to the WebviewMessage type definitions in shared/WebviewMessage.ts.

This approach ensures consistency with how enhancementApiConfigId (a very similar API configuration override setting) is handled, and should resolve the persistence issue.

Testing Plan

• Write unit tests for the new message handler
• Verify the setting persists across extension restarts
• Test selecting, changing, and clearing the condensing API config

Please mention @roomote in a comment saying that you approve this plan, and I'll proceed with the implementation.