TLDR

Fixed a bug in the /chat save command where conversations containing only system context messages (initial environment info and model acknowledgment) were being saved as checkpoints. The fix ensures that only conversations with actual user interaction beyond the initial system context are saved, preventing storage waste and clutter from meaningless checkpoints.

Dive Deeper

The issue was that the /chat save command was saving conversation checkpoints even when there were no actual user messages, only the initial system context messages. This happened because:

1. System Context Always Present: Every new chat session automatically includes 2 initial messages:

   • A user message with environment context (directory structure, etc.)
   • A model acknowledgment message

2. Insufficient Filtering: The original logic checked history.length > 2, but this wasn't sufficient to distinguish between:

   • Just system context (2 messages) → should NOT save
   • System context + actual user conversation (3+ messages) → should save

3. Storage Waste: Users could accidentally save "conversations" that contained no meaningful content, wasting storage and cluttering the checkpoint list.

The fix implements proper filtering logic that:

• Only saves conversations that contain actual user messages beyond the initial system context
• Returns "No conversation found to save" when only system context exists

This aligns with the existing logic in the /chat resume command, which already filters out system messages for display purposes.

Reviewer Test Plan

1. Pull and run the code with the fix applied
2. Test the save command with minimal conversation:
   • Start a new chat session (this adds system context automatically)
   • Run /chat save test-empty immediately without any user input
   • Expected: Should return "No conversation found to save" instead of creating a checkpoint
3. Test the save command with actual conversation:
   • Start a new chat session
   • Send a user message like "Hello, how are you?"
   • Get a response from the model
   • Run /chat save test-real
   • Expected: Should successfully save the conversation
4. Verify checkpoint content:
   • Run /chat list to see saved checkpoints
   • Run /chat resume test-real to verify the conversation loads with actual content
   • Expected: Should show the user's message and model's response, not just system context
5. Test edge cases:
   • Try saving with various conversation lengths
   • Verify that conversations with only system context are rejected
   • Verify that conversations with actual user interaction are accepted
6. Integration testing:
   • Save a meaningful conversation
   • Delete it with /chat delete
   • Verify it's removed from the list
   • Try to resume the deleted conversation (should fail appropriately)

Testing Matrix

Linked issues / bugs

• Closes /chat save command saves empty conversations with only system context #6119
• Fixes /chat save command saves empty conversations with only system context #6119
• Resolves /chat save command saves empty conversations with only system context #6119

Addition information

~\gemini-cli\packages\cli>npm test -- chatCommand.test.ts

> @google/gemini-cli@0.1.19 test
> vitest run chatCommand.test.ts


 RUN  v3.2.4 ~/gemini-cli/packages/cli
      Coverage enabled with v8

 ✓ src/ui/commands/chatCommand.test.ts (17 tests) 17ms
   ✓ chatCommand > should have the correct main command definition 3ms
   ✓ chatCommand > list subcommand > should inform when no checkpoints are found 1ms
   ✓ chatCommand > list subcommand > should list found checkpoints 1ms
   ✓ chatCommand > list subcommand > should handle invalid date formats gracefully 1ms
   ✓ chatCommand > save subcommand > should return an error if tag is missing 1ms
   ✓ chatCommand > save subcommand > should inform if conversation history is empty or only contains system context 1ms
   ✓ chatCommand > save subcommand > should return confirm_action if checkpoint already exists 2ms
   ✓ chatCommand > save subcommand > should save the conversation if overwrite is confirmed 1ms
   ✓ chatCommand > resume subcommand > should return an error if tag is missing 1ms
   ✓ chatCommand > resume subcommand > should inform if checkpoint is not found 0ms
   ✓ chatCommand > resume subcommand > should resume a conversation 1ms
   ✓ chatCommand > resume subcommand > completion > should provide completion suggestions 1ms
   ✓ chatCommand > resume subcommand > completion > should suggest filenames sorted by modified time (newest first) 1ms
   ✓ chatCommand > delete subcommand > should return an error if tag is missing 1ms
   ✓ chatCommand > delete subcommand > should return an error if checkpoint is not found 1ms
   ✓ chatCommand > delete subcommand > should delete the conversation 1ms
   ✓ chatCommand > delete subcommand > completion > should provide completion suggestions 1ms

 Test Files  1 passed (1)
      Tests  17 passed (17)
   Start at  11:15:02
   Duration  12.21s (transform 190ms, setup 61ms, collect 1.01s, tests 17ms, environment 8.41s, prepare 678ms)

JUNIT report written to ~/gemini-cli/packages/cli/junit.xml
 % Coverage report from v8