feat: add autoformatting detection for edit tools

[Patrick-Erichsen]

Summary

• Implement autoformatting detection for multiEdit and editFile tools in VSCode extension
• Capture file content before/after save operations to detect editor autoformatting changes
• Include autoformatting diff in tool responses with guidance for language model
• Improve reliability of future edit operations by preventing content mismatch failures

Implementation Details

Key Components Added

1. Diff Utility (diffUtils.ts)

   • createPrettyPatch function using Continue's existing myersDiff
   • Formats diffs in unified format for language model consumption
   • normalizeContent helper for content comparison

2. Save Logic Enhancement (processDiff.ts)

   • Capture pre-save content before ide.saveFile() call
   • Capture post-save content after save operation
   • Compare normalized content to detect autoformatting
   • Generate diff if changes detected

3. Protocol Updates

   • Add autoFormattingDiff?: string field to ApplyState interface
   • Updated in both core/config/types.ts and core/index.d.ts

4. Tool Response Enhancement (handleApplyStateUpdate.ts)

   • Process autoformatting diff when tool is accepted
   • Add context item with formatted explanation for language model
   • Include guidance about quote changes, semicolons, indentation, etc.

Benefits

• Improved Edit Reliability: Language model aware of autoformatting changes prevents future edit failures
• Better Context: LM gets detailed info about quote style changes, semicolon additions/removals, line breaks, indentation
• Leverages Existing Code: Uses Continue's existing myersDiff function for consistency

Test Plan

• Test with files that trigger autoformatting (TypeScript, JavaScript with Prettier, etc.)
• Verify autoformatting diffs are captured correctly in tool responses
• Ensure no regression in existing edit tool functionality
• Test that language model receives properly formatted autoformatting information
• Verify edit operations work correctly after autoformatting detection

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Summary by cubic

Detects editor auto-formatting on save for multiEdit/editFile and returns a diff with the tool output. This makes follow-up edits more reliable when Prettier or format-on-save changes the file.

• New Features
  • Compare file content before and after save in processDiff; always save even without streamId.
  • Generate a pretty patch diff using myersDiff; normalize content before comparing.
  • Add autoFormattingDiff?: string to ApplyState (types.ts and index.d.ts).
  • Show an “Auto-formatting Applied” context item in tool output with guidance on quote, semicolon, and indentation changes.

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[cubic-dev-ai]

No issues found across 5 files

[sestinj]

🎉 This PR is included in version 1.13.0 🎉

The release is available on:

• npm package (@latest dist-tag)
• GitHub release

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