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Merged
gundermanc merged 2 commits into from
Apr 17, 2026
Merged

feat(core): enable topic update narration by default and promote to general #25586

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e8ffb6c
fix(ui): revert preview theme on dialog unmount (#22542)
JayadityaGit Apr 17, 2026
d5cf754
Enable narration by default.
gundermanc Apr 17, 2026
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3 changes: 1 addition & 2 deletions .gemini/settings.json
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Expand Up @@ -2,8 +2,7 @@
"experimental": {
"extensionReloading": true,
"modelSteering": true,
"memoryManager": true,
"topicUpdateNarration": true
"memoryManager": true
},
"general": {
"devtools": true
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22 changes: 11 additions & 11 deletions docs/cli/settings.md
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Expand Up @@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ they appear in the UI.
| Debug Keystroke Logging | `general.debugKeystrokeLogging` | Enable debug logging of keystrokes to the console. | `false` |
| Enable Session Cleanup | `general.sessionRetention.enabled` | Enable automatic session cleanup | `true` |
| Keep chat history | `general.sessionRetention.maxAge` | Automatically delete chats older than this time period (e.g., "30d", "7d", "24h", "1w") | `"30d"` |
| Topic & Update Narration | `general.topicUpdateNarration` | Enable the Topic & Update communication model for reduced chattiness and structured progress reporting. | `true` |

### Output

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -160,17 +161,16 @@ they appear in the UI.

### Experimental

| UI Label | Setting | Description | Default |
| ---------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- |
| Enable Git Worktrees | `experimental.worktrees` | Enable automated Git worktree management for parallel work. | `false` |
| Use OSC 52 Paste | `experimental.useOSC52Paste` | Use OSC 52 for pasting. This may be more robust than the default system when using remote terminal sessions (if your terminal is configured to allow it). | `false` |
| Use OSC 52 Copy | `experimental.useOSC52Copy` | Use OSC 52 for copying. This may be more robust than the default system when using remote terminal sessions (if your terminal is configured to allow it). | `false` |
| Model Steering | `experimental.modelSteering` | Enable model steering (user hints) to guide the model during tool execution. | `false` |
| Direct Web Fetch | `experimental.directWebFetch` | Enable web fetch behavior that bypasses LLM summarization. | `false` |
| Memory Manager Agent | `experimental.memoryManager` | Replace the built-in save_memory tool with a memory manager subagent that supports adding, removing, de-duplicating, and organizing memories. | `false` |
| Use the generalist profile to manage agent contexts. | `experimental.generalistProfile` | Suitable for general coding and software development tasks. | `false` |
| Enable Context Management | `experimental.contextManagement` | Enable logic for context management. | `false` |
| Topic & Update Narration | `experimental.topicUpdateNarration` | Enable the experimental Topic & Update communication model for reduced chattiness and structured progress reporting. | `false` |
| UI Label | Setting | Description | Default |
| ---------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------- |
| Enable Git Worktrees | `experimental.worktrees` | Enable automated Git worktree management for parallel work. | `false` |
| Use OSC 52 Paste | `experimental.useOSC52Paste` | Use OSC 52 for pasting. This may be more robust than the default system when using remote terminal sessions (if your terminal is configured to allow it). | `false` |
| Use OSC 52 Copy | `experimental.useOSC52Copy` | Use OSC 52 for copying. This may be more robust than the default system when using remote terminal sessions (if your terminal is configured to allow it). | `false` |
| Model Steering | `experimental.modelSteering` | Enable model steering (user hints) to guide the model during tool execution. | `false` |
| Direct Web Fetch | `experimental.directWebFetch` | Enable web fetch behavior that bypasses LLM summarization. | `false` |
| Memory Manager Agent | `experimental.memoryManager` | Replace the built-in save_memory tool with a memory manager subagent that supports adding, removing, de-duplicating, and organizing memories. | `false` |
| Use the generalist profile to manage agent contexts. | `experimental.generalistProfile` | Suitable for general coding and software development tasks. | `false` |
| Enable Context Management | `experimental.contextManagement` | Enable logic for context management. | `false` |

### Skills

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8 changes: 6 additions & 2 deletions docs/reference/configuration.md
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Expand Up @@ -198,6 +198,11 @@ their corresponding top-level category object in your `settings.json` file.
- **Description:** Minimum retention period (safety limit, defaults to "1d")
- **Default:** `"1d"`

- **`general.topicUpdateNarration`** (boolean):
- **Description:** Enable the Topic & Update communication model for reduced
chattiness and structured progress reporting.
- **Default:** `true`

#### `output`

- **`output.format`** (enum):
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -1735,8 +1740,7 @@ their corresponding top-level category object in your `settings.json` file.
- **Requires restart:** Yes

- **`experimental.topicUpdateNarration`** (boolean):
- **Description:** Enable the experimental Topic & Update communication model
for reduced chattiness and structured progress reporting.
- **Description:** Deprecated: Use general.topicUpdateNarration instead.
- **Default:** `false`

#### `skills`
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10 changes: 5 additions & 5 deletions evals/update_topic.eval.ts
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Expand Up @@ -43,7 +43,7 @@ describe('update_topic_behavior', () => {
2,
),
'.gemini/settings.json': JSON.stringify({
experimental: {
general: {
topicUpdateNarration: true,
},
}),
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -127,7 +127,7 @@ describe('update_topic_behavior', () => {
'Explain the difference between Map and Object in JavaScript and provide a performance-focused code snippet for each.',
files: {
'.gemini/settings.json': JSON.stringify({
experimental: {
general: {
topicUpdateNarration: true,
},
}),
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -156,7 +156,7 @@ describe('update_topic_behavior', () => {
'packages/core/src/tools/tool-names.ts':
"export const UPDATE_TOPIC_TOOL_NAME = 'update_topic';",
'.gemini/settings.json': JSON.stringify({
experimental: {
general: {
topicUpdateNarration: true,
},
}),
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -204,7 +204,7 @@ app.post('/users', (req, res) => {
export default app;
`,
'.gemini/settings.json': JSON.stringify({
experimental: {
general: {
topicUpdateNarration: true,
},
}),
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -249,7 +249,7 @@ export default app;
files: {
'package.json': JSON.stringify({ name: 'test-project' }),
'.gemini/settings.json': JSON.stringify({
experimental: {
general: {
topicUpdateNarration: true,
},
}),
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4 changes: 3 additions & 1 deletion packages/cli/src/config/config.ts
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Expand Up @@ -992,7 +992,9 @@ export async function loadCliConfig(
experimentalMemoryManager: settings.experimental?.memoryManager,
contextManagement,
modelSteering: settings.experimental?.modelSteering,
topicUpdateNarration: settings.experimental?.topicUpdateNarration,
topicUpdateNarration:
settings.general?.topicUpdateNarration ??
settings.experimental?.topicUpdateNarration,
noBrowser: !!process.env['NO_BROWSER'],
summarizeToolOutput: settings.model?.summarizeToolOutput,
ideMode,
Expand Down
15 changes: 12 additions & 3 deletions packages/cli/src/config/settingsSchema.ts
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Expand Up @@ -418,6 +418,16 @@ const SETTINGS_SCHEMA = {
},
description: 'Settings for automatic session cleanup.',
},
topicUpdateNarration: {
type: 'boolean',
label: 'Topic & Update Narration',
category: 'General',
requiresRestart: false,
default: true,
description:
'Enable the Topic & Update communication model for reduced chattiness and structured progress reporting.',
showInDialog: true,
},
},
},
output: {
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -2228,9 +2238,8 @@ const SETTINGS_SCHEMA = {
category: 'Experimental',
requiresRestart: false,
default: false,
description:
'Enable the experimental Topic & Update communication model for reduced chattiness and structured progress reporting.',
showInDialog: true,
description: 'Deprecated: Use general.topicUpdateNarration instead.',
showInDialog: false,
},
},
},
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2 changes: 2 additions & 0 deletions packages/cli/src/ui/AppContainer.tsx
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Expand Up @@ -977,6 +977,7 @@ Logging in with Google... Restarting Gemini CLI to continue.
openAgentConfigDialog,
openPermissionsDialog,
quit: (messages: HistoryItem[]) => {
closeThemeDialog();
setQuittingMessages(messages);
setTimeout(async () => {
await runExitCleanup();
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -1005,6 +1006,7 @@ Logging in with Google... Restarting Gemini CLI to continue.
[
setAuthState,
openThemeDialog,
closeThemeDialog,
openEditorDialog,
openSettingsDialog,
openSessionBrowser,
Expand Down
2 changes: 1 addition & 1 deletion packages/core/src/config/config.ts
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Expand Up @@ -1196,7 +1196,7 @@ export class Config implements McpContext, AgentLoopContext {
},
},
};
this.topicUpdateNarration = params.topicUpdateNarration ?? false;
this.topicUpdateNarration = params.topicUpdateNarration ?? true;
this.modelSteering = params.modelSteering ?? false;
this.injectionService = new InjectionService(() =>
this.isModelSteeringEnabled(),
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11 changes: 9 additions & 2 deletions schemas/settings.schema.json
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Expand Up @@ -209,6 +209,13 @@
}
},
"additionalProperties": false
},
"topicUpdateNarration": {
"title": "Topic & Update Narration",
"description": "Enable the Topic & Update communication model for reduced chattiness and structured progress reporting.",
"markdownDescription": "Enable the Topic & Update communication model for reduced chattiness and structured progress reporting.\n\n- Category: `General`\n- Requires restart: `no`\n- Default: `true`",
"default": true,
"type": "boolean"
}
},
"additionalProperties": false
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -2963,8 +2970,8 @@
},
"topicUpdateNarration": {
"title": "Topic & Update Narration",
"description": "Enable the experimental Topic & Update communication model for reduced chattiness and structured progress reporting.",
"markdownDescription": "Enable the experimental Topic & Update communication model for reduced chattiness and structured progress reporting.\n\n- Category: `Experimental`\n- Requires restart: `no`\n- Default: `false`",
"description": "Deprecated: Use general.topicUpdateNarration instead.",
"markdownDescription": "Deprecated: Use general.topicUpdateNarration instead.\n\n- Category: `Experimental`\n- Requires restart: `no`\n- Default: `false`",
"default": false,
"type": "boolean"
}
Expand Down
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