[BUG] Task chats are getting deleted when trying to expand them

[MayankY-Clear]

Problem (one or two sentences)

Usually, when I want to expand a task chat, I would single-click on the specific task, and the entire chat would expand. But when I click (single click/ double click) on the specific task, the chat gets deleted.

Context (who is affected and when)

Happens occasionally, when I try to open a recent task's chat

Reproduction steps

1. Using roocode extention in vs code on windows system
2. If I want to expand a task chat, I would single-click on the specific task, and the entire chat would expand. But when I click (single click/ double click) on the specific task, the chat gets deleted.

Expected result

The task chat should open (showing the entire conversation/subtasks)

Actual result

The task chat gets deleted

Variations tried (optional)

No response

App Version

3.36.16

API Provider (optional)

None

Model Used (optional)

No response

Roo Code Task Links (optional)

No response

Relevant logs or errors (optional)

[roomote]

I've analyzed this issue and identified the root cause in the codebase.

Root Cause Analysis

When clicking on a task in the history view to expand it, the following flow occurs:

1. TaskItem.tsx sends a showTaskWithId message to the extension
2. ClineProvider.ts#showTaskWithId() calls getTaskWithId() to retrieve the task
3. getTaskWithId() checks if the API conversation history file exists on disk
4. If the file doesn't exist, the method calls deleteTaskFromState(id) and removes the task from history

The problematic code is in src/core/webview/ClineProvider.ts:1586-1589:

// if we tried to get a task that doesn't exist, remove it from state
// FIXME: this seems to happen sometimes when the json file doesnt save to disk for some reason
await this.deleteTaskFromState(id)
throw new Error('Task not found')

This behavior is triggered when:

• The task files haven't been fully saved to disk yet (race condition)
• File system delays on Windows
• Corrupted or missing task directory files

Proposed Implementation Plan

1. Remove the automatic deletion behavior in getTaskWithId() when files are missing
2. Add graceful handling for missing task files:
   • Show an error message to the user instead of silently deleting
   • Allow the user to decide whether to remove the task from history
3. Add file existence validation earlier in the flow to prevent the race condition
4. Consider adding a retry mechanism for Windows file system delays

This approach will:

• Prevent accidental task deletion
• Give users control over their task history
• Maintain data integrity while handling edge cases gracefully

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

[dxptqhtlutehvlyxcmtg]

Happening in v3.37.0 too, I'm on Linux