fix(cli): resolve relative paths and tilde for local config switching

[Ashwinhegde19]

Fix: CLI Local Config Path Resolution

Summary

Fixes a bug where switching to/from local configuration files would fail in the Continue CLI. The issue occurred because relative paths and tilde expansion were not being resolved to absolute paths before creating file:// URIs, resulting in invalid URIs like file://./config.yaml.

Problem

Users reported that config switching would fail when involving local config files:

• ❌ Remote → Local switching failed
• ❌ Local → Remote switching failed
• ❌ Local → Local switching failed
• ✅ Remote → Remote switching worked fine

The root cause was in the URI creation logic which didn't properly handle:

• Relative paths: ./config.yaml, ../config.yaml
• Tilde expansion: ~/.continue/config.yaml
• Mixed paths in switching scenarios

Solution

Added a resolveFilePath() helper function that:

1. Expands tilde (~) to the user's home directory
2. Resolves relative paths to absolute paths using path.resolve()
3. Preserves already-absolute paths unchanged

Updated two key functions:

• getUriFromSource() in configLoader.ts
• pathToUri() in auth/uriUtils.ts

Both now ensure all file paths are absolute before creating file:// URIs.

Changes

• ✨ Added resolveFilePath() helper in configLoader.ts
• ✨ Added resolveFilePath() helper in auth/uriUtils.ts
• 🔧 Updated getUriFromSource() to use path resolution
• 🔧 Updated pathToUri() to use path resolution
• ✅ Added comprehensive unit tests in uriUtils.test.ts
• 📝 Updated local-config-switching.test.tsx documentation

Test Coverage

Added tests for:

• ✅ Absolute path conversion
• ✅ Relative path resolution (./ , ../)
• ✅ Tilde expansion (~/)
• ✅ Windows paths (C:\, UNC paths)
• ✅ Round-trip URI conversions
• ✅ Edge cases and invalid inputs

Example Before/After

Before (Broken)

pathToUri("./config.yaml")
// Returns: "file://./config.yaml" ❌ (invalid URI)

pathToUri("~/.continue/config.yaml")
// Returns: "file://~/.continue/config.yaml" ❌ (invalid URI)

After (Fixed)

pathToUri("./config.yaml")
// Returns: "file:///home/user/project/config.yaml" ✅

pathToUri("~/.continue/config.yaml")
// Returns: "file:///home/user/.continue/config.yaml" ✅

Impact

• ✅ Users can now seamlessly switch between remote and local configs
• ✅ Supports all path types (relative, absolute, tilde)
• ✅ No breaking changes to existing functionality
• ✅ Fully backward compatible

Testing Instructions

1. Create a local config file: ./my-config.yaml
2. Run: cn chat --config ./my-config.yaml "test"
3. Switch to remote: cn chat --config continuedev/default-agent "test"
4. Switch back to local: cn chat --config ~/my-config.yaml "test"

All switches should work without errors.

Related Issues

This fix addresses the documented issue in /extensions/cli/src/e2e/local-config-switching.test.tsx where local config switching was identified as broken.

Checklist

• Code follows the project's style guidelines
• Self-review performed
• Comments added for complex logic
• Tests added and passing
• No breaking changes
• Documentation updated

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Summary by cubic

Fixes CLI config switching by resolving relative paths and tilde to absolute paths before creating file:// URIs. Remote↔Local and Local↔Local switches now work reliably across OSes.

• Bug Fixes
  • Resolve ~ and relative paths to absolute before URI creation.
  • Update pathToUri and getUriFromSource to enforce absolute paths.
  • Handle Windows and POSIX paths correctly; produce valid file:// URIs.
  • Add unit tests for resolution and round-trip conversions; update e2e test to reflect fix.

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[cubic-dev-ai]

1 issue found across 4 files

Prompt for AI agents (all 1 issues)

Understand the root cause of the following 1 issues and fix them.


<file name="extensions/cli/src/configLoader.ts">

<violation number="1" location="extensions/cli/src/configLoader.ts:578">
Home-directory expansion only handles &quot;~/&quot;, so a Windows path like &quot;~\config.yaml&quot; is still left unresolved and the CLI looks in a literal &quot;~&quot; folder. Please handle both path separators to finish closing this bug.</violation>
</file>

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[cubic-dev-ai]

Home-directory expansion only handles "/", so a Windows path like "\config.yaml" is still left unresolved and the CLI looks in a literal "~" folder. Please handle both path separators to finish closing this bug.

Prompt for AI agents

Address the following comment on extensions/cli/src/configLoader.ts at line 578:

<comment>Home-directory expansion only handles &quot;~/&quot;, so a Windows path like &quot;~\config.yaml&quot; is still left unresolved and the CLI looks in a literal &quot;~&quot; folder. Please handle both path separators to finish closing this bug.</comment>

<file context>
@@ -569,15 +570,32 @@ function isFilePath(configPath: string): boolean {
+ */
+function resolveFilePath(filePath: string): string {
+  // Handle tilde (~) expansion for home directory
+  if (filePath.startsWith(&quot;~/&quot;)) {
+    return path.join(os.homedir(), filePath.slice(2));
+  }
</file context>

Suggested change

	if (filePath.startsWith("~/")) {
	if (filePath.startsWith("~/") || filePath.startsWith("~\\")) {