feat: File operation auto-approve with glob pattern rules (Auto-approve Part 3)

[xinyi-gong]

Summary

Adds file-operation (read/write) auto-approve support to the confirmation framework, allowing users to configure glob-pattern rules that automatically approve or deny file access requests from Agent Mode.

This is Auto-approve Part 3, building on the terminal auto-approve shipped in Part 2.

Changes

Core

• FileOperationAutoApproveRule — Data model for glob pattern → allow/deny rules
• FileSafetyRuleInfo / GetDefaultFileSafetyRulesResult — LSP protocol types for fetching default rules from CLS
• CopilotLanguageServer / CopilotLanguageServerConnection — Added getDefaultFileSafetyRules JSON-RPC method
• CopilotAgentSettings — Added autoApproveUnmatchedFileOp field, EditSettings inner class with equals/hashCode/toString (also added to ToolsSettings and TerminalSettings)
• Constants — Added AUTO_APPROVE_FILE_OP_RULES and AUTO_APPROVE_UNMATCHED_FILE_OP

Confirmation Handler

• FileOperationConfirmationHandler — Evaluates file confirmation requests with this priority:
  1. Attached files (auto-approve)
  2. Session cache (file-level and folder-level)
  3. Outside-workspace check (always requires confirmation)
  4. Global glob rules (first match wins)
  5. Unmatched fallback (configurable, default: enabled)
• AttachedFileRegistry — Tracks user-attached context files with pending/flush lifecycle for conversation ID timing
• ConfirmationService — Registers handler for FILE_READ, FILE_WRITE, FILE_OPERATION categories

Preferences UI

• FileOperationAutoApproveSection — Rule table with add/remove/toggle/reset, fetches CLS defaults async
• AddFileOperationRuleDialog — Dialog for adding glob patterns with allow/deny selection
• AutoApprovePreferencePage — Now hosts both terminal and file operation sections
• CopilotPreferenceInitializer — Added file-operation rule defaults
• LanguageServerSettingManager — Syncs file-operation rules and unmatched setting to CLS

ChatView Integration

• Collects attached file paths and stages them in AttachedFileRegistry before sending messages
• Flushes pending files once the real conversation ID is available

Tests

• FileOperationConfirmationHandlerTests — 42 unit tests covering all evaluation paths
• LanguageServerSettingManagerTests — Updated expected params to account for tools initialization
• Test plan: test-plans/file-operation-auto-approve/ — 9 E2E test cases

Preference Page:

Resets to Default:

Add Rule:

Allow dialog for files under workspace:

Allow dialog for outside-of-workspace files:

[Copilot]

Pull request overview

Adds configurable auto-approve support for Agent Mode file operations (read/write/edit) using glob-pattern allow/deny rules, with CLS-synced defaults and preference UI integration—extending the existing confirmation/auto-approve framework beyond terminal commands.

Changes:

• Introduces file-operation auto-approve rule model + CLS protocol/API for fetching default file safety rules.
• Implements file-operation confirmation handling (attached-files/session cache/outside-workspace/rules/unmatched fallback) and wires it into ConfirmationService.
• Adds preferences UI to manage file-operation rules and sync them to CLS; updates chat to stage/flush attached files by conversation.

Reviewed changes

Copilot reviewed 25 out of 25 changed files in this pull request and generated 4 comments.

Show a summary per file

File	Description
com.microsoft.copilot.eclipse.ui/src/com/microsoft/copilot/eclipse/ui/preferences/messages.properties	Adds NLS strings for file-operation auto-approve preference UI.
com.microsoft.copilot.eclipse.ui/src/com/microsoft/copilot/eclipse/ui/preferences/Messages.java	Exposes new preference NLS keys as public static String fields.
com.microsoft.copilot.eclipse.ui/src/com/microsoft/copilot/eclipse/ui/preferences/LanguageServerSettingManager.java	Syncs file-operation auto-approve rules + unmatched toggle into CLS settings.
com.microsoft.copilot.eclipse.ui/src/com/microsoft/copilot/eclipse/ui/preferences/FileOperationAutoApproveSection.java	New preference section for viewing/editing file-operation glob rules and CLS defaults.
com.microsoft.copilot.eclipse.ui/src/com/microsoft/copilot/eclipse/ui/preferences/CopilotPreferenceInitializer.java	Seeds default file-operation rule JSON and unmatched default.
com.microsoft.copilot.eclipse.ui/src/com/microsoft/copilot/eclipse/ui/preferences/AutoApprovePreferencePage.java	Hosts both terminal and file-operation auto-approve sections and persists them.
com.microsoft.copilot.eclipse.ui/src/com/microsoft/copilot/eclipse/ui/preferences/AddFileOperationRuleDialog.java	New dialog for adding file-operation rules (pattern/description/allow-deny).
com.microsoft.copilot.eclipse.ui/src/com/microsoft/copilot/eclipse/ui/chat/services/AgentToolService.java	Adds AttachedFileRegistry and passes it into ConfirmationService.
com.microsoft.copilot.eclipse.ui/src/com/microsoft/copilot/eclipse/ui/chat/messages.properties	Adds file-operation confirmation dialog titles/messages and session actions.
com.microsoft.copilot.eclipse.ui/src/com/microsoft/copilot/eclipse/ui/chat/Messages.java	Exposes new chat confirmation NLS keys.
com.microsoft.copilot.eclipse.ui/src/com/microsoft/copilot/eclipse/ui/chat/confirmation/FileOperationConfirmationHandler.java	New handler implementing rule evaluation + session/global decisions for file ops.
com.microsoft.copilot.eclipse.ui/src/com/microsoft/copilot/eclipse/ui/chat/confirmation/ConfirmationService.java	Registers file-operation handler for FILE_READ/FILE_WRITE/FILE_OPERATION categories.
com.microsoft.copilot.eclipse.ui/src/com/microsoft/copilot/eclipse/ui/chat/confirmation/AttachedFileRegistry.java	New registry to track user-attached files (pending + per-conversation).
com.microsoft.copilot.eclipse.ui/src/com/microsoft/copilot/eclipse/ui/chat/ChatView.java	Stages pending attached files before send and flushes them once conversationId is known.
com.microsoft.copilot.eclipse.ui.test/src/com/microsoft/copilot/eclipse/ui/preferences/LanguageServerSettingManagerTests.java	Updates expected settings initialization for tools edit/terminal auto-approve maps.
com.microsoft.copilot.eclipse.ui.test/src/com/microsoft/copilot/eclipse/ui/chat/confirmation/TerminalConfirmationHandlerTests.java	Adjusts Mockito strictness configuration for tests.
com.microsoft.copilot.eclipse.ui.test/src/com/microsoft/copilot/eclipse/ui/chat/confirmation/FileOperationConfirmationHandlerTests.java	Adds unit tests covering file-operation confirmation evaluation paths.
com.microsoft.copilot.eclipse.swtbot.test/test-plans/file-operation-auto-approve/file-operation-auto-approve.md	Adds E2E manual test plan for file-operation auto-approve feature.
com.microsoft.copilot.eclipse.core/src/com/microsoft/copilot/eclipse/core/lsp/protocol/GetDefaultFileSafetyRulesResult.java	New protocol type for CLS default file safety rules response.
com.microsoft.copilot.eclipse.core/src/com/microsoft/copilot/eclipse/core/lsp/protocol/FileSafetyRuleInfo.java	New protocol type representing a CLS file safety rule.
com.microsoft.copilot.eclipse.core/src/com/microsoft/copilot/eclipse/core/lsp/protocol/CopilotAgentSettings.java	Extends agent settings with unmatched file-op flag and tools.edit auto-approve rules.
com.microsoft.copilot.eclipse.core/src/com/microsoft/copilot/eclipse/core/lsp/CopilotLanguageServerConnection.java	Adds getDefaultFileSafetyRules() wrapper method.
com.microsoft.copilot.eclipse.core/src/com/microsoft/copilot/eclipse/core/lsp/CopilotLanguageServer.java	Adds JSON-RPC request getDefaultFileSafetyRules.
com.microsoft.copilot.eclipse.core/src/com/microsoft/copilot/eclipse/core/Constants.java	Adds preference keys for file-operation rule JSON + unmatched toggle.
com.microsoft.copilot.eclipse.core/src/com/microsoft/copilot/eclipse/core/chat/FileOperationAutoApproveRule.java	Adds rule model for pattern/description/allow-deny, including default-rule marker.

Comments suppressed due to low confidence (1)

com.microsoft.copilot.eclipse.ui/src/com/microsoft/copilot/eclipse/ui/preferences/AddFileOperationRuleDialog.java:72

• The description placeholder text is hardcoded ("Optional description"). For consistency/localization, externalize this string into messages.properties/Messages (similar to AddTerminalRuleDialog).

    Label descLabel = new Label(container, SWT.NONE);
    descLabel.setText(
        Messages.preferences_page_file_op_auto_approve_add_dialog_description);
    descriptionText = new Text(container, SWT.BORDER);
    descriptionText.setMessage("Optional description");
    descriptionText.setLayoutData(
        new GridData(SWT.FILL, SWT.CENTER, true, false));