fix(webui): persist persona, coder auto-compact, LSP autostart and UI language settings

- Persona: store the active persona in [Persona] Active (project over global,
  default assistant, "auto" sentinel) and restore it on startup; WebUI, TUI
  and ACP changes persist through SetAndPersistActivePersona.
- Auto-compact: Agent.AutoCompact is now *bool and overrides the global
  AutoCompact when set; model switches no longer rebuild the agent and drop
  AutoCompact, threshold, thinking mode or context window override.
- LSP: UpdateLSP keeps Autostart, Languages and Filenames; PUT keeps stored
  Options the UI never sends.
- UI language: saved as a server-side UI preference with a localStorage
  cache, applied immediately and no longer reset by fetchSettings.
- Drop the stale per-agent AutoCompact = false overrides from .pando.toml.

Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_015JsuQ7suHKMiaZUTB9K6qQ

Author: digiogithub

.kb/pando/analysis/webui-settings-persistence-bugs-2026-09-30.md

@@ -0,0 +1,38 @@
+---
+created_at: 2026-09-30T11:59:14.006242063Z
+updated_at: 2026-09-30T11:59:14.006242063Z
+tags:
+    - analysis
+    - webui
+    - config
+    - persistence
+    - pando
+---
+# Analysis: WebUI settings that do not persist (2026-09-30)
+
+Related: [[evaluator-config-json-keys]], [[feature_webui_simple_chat_shell]], [[lsp_ondemand_runtime_and_activation_triggers]]
+
+Four reported bugs, analysed by parallel subagents; key lines spot-checked. NOT FIXED YET.
+
+## 1. Persona selector lost after restarting pando desktop (backend)
+- `PersonaSelector.tsx` -> PUT `/api/v1/personas/active` -> `handleSetActivePersona` (`internal/api/handlers_personas.go`) -> `agent.SetActivePersona` only sets the in-memory global `activePersonaName` (`internal/llm/agent/persona_selector.go:33`). Nothing is written to disk.
+- On startup `internal/app/app.go:857-860` resets it to "assistant" (and "Auto"/empty also becomes "assistant").
+- Fix: persist in `webui-prefs.json` (UIPrefs `activePersona *string`, the chatMode pattern in `handlers_ui_prefs.go`) or in config with json+toml tags; restore it in app.go before the "assistant" default; TUI/ACP setters too. Decide global vs per-project.
+
+## 2. Coder autoCompact reverts (backend)
+- WebUI PUT `/api/v1/config/agents` + `UpdateAgent` work (round-trip verified).
+- `setAgentModel` (`internal/config/config.go:~4650`) rebuilds `Agent{Model, MaxTokens, ReasoningEffort}`, dropping AutoCompact, AutoCompactThreshold, ThinkingMode, ContextWindowOverride, and writes it to the TOML. `agentInheritingModel` (`config.go:3961`) does the same for propagated agents. Any model change (chat picker, /model, setup, TUI) wipes the toggle.
+- Fix: copy the existing agent and set Model only; add a regression test.
+- Side issue: the runtime (`agent.go:~2335`) ORs global `AutoCompact` with the per-agent flag, so turning coder off does nothing while the global is true.
+
+## 3. LSP Autostart not saved (backend)
+- `LSPSettings.tsx` modal -> PUT `/api/v1/config/lsp` -> `handlePutConfigLSP` copies the fields correctly, but `UpdateLSP` (`config.go:5538`) builds `LSPConfig{Disabled, Command, Args, Options}`, dropping Autostart, Languages and Filenames. The TUI has the same bug.
+- Fix: copy those fields; preserve the old Options when the request sends none; add a test.
+
+## 4. Language reverts even when switching settings sections (frontend + backend gap)
+- UI-only i18n language. `settingsStore.ts` comment: "UI-only, not persisted". The backend `SettingsResponse`/`SettingsUpdateRequest` have no language field.
+- `GeneralSettings.tsx:41-43` runs `fetchSettings()` on mount, which merges `{...DEFAULTS, ...data}` and resets it to 'en'; `useLanguageSync` then applies 'en'. `i18n/index.ts:34` hardcodes `lng: 'en'`.
+- Fix: a dedicated `setLanguage` that applies immediately, with a server-side UI pref (`/api/v1/ui/preferences`, like chatMode) and a localStorage cache; `fetchSettings` must not overwrite it; i18n init reads the saved value.
+
+## Common pattern
+Three are Go functions that rebuild structs field by field and silently drop newer fields (UpdateLSP, setAgentModel, agentInheritingModel). Prefer copying the existing struct and mutating it. UI state that must persist in desktop must live server-side (the random port breaks localStorage).

.kb/pando/fixes/webui-settings-persistence-2026-09-30.md

@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+---
+created_at: 2026-09-30T12:08:05.11681582Z
+updated_at: 2026-09-30T12:08:05.11681582Z
+tags:
+    - fix
+    - webui
+    - config
+    - persistence
+    - persona
+    - lsp
+    - i18n
+---
+# Fix: WebUI settings persistence (persona, coder autoCompact, LSP autostart, UI language) — 2026-09-30
+
+Analysis: [[webui-settings-persistence-bugs-2026-09-30]]. Related: [[evaluator-config-json-keys]].
+
+User rule for persona + autoCompact: the effective value is the project `.pando.toml` value if set, else the global value; changes persist per project (through `updateCfgFile`, which writes the project file when it exists).
+
+## Persona
+- New `internal/config/persona_active.go`: `PersonaConfig{Active}` (`[Persona] Active`, json `persona.active`), sentinel `"auto"` = explicit Auto, empty = never chosen; `ActivePersonaChoice`, `EffectiveActivePersona` (fallback `assistant`), `UpdateActivePersona` (rolls back on write error).
+- `Config.Persona` field added in config.go.
+- `agent.SetAndPersistActivePersona` (persona_selector.go) used by the TUI (`tui.go`), ACP adapters (`cmd/root.go`, `internal/app/app.go`) and the API PUT handler (`handlers_personas.go`, 500 on persist failure).
+- Startup (`app.go`) restores the effective persona; if it is unknown, logs a warning and falls back to assistant.
+- `PersonaSelector.tsx` shows an error toast when the PUT fails.
+
+## Coder autoCompact
+- `Agent.AutoCompact` is now `*bool` (nil = inherit global). `config.ResolveAutoCompact(global, agent)`: the per-agent value OVERRIDES the global one (was OR).
+- `setAgentModel` and `agentInheritingModel` copy the existing Agent and change only Model (they used to drop AutoCompact/Threshold/ThinkingMode/ContextWindowOverride on every model switch).
+- Runtime: `agent.go` shouldCompact and the `tui.go` 95% trigger use the resolver. TUI settings shows the resolved value.
+- API `handlers_config.go`: GET returns the effective value; PUT stores an explicit per-agent value only when it differs from the effective one.
+- Init templates (`internal/config/init.go`, `cmd/init.go`) no longer write `AutoCompact = false` for coder.
+- CAVEAT: existing TOMLs with `AutoCompact = false` per agent (written by the old bug, e.g. this repo's .pando.toml) are now explicit overrides that beat global true. Delete those lines to inherit.
+
+## LSP
+- `UpdateLSP` now copies Autostart, Languages and Filenames (clones the slices).
+- `handlePutConfigLSP` preserves the stored Options (the UI never sends them).
+
+## UI language
+- `UIPrefs.Language` (`json:"language"`) in `handlers_ui_prefs.go` -> `~/.config/pando/webui-prefs.json` (global per machine); empty is ignored, >16 chars returns 400.
+- settingsStore: `setLanguage` (applies immediately, not dirty, localStorage `pando_language` cache, fire-and-forget PUT `/api/v1/ui/preferences`), `hydrateLanguage` with a `languageChosen` guard (called in MainLayout after hydrateChatMode); `fetchSettings` preserves language; `saveSettings` no longer sends it.
+- `GeneralSettings.tsx` uses setLanguage; `i18n/index.ts` reads the cached value at init.
+
+## Tests / verification
+New tests: `internal/config/agent_persistence_test.go`, `internal/config/persona_active_test.go`, `internal/api/handlers_config_lsp_persist_test.go`, `internal/api/handlers_personas_persist_test.go`, `TestUIPrefsLanguageRoundTrip`.
+`go build ./...`, `go vet`, `go test ./internal/config ./internal/api ./internal/llm/agent ./internal/app ./internal/tui/...` all ok; `web-ui npx tsc --noEmit` ok. Not run: manual desktop check, `npm run build`.

.pando.toml

@@ -33,16 +33,14 @@ Tools = []
 
 [Agents]
 [Agents.cli-assist]
-AutoCompact = false
 AutoCompactThreshold = 0.0
 ContextWindowOverride = 0
 MaxTokens = 0
-Model = 'openrouter.deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash-0731'
+Model = 'copilot.gpt-6-luna'
 ReasoningEffort = ''
 ThinkingMode = ''
 
 [Agents.cliassist]
-AutoCompact = false
 AutoCompactThreshold = 0.0
 ContextWindowOverride = 0
 MaxTokens = 0
@@ -51,7 +49,6 @@ ReasoningEffort = ''
 ThinkingMode = ''
 
 [Agents.coder]
-AutoCompact = false
 AutoCompactThreshold = 0.0
 ContextWindowOverride = 0
 MaxTokens = 0
@@ -60,47 +57,42 @@ ReasoningEffort = ''
 ThinkingMode = ''
 
 [Agents.context-enricher]
-AutoCompact = false
 AutoCompactThreshold = 0.0
 ContextWindowOverride = 0
 MaxTokens = 0
-Model = 'ollama.nova4b:latest'
+Model = 'copilot.gpt-6-luna'
 ReasoningEffort = ''
 ThinkingMode = ''
 
 [Agents.persona-selector]
-AutoCompact = false
 AutoCompactThreshold = 0.0
 ContextWindowOverride = 0
 MaxTokens = 0
-Model = 'openrouter.deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash-0731'
+Model = 'copilot.gpt-6-luna'
 ReasoningEffort = ''
 ThinkingMode = ''
 
 [Agents.summarizer]
-AutoCompact = false
 AutoCompactThreshold = 0.0
 ContextWindowOverride = 0
 MaxTokens = 0
-Model = 'copilot.mai-code-1.1-flash'
+Model = 'copilot.gpt-6-luna'
 ReasoningEffort = ''
 ThinkingMode = ''
 
 [Agents.task]
-AutoCompact = false
 AutoCompactThreshold = 0.0
 ContextWindowOverride = 0
 MaxTokens = 0
-Model = 'copilot.mai-code-1.1-flash'
+Model = 'copilot.gpt-6-luna'
 ReasoningEffort = ''
 ThinkingMode = ''
 
 [Agents.title]
-AutoCompact = false
 AutoCompactThreshold = 0.0
 ContextWindowOverride = 0
 MaxTokens = 0
-Model = 'copilot.gpt-5-mini'
+Model = 'copilot.gpt-6-luna'
 ReasoningEffort = ''
 ThinkingMode = ''
 
@@ -272,6 +264,7 @@ Enabled = false
 Args = []
 Command = ''
 Env = []
+NoSandbox = false
 Sandbox = false
 Timeout = ''
 Type = 'streamable-http'
@@ -297,6 +290,7 @@ Username = ''
 Args = []
 Command = ''
 Env = []
+NoSandbox = false
 Sandbox = false
 Timeout = '5m'
 Type = 'streamable-http'
@@ -306,6 +300,7 @@ URL = 'https://mcp.deepwiki.com/mcp'
 Args = ['mcp']
 Command = 'gintrack'
 Env = []
+NoSandbox = false
 Sandbox = false
 Timeout = ''
 Type = 'stdio'
@@ -331,6 +326,7 @@ Username = ''
 Args = ['-c', '.ai/mycommand-mcp.yaml']
 Command = 'mycommandmcp'
 Env = []
+NoSandbox = false
 Sandbox = false
 Timeout = ''
 Type = 'stdio'
@@ -464,7 +460,6 @@ KBConvertExtensions = []
 KBPath = './.kb'
 KBWatch = true
 KBWikiLinks = true
-MemoryAutoCapture = true
 MemoryContextEnrichmentEnabled = true
 MemoryContextMaxChars = 500
 MemoryContextMaxItems = 3
@@ -547,17 +542,33 @@ Timeout = 0
 [evaluator]
 alphaWeight = 0.8
 async = true
+backfillJudge = false
+backfillLimit = 50
 betaWeight = 0.2
 correctionsPatterns = ['(?i)\\bno[,.]?\\b', '(?i)\\bwrong\\b', '(?i)\\bincorrect\\b', "(?i)that'?s not", '(?i)not what i', '(?i)\\bmistake\\b', '(?i)\\bfix that\\b', '(?i)\\bvuelve a\\b', '(?i)\\bno era eso\\b', '(?i)\\bte equivocaste\\b']
 enabled = true
 explorationC = 1.41
+idleTimeout = '30m'
+includeSubagents = false
 judgePromptTemplate = ''
 maxSkills = 100
 maxTokensBaseline = 50
 minSessionsForUCB = 5
 model = 'openrouter.deepseek/deepseek-v4-flash-0731'
 provider = 'openrouter'
 
+[evaluator.contextTrimmer]
+enabled = false
+minConfidence = 0.7
+
+[evaluator.judge]
+dailyCalls = 20
+dailyTokens = 200000
+highReward = 0.8
+lowReward = 0.3
+maxTranscriptTokens = 6000
+minTurns = 4
+
 [[evaluator.taskPatterns]]
 pattern = 'fix|bug|error|crash|exception|failing|panic|traceback'
 taskType = 'debug'
@@ -582,6 +593,18 @@ taskType = 'code'
 pattern = 'find|search|where\s+is|locate|grep\s+for'
 taskType = 'search'
 
+[evaluator.templates]
+enabled = true
+
+[evaluator.weights]
+cancels = 0.05
+endState = 0.1
+repetition = 0.05
+success = 0.8
+tokens = 0.2
+toolErrors = 0.1
+turns = 0.05
+
 [[providerAccounts]]
 displayName = 'copilot'
 id = 'copilot'

cmd/init.go

@@ -141,8 +141,8 @@ Languages = []  # Leave empty to apply to all files; e.g. ['.go']
 Model                 = 'anthropic.claude-sonnet-4-6'
 MaxTokens             = 0      # 0 = Auto (role default: 8192 tokens; override with a positive number)
 ReasoningEffort       = ''     # 'low' | 'medium' | 'high' (OpenAI o-series only)
-AutoCompact           = false
-AutoCompactThreshold  = 0.0    # 0.0 = use global AutoCompact setting
+# AutoCompact         = true   # optional per-agent override; when omitted the global AutoCompact applies
+AutoCompactThreshold  = 0.0    # 0.0 = default threshold (0.85)
 
 # Summariser — condenses long conversations to save tokens.
 [Agents.summarizer]

cmd/root.go

@@ -906,7 +906,7 @@ func (a *acpAgentAdapter) GetActivePersona() string {
 
 // SetActivePersona sets the active persona by name (empty = clear).
 func (a *acpAgentAdapter) SetActivePersona(name string) error {
-	return agent.SetActivePersona(name)
+	return agent.SetAndPersistActivePersona(name)
 }
 
 func (a *acpAgentAdapter) Summarize(ctx context.Context, sessionID string) (<-chan acpPkg.AgentEvent, error) {

internal/api/handlers_config.go

@@ -170,7 +170,7 @@ func (s *Server) handleGetConfigAgents(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 			ResolvedMaxTokens:    config.ResolveAgentMaxTokens(name, a, model),
 			ReasoningEffort:      a.ReasoningEffort,
 			ThinkingMode:         a.ThinkingMode,
-			AutoCompact:          a.AutoCompact,
+			AutoCompact:          config.ResolveAutoCompact(cfg.AutoCompact, a),
 			AutoCompactThreshold: a.AutoCompactThreshold,
 			ContextControls:      config.AgentExposesContextControls(name),
 		})
@@ -202,11 +202,19 @@ func (s *Server) handlePutConfigAgents(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 			MaxTokens:            item.MaxTokens,
 			ReasoningEffort:      item.ReasoningEffort,
 			ThinkingMode:         item.ThinkingMode,
-			AutoCompact:          item.AutoCompact,
 			AutoCompactThreshold: item.AutoCompactThreshold,
 		}
 		if cfg := config.Get(); cfg != nil {
 			existing := cfg.Agents[name]
+			// GET reports the effective value, so only persist a per-agent
+			// override when the payload differs from what is already in effect;
+			// otherwise the agent keeps inheriting (or keeps its own) setting.
+			if config.ResolveAutoCompact(cfg.AutoCompact, existing) == item.AutoCompact {
+				agent.AutoCompact = existing.AutoCompact
+			} else {
+				v := item.AutoCompact
+				agent.AutoCompact = &v
+			}
 			// ContextWindowOverride is never carried by this API; keep the
 			// configured value instead of resetting it on every save.
 			agent.ContextWindowOverride = existing.ContextWindowOverride
@@ -218,6 +226,9 @@ func (s *Server) handlePutConfigAgents(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 				agent.AutoCompact = existing.AutoCompact
 				agent.AutoCompactThreshold = existing.AutoCompactThreshold
 			}
+		} else {
+			v := item.AutoCompact
+			agent.AutoCompact = &v
 		}
 		if err := config.UpdateAgent(name, agent); err != nil {
 			writeConfigError(w, http.StatusBadRequest, "failed to update agent "+item.Name+": "+err.Error(), err)
@@ -772,6 +783,12 @@ func (s *Server) handlePutConfigLSP(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 		Filenames: req.Filenames,
 		Autostart: req.Autostart,
 	}
+	// The UI never sends Options; keep the stored ones instead of wiping them.
+	if cfg := config.Get(); cfg != nil {
+		if existing, ok := cfg.LSP[req.Language]; ok {
+			lsp.Options = existing.Options
+		}
+	}
 	if err := config.UpdateLSP(req.Language, lsp); err != nil {
 		writeConfigError(w, http.StatusBadRequest, "failed to update LSP config: "+err.Error(), err)
 		return

internal/api/handlers_config_lsp_persist_test.go

@@ -0,0 +1,48 @@
+package api
+
+import (
+	"bytes"
+	"encoding/json"
+	"net/http"
+	"net/http/httptest"
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/digiogithub/pando/internal/config"
+)
+
+func TestPutConfigLSPKeepsAutostartAndOptions(t *testing.T) {
+	resetProviderAccountsTestConfig(t)
+	cfg := config.Get()
+	cfg.LSP["go"] = config.LSPConfig{Command: "gopls", Options: map[string]any{"a": 1}}
+
+	s := &Server{}
+	body := `{"language":"go","command":"gopls","args":[],"languages":[".go"],"autostart":true}`
+	req := httptest.NewRequest(http.MethodPut, "/api/v1/config/lsp", bytes.NewBufferString(body))
+	rec := httptest.NewRecorder()
+	s.handlePutConfigLSP(rec, req)
+	if rec.Code != http.StatusOK {
+		t.Fatalf("status = %d, body = %s", rec.Code, rec.Body.String())
+	}
+
+	var resp struct {
+		LSP []LSPConfigItem `json:"lsp"`
+	}
+	if err := json.Unmarshal(rec.Body.Bytes(), &resp); err != nil {
+		t.Fatalf("decode: %v (%s)", err, rec.Body.String())
+	}
+	found := false
+	for _, item := range resp.LSP {
+		if item.Language == "go" {
+			found = true
+			if !item.Autostart || len(item.Languages) != 1 {
+				t.Fatalf("item = %+v, want autostart and languages kept", item)
+			}
+		}
+	}
+	if !found {
+		t.Fatalf("go LSP missing from response: %s", rec.Body.String())
+	}
+	if config.Get().LSP["go"].Options == nil {
+		t.Fatal("existing Options were wiped by the PUT")
+	}
+}

internal/api/handlers_personas.go

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"net/http"
 
+	"github.com/digiogithub/pando/internal/config"
 	agentpkg "github.com/digiogithub/pando/internal/llm/agent"
 )
 
@@ -58,6 +59,10 @@ func (s *Server) handleSetActivePersona(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request)
 		writeError(w, http.StatusBadRequest, err.Error())
 		return
 	}
+	if err := config.UpdateActivePersona(req.Name); err != nil {
+		writeError(w, http.StatusInternalServerError, "persona activated but not saved: "+err.Error())
+		return
+	}
 
 	writeJSON(w, http.StatusOK, map[string]string{
 		"active": req.Name,