[ENHANCEMENT] Add buttons to delete checkpoints only

[nh2]

Problem (one or two sentences)

I'd like to clean up large checkpoints without losing the rest of the task.

Context (who is affected and when)

When you have 100s of GBs of checkpoints because you had had large untracked and un-.gitignored files in your repo.

Desired behavior (conceptual, not technical)

In the Task History panel, left of the "Delete task" bin icon button, add another button that deletes only the checkpoints from the task but keeps the rest of the task around.

Constraints / preferences (optional)

Do not conflate with automatic GC of checkpoints or so; manual deletion allows an easy relief for users with this problem.

Request checklist

• I've searched existing Issues and Discussions for duplicates
• This describes a specific problem with clear context and impact

Roo Code Task Links (optional)

No response

Acceptance criteria (optional)

No response

Proposed approach (optional)

Checkpoints seem to be refferred to by a tasks ui_messages.json, example entry:

  {
    "ts": 1767652946891,
    "type": "say",
    "say": "checkpoint_saved",
    "text": "b2b6117738cf1de697d6c67645aaf1fd3170e9ae",
    "checkpoint": {
      "from": "5d6ed1255b7c532afb6fe3e3c662a51c52b771c9",
      "to": "b2b6117738cf1de697d6c67645aaf1fd3170e9ae",
      "suppressMessage": false
    }
  },

So probably those entries should be updaded/removed/replaced by the checkpoint deletion button.

Trade-offs / risks (optional)

No response

[roomote]

I've analyzed this issue and here's my proposed implementation plan:

Implementation Overview

Add a "Delete Checkpoints" button in the Task History panel that deletes only the checkpoint data for a task while preserving the task history and conversation.

Files to Modify/Create

1. Frontend Changes (webview-ui)

New file: webview-ui/src/components/history/DeleteCheckpointsButton.tsx

• Create a new button component similar to DeleteButton.tsx
• Use a distinct icon (e.g., codicon-database or codicon-discard) to differentiate from the delete task button
• Supports Shift+Click for skipping confirmation (consistent with existing delete behavior)

Modify: webview-ui/src/components/history/TaskItemFooter.tsx

• Add the new DeleteCheckpointsButton to the action buttons row (left of the delete task button)
• Pass the task ID to the button

New file: webview-ui/src/components/history/DeleteCheckpointsDialog.tsx

• Create a confirmation dialog similar to DeleteTaskDialog.tsx
• Display a warning explaining that checkpoints will be permanently deleted but the task will remain

Modify: webview-ui/src/components/history/HistoryView.tsx

• Add state for managing the delete checkpoints dialog
• Wire up the dialog similar to the existing delete task dialog

2. Backend Changes (src)

Modify: src/core/webview/ClineProvider.ts

• Add new method deleteTaskCheckpointsWithId(id: string) that:
  • Gets the task directory path
  • Deletes the checkpoints directory (globalStorageDir/tasks/{taskId}/checkpoints)
  • Calls ShadowCheckpointService.deleteTask() to clean up the checkpoint branch
  • Leaves the rest of the task data intact

Modify: src/core/webview/webviewMessageHandler.ts

• Add new case deleteTaskCheckpointsWithId to handle the new message type

3. Localization (locales)

Modify: locales/en/history.json

• Add translations for:
  • deleteCheckpointsTitle: "Delete Checkpoints"
  • deleteCheckpointsConfirmTitle: "Delete Task Checkpoints?"
  • deleteCheckpointsConfirmMessage: "This will permanently delete all checkpoints for this task. The task history and conversation will be preserved. This action cannot be undone."
  • deleteCheckpointsButton: "Delete Checkpoints"

Benefits

1. Users can reclaim disk space from large checkpoints without losing their task history
2. Consistent with existing UI patterns (button placement, confirmation dialog)
3. Non-destructive to task data - only checkpoints are removed

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

[nh2]

@roomote

Checkpoints seem to be refferred to by a tasks ui_messages.json, example entry:

  {
    "ts": 1767652946891,
    "type": "say",
    "say": "checkpoint_saved",
    "text": "b2b6117738cf1de697d6c67645aaf1fd3170e9ae",
    "checkpoint": {
      "from": "5d6ed1255b7c532afb6fe3e3c662a51c52b771c9",
      "to": "b2b6117738cf1de697d6c67645aaf1fd3170e9ae",
      "suppressMessage": false
    }
  },

So probably those entries should be updaded/removed/replaced by the checkpoint deletion button.

[roomote]

Thanks for the additional context @nh2! You make a good point about the ui_messages.json entries. When deleting checkpoints, I will also update the ui_messages.json to handle the checkpoint_saved entries. I will explore the codebase to understand the best approach - whether to remove these entries entirely, mark them as deleted, or update them to indicate checkpoints are no longer available. I will proceed with implementing this and open a PR with my attempt.

[nh2]

@roomote I did a

rm -r /root/.vscode-server/data/User/globalStorage/rooveterinaryinc.roo-cline/tasks/*/checkpoints/

to delete all my checkpoitns and it didn't break the UI of existing tasks, but seems to have removed the checkpoint lines, so maybe the ui_messages.json update isn't necessary?

[roomote]

Thanks for testing this out @nh2! That's very helpful information. If the UI gracefully hides checkpoint entries when the checkpoint data is missing, it would simplify the implementation since we wouldn't need to touch ui_messages.json. I'll explore the codebase to verify how the UI handles missing checkpoints and then proceed with the implementation.

[roomote]

Opened a PR with my attempt at implementing this feature: #10802

Based on @nh2's testing that deleting checkpoints manually doesn't break the UI, I simplified the implementation to just delete the checkpoints directory without needing to update ui_messages.json.

The new button appears in the History view alongside the existing action buttons (copy, export, delete). It uses a history icon and supports Shift+Click to skip the confirmation dialog, matching the pattern of the existing delete button.

Feedback welcome!