Windows path normalization missing in mode export causing cross-platform compatibility issues

[hannesrudolph]

App Version

Latest (main branch)

API Provider

Not Applicable / Other

Model Used

N/A

🔁 Steps to Reproduce

1. On a Windows machine, create or have a custom mode with rules files
2. Export the mode using the export functionality
3. The exported YAML contains Windows-style paths with backslashes (e.g., rules-issue-fixer-orchestrator\1_workflow.xml)
4. Try to import this exported mode on a Linux or macOS machine
5. The import may fail or create incorrectly structured directories due to path separator mismatch

💥 Outcome Summary

Expected: Exported mode YAML should contain normalized paths with forward slashes for cross-platform compatibility
Actual: Windows exports contain backslash paths that don't work correctly on Unix-based systems

📄 Relevant Logs or Errors (Optional)

Example of problematic export on Windows:

rulesFiles:
  - relativePath: rules-issue-fixer-orchestrator\1_workflow.xml
    content: "..."

🔍 Comprehensive Issue Scoping

Root Cause / Implementation Target

The issue is in src/core/config/CustomModesManager.ts in the exportModeWithRules method (lines 788-789). The code uses path.relative() which returns platform-specific path separators, but doesn't normalize them to forward slashes for cross-platform compatibility.

Affected Components

• Primary Files:

  • src/core/config/CustomModesManager.ts (lines 788-789): Export functionality needs path normalization

• Secondary Impact:

  • Import functionality works correctly as it uses path.normalize() during import
  • No changes needed to import logic

Current Implementation Analysis

The current code at line 788-789:

const relativePath = isGlobalMode
    ? path.relative(baseDir, filePath)
    : path.relative(path.join(baseDir, ".roo"), filePath)
rulesFiles.push({ relativePath, content: content.trim() })

The path.relative() function returns:

• On Windows: rules-mode\file.xml (backslashes)
• On Unix: rules-mode/file.xml (forward slashes)

Proposed Implementation

Step 1: Add path normalization to export

• File: src/core/config/CustomModesManager.ts
• Changes: After calculating relativePath, normalize it using the existing toPosix() utility
• Rationale: The codebase already has a toPosix() extension method that converts backslashes to forward slashes

const relativePath = isGlobalMode
    ? path.relative(baseDir, filePath)
    : path.relative(path.join(baseDir, ".roo"), filePath)
const normalizedRelativePath = relativePath.toPosix()
rulesFiles.push({ relativePath: normalizedRelativePath, content: content.trim() })

Code Architecture Considerations

• The toPosix() method is already available as a String prototype extension (defined in src/utils/path.ts)
• This pattern is used throughout the codebase for path normalization
• The import functionality already handles both forward and backward slashes correctly

Testing Requirements

• Unit Tests:
  • Test case 1: Export on Windows produces forward-slash paths
  • Test case 2: Export on Unix produces forward-slash paths (no change)
  • Test case 3: Exported YAML can be imported on any platform
• Edge Cases:
  • Edge case 1: Paths with spaces are handled correctly
  • Edge case 2: Deeply nested paths are normalized correctly

Performance Impact

• Expected performance change: Neutral
• Benchmarking needed: No
• Optimization opportunities: None - single string operation per file

Security Considerations

• Input validation requirements: None - using existing validated paths
• Authentication/Authorization changes: None
• Data exposure risks: None

Migration Strategy

Not applicable - this is a bug fix that makes exports more compatible

Rollback Plan

If issues arise, revert the single line change. No data migration needed.

Dependencies and Breaking Changes

• External dependencies affected: None
• API contract changes: None
• Breaking changes for users: None - this improves compatibility

[roomote]

Hi @hannesrudolph! I'm here to help out the maintainers and am going to see if I can fix this cross-platform path normalization issue. The comprehensive scoping you provided is very helpful - I'll work on implementing the fix in the exportModeWithRules method as outlined. I'll keep you updated on the progress!

[roomote]

Hi @hannesrudolph! I've successfully implemented the fix for the Windows path normalization issue.

The solution was straightforward - I added .toPosix() to normalize the paths in the exportModeWithRules method, exactly as you suggested in your comprehensive issue description.

Here's the pull request: #6308

The fix ensures that all exported paths use forward slashes regardless of the platform, making the exported YAML files fully cross-platform compatible. I've also added a test case to verify this behavior.

Thanks for the detailed issue report - it made the fix very straightforward to implement!