feat: make ask mode always use local agent handler (#2434)

e2e-tests/chat_panel_toggle.spec.ts

@@ -6,20 +6,23 @@ testSkipIfWindows("toggle chat panel visibility", async ({ po }) => {
   // We are in the chat view after setUp
   await po.sendPrompt("basic");
 
-  // Chat panel should be visible initially.
-  const chatPanel = po.page.locator("#chat-panel");
-  await expect(chatPanel).toBeVisible();
+  // Chat panel content should be visible initially.
+  // We check the ChatPanel content rather than the panel container itself,
+  // since the container is always present but resized to 1% when collapsed.
+  const chatPanelContent = po.page.getByTestId("messages-list");
+  await expect(chatPanelContent).toBeVisible();
 
   // Toggle button
   const toggleButton = po.page.getByTestId("preview-toggle-chat-panel-button");
   // Collapse
   await toggleButton.click();
 
-  await expect(chatPanel).toBeHidden();
+  // When collapsed, the ChatPanel component is not rendered (isChatPanelHidden = true)
+  await expect(chatPanelContent).toBeHidden();
 
   // Expand
   await toggleButton.click();
 
-  // Expect chat panel to be visible
-  await expect(chatPanel).toBeVisible();
+  // Expect chat panel content to be visible again
+  await expect(chatPanelContent).toBeVisible();
 });

src/ipc/handlers/chat_stream_handlers.ts

@@ -86,7 +86,6 @@ import { replacePromptReference } from "../utils/replacePromptReference";
 import { mcpManager } from "../utils/mcp_manager";
 import z from "zod";
 import {
-  isDyadProEnabled,
   isBasicAgentMode,
   isSupabaseConnected,
   isTurboEditsV2Enabled,
@@ -536,8 +535,7 @@ ${componentSnippet}
         );
         const willUseLocalAgentStream =
           (settings.selectedChatMode === "local-agent" ||
-            (settings.selectedChatMode === "ask" &&
-              isDyadProEnabled(settings))) &&
+            settings.selectedChatMode === "ask") &&
           !mentionedAppsCodebases.length;
 
         const isDeepContextEnabled =
@@ -729,8 +727,9 @@ ${componentSnippet}
         // print out the dyad-write tags.
         // Usually, AI models will want to use the image as reference to generate code (e.g. UI mockups) anyways, so
         // it's not that critical to include the image analysis instructions.
+        const isAskMode = settings.selectedChatMode === "ask";
         if (hasUploadedAttachments) {
-          if (willUseLocalAgentStream) {
+          if (willUseLocalAgentStream && !isAskMode) {
             systemPrompt += `
 
 When files are attached to this conversation, upload them to the codebase using the \`write_file\` tool.
@@ -742,7 +741,7 @@ write_file(path="src/components/Button.jsx", content="DYAD_ATTACHMENT_0", descri
 \`\`\`
 
 `;
-          } else {
+          } else if (!isAskMode) {
             systemPrompt += `
   
 When files are attached to this conversation, upload them to the codebase using this exact format:
@@ -1029,11 +1028,11 @@ This conversation includes one or more image attachments. When the user uploads
           return fullResponse;
         };
 
-        // Handle pro ask mode: use local-agent in read-only mode
-        // This gives pro users access to code reading tools while in ask mode
+        // Handle ask mode: use local-agent in read-only mode
+        // This gives users access to code reading tools while in ask mode
+        // Ask mode does not consume free agent quota
         if (
           settings.selectedChatMode === "ask" &&
-          isDyadProEnabled(settings) &&
           !mentionedAppsCodebases.length
         ) {
           // Reconstruct system prompt for local-agent read-only mode
@@ -1045,19 +1044,32 @@ This conversation includes one or more image attachments. When the user uploads
             readOnly: true,
           });
 
-          await handleLocalAgentStream(event, req, abortController, {
-            placeholderMessageId: placeholderAssistantMessage.id,
-            // Note: this is using the read-only system prompt rather than the
-            // regular system prompt which gets overrides for special intents
-            // like summarize chat, security review, etc.
-            //
-            // This is OK because those intents should always happen in a new chat
-            // and new chats will default to non-ask modes.
-            systemPrompt: readOnlySystemPrompt,
-            dyadRequestId: dyadRequestId ?? "[no-request-id]",
-            readOnly: true,
-            messageOverride: isSummarizeIntent ? chatMessages : undefined,
-          });
+          // Return value indicates success/failure for quota tracking.
+          // Ask mode doesn't consume quota, but we still capture it for
+          // consistent error handling.
+          const streamSuccess = await handleLocalAgentStream(
+            event,
+            req,
+            abortController,
+            {
+              placeholderMessageId: placeholderAssistantMessage.id,
+              // Note: this is using the read-only system prompt rather than the
+              // regular system prompt which gets overrides for special intents
+              // like summarize chat, security review, etc.
+              //
+              // This is OK because those intents should always happen in a new chat
+              // and new chats will default to non-ask modes.
+              systemPrompt: readOnlySystemPrompt,
+              dyadRequestId: dyadRequestId ?? "[no-request-id]",
+              readOnly: true,
+              messageOverride: isSummarizeIntent ? chatMessages : undefined,
+            },
+          );
+          if (!streamSuccess) {
+            logger.warn(
+              "Ask mode local agent stream did not complete successfully",
+            );
+          }
           return;
         }
 

src/pro/main/ipc/handlers/local_agent/local_agent_handler.ts

@@ -131,7 +131,8 @@ export async function handleLocalAgentStream(
 
   // Check Pro status or Basic Agent mode
   // Basic Agent mode allows non-Pro users with quota (quota check is done in chat_stream_handlers)
-  if (!isDyadProEnabled(settings) && !isBasicAgentMode(settings)) {
+  // Read-only mode (ask mode) is allowed for all users without Pro
+  if (!readOnly && !isDyadProEnabled(settings) && !isBasicAgentMode(settings)) {
     safeSend(event.sender, "chat:response:error", {
       chatId: req.chatId,
       error:
@@ -192,7 +193,7 @@ export async function handleLocalAgentStream(
       todos: [],
       dyadRequestId,
       fileEditTracker,
-      isBasicAgentMode: isBasicAgentMode(settings),
+      isDyadPro: isDyadProEnabled(settings),
       onXmlStream: (accumulatedXml: string) => {
         // Stream accumulated XML to UI without persisting
         streamingPreview = accumulatedXml;

src/pro/main/ipc/handlers/local_agent/tools/code_search.ts

@@ -76,8 +76,8 @@ export const codeSearchTool: ToolDefinition<z.infer<typeof codeSearchSchema>> =
     inputSchema: codeSearchSchema,
     defaultConsent: "always",
 
-    // Disable in Basic Agent mode (free tier) - requires engine
-    isEnabled: (ctx) => !ctx.isBasicAgentMode,
+    // Requires Dyad Pro engine API
+    isEnabled: (ctx) => ctx.isDyadPro,
 
     getConsentPreview: (args) => `Search for "${args.query}"`,
 

src/pro/main/ipc/handlers/local_agent/tools/edit_file.ts

@@ -142,8 +142,8 @@ export const editFileTool: ToolDefinition<z.infer<typeof editFileSchema>> = {
   defaultConsent: "always",
   modifiesState: true,
 
-  // Disable in Basic Agent mode (free tier) - requires engine
-  isEnabled: (ctx) => !ctx.isBasicAgentMode,
+  // Requires Dyad Pro engine API
+  isEnabled: (ctx) => ctx.isDyadPro,
 
   getConsentPreview: (args) => `Edit ${args.path}`,
 

src/pro/main/ipc/handlers/local_agent/tools/search_replace.spec.ts

@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ describe("searchReplaceTool", () => {
     supabaseOrganizationSlug: null,
     messageId: 1,
     isSharedModulesChanged: false,
-    isBasicAgentMode: false,
+    isDyadPro: false,
     todos: [],
     dyadRequestId: "test-request",
     fileEditTracker: {},

src/pro/main/ipc/handlers/local_agent/tools/types.ts

@@ -58,10 +58,10 @@ export interface AgentContext {
   /** Tracks file edit tool usage per file for telemetry */
   fileEditTracker: FileEditTracker;
   /**
-   * If true, this is Basic Agent mode (free tier with quota).
-   * Engine-dependent tools are disabled in this mode.
+   * If true, the user has Dyad Pro enabled.
+   * Engine-dependent tools require this to access the Dyad Pro API.
    */
-  isBasicAgentMode: boolean;
+  isDyadPro: boolean;
   /**
    * Streams accumulated XML to UI without persisting to DB (for live preview).
    * Call this repeatedly with the full accumulated XML so far.

src/pro/main/ipc/handlers/local_agent/tools/web_crawl.ts

@@ -80,8 +80,8 @@ export const webCrawlTool: ToolDefinition<z.infer<typeof webCrawlSchema>> = {
   inputSchema: webCrawlSchema,
   defaultConsent: "ask",
 
-  // Disable in Basic Agent mode (free tier) - requires engine
-  isEnabled: (ctx) => !ctx.isBasicAgentMode,
+  // Requires Dyad Pro engine API
+  isEnabled: (ctx) => ctx.isDyadPro,
 
   getConsentPreview: (args) => `Crawl URL: "${args.url}"`,
 

src/pro/main/ipc/handlers/local_agent/tools/web_search.ts

@@ -161,8 +161,8 @@ export const webSearchTool: ToolDefinition<z.infer<typeof webSearchSchema>> = {
   inputSchema: webSearchSchema,
   defaultConsent: "ask",
 
-  // Disable in Basic Agent mode (free tier) - requires engine
-  isEnabled: (ctx) => !ctx.isBasicAgentMode,
+  // Requires Dyad Pro engine API
+  isEnabled: (ctx) => ctx.isDyadPro,
 
   getConsentPreview: (args) => `Search the web: "${args.query}"`,