feat(sessions): use 1-line generated session summary to describe sessions (#14467)

packages/cli/src/utils/sessionUtils.ts

@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import {
 } from '@google/gemini-cli-core';
 import * as fs from 'node:fs/promises';
 import path from 'node:path';
+import { stripUnsafeCharacters } from '../ui/utils/textUtils.js';
 
 /**
  * Constant for the resume "latest" identifier.
@@ -60,6 +61,8 @@ export interface SessionInfo {
   isCurrentSession: boolean;
   /** Display index in the list */
   index: number;
+  /** AI-generated summary of the session (if available) */
+  summary?: string;
   /** Full concatenated content (only loaded when needed for search) */
   fullContent?: string;
   /** Processed messages with normalized roles (only loaded when needed) */
@@ -259,10 +262,13 @@ export const getAllSessionFiles = async (
             startTime: content.startTime,
             lastUpdated: content.lastUpdated,
             messageCount: content.messages.length,
-            displayName: firstUserMessage,
+            displayName: content.summary
+              ? stripUnsafeCharacters(content.summary)
+              : firstUserMessage,
             firstUserMessage,
             isCurrentSession,
             index: 0, // Will be set after sorting valid sessions
+            summary: content.summary,
             fullContent,
             messages,
           };

packages/cli/src/utils/sessions.test.ts

@@ -290,6 +290,40 @@ describe('listSessions', () => {
       expect.stringContaining(', current)'),
     );
   });
+
+  it('should display summary as title when available instead of first user message', async () => {
+    // Arrange
+    const now = new Date('2025-01-20T12:00:00.000Z');
+    const mockSessions: SessionInfo[] = [
+      {
+        id: 'session-with-summary',
+        file: 'session-file',
+        fileName: 'session-file.json',
+        startTime: now.toISOString(),
+        lastUpdated: now.toISOString(),
+        messageCount: 10,
+        displayName: 'Add dark mode to the app', // Summary
+        firstUserMessage:
+          'How do I add dark mode to my React application with CSS variables?',
+        isCurrentSession: false,
+        index: 1,
+        summary: 'Add dark mode to the app',
+      },
+    ];
+
+    mockListSessions.mockResolvedValue(mockSessions);
+
+    // Act
+    await listSessions(mockConfig);
+
+    // Assert: Should show the summary (displayName), not the first user message
+    expect(consoleLogSpy).toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.stringContaining('1. Add dark mode to the app'),
+    );
+    expect(consoleLogSpy).not.toHaveBeenCalledWith(
+      expect.stringContaining('How do I add dark mode to my React application'),
+    );
+  });
 });
 
 describe('deleteSession', () => {

packages/cli/src/utils/sessions.ts

@@ -31,9 +31,9 @@ export async function listSessions(config: Config): Promise<void> {
       const current = session.isCurrentSession ? ', current' : '';
       const time = formatRelativeTime(session.lastUpdated);
       const title =
-        session.firstUserMessage.length > 100
-          ? session.firstUserMessage.slice(0, 97) + '...'
-          : session.firstUserMessage;
+        session.displayName.length > 100
+          ? session.displayName.slice(0, 97) + '...'
+          : session.displayName;
       console.log(
         `  ${index + 1}. ${title} (${time}${current}) [${session.id}]`,
       );