feat: handle environment.json file in cn serve (#7984)

* feat: handle environment.json file in cn serve

* fix: address feedback

Author: sestinj

extensions/cli/src/commands/serve.ts

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import type { ChatHistoryItem } from "core/index.js";
 import express, { Request, Response } from "express";
 
 import { getAccessToken, getAssistantSlug } from "../auth/workos.js";
+import { runEnvironmentInstallSafe } from "../environment/environmentHandler.js";
 import { processCommandFlags } from "../flags/flagProcessor.js";
 import { toolPermissionManager } from "../permissions/permissionManager.js";
 import {
@@ -55,6 +56,8 @@ export async function serve(prompt?: string, options: ServeOptions = {}) {
   const timeoutMs = timeoutSeconds * 1000;
   const port = parseInt(options.port || "8000", 10);
 
+  // Environment install script will be deferred until after server startup to avoid blocking
+
   // Initialize services with tool permission overrides
   const { permissionOverrides } = processCommandFlags(options);
 
@@ -348,6 +351,9 @@ export async function serve(prompt?: string, options: ServeOptions = {}) {
       ),
     );
 
+    // Run environment install script after server startup
+    runEnvironmentInstallSafe();
+
     // If initial prompt provided, queue it for processing
     if (actualPrompt) {
       console.log(chalk.dim("\nProcessing initial prompt..."));

extensions/cli/src/environment/environmentHandler.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,123 @@
+import { exec } from "child_process";
+import { existsSync, readFileSync } from "fs";
+import path from "path";
+import { promisify } from "util";
+
+import chalk from "chalk";
+
+const execAsync = promisify(exec);
+
+import { formatError } from "../util/formatError.js";
+import { logger } from "../util/logger.js";
+
+interface EnvironmentConfig {
+  install?: string;
+}
+
+const ENVIRONMENT_FILE_NAME = "environment.json";
+const ENVIRONMENT_SEARCH_PATHS = [".continue"];
+
+/**
+ * Finds and reads the environment.json file
+ */
+function findEnvironmentFile(): EnvironmentConfig | null {
+  for (const searchPath of ENVIRONMENT_SEARCH_PATHS) {
+    const environmentPath = path.join(
+      process.cwd(),
+      searchPath,
+      ENVIRONMENT_FILE_NAME,
+    );
+
+    if (existsSync(environmentPath)) {
+      try {
+        const content = readFileSync(environmentPath, "utf-8");
+        const config = JSON.parse(content) as EnvironmentConfig;
+        logger.debug(`Found environment.json at: ${environmentPath}`);
+        return config;
+      } catch (error) {
+        logger.error(
+          `Failed to parse environment.json at ${environmentPath}: ${formatError(error)}`,
+        );
+        return null;
+      }
+    }
+  }
+
+  logger.debug("No environment.json file found");
+  return null;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Runs the install script from environment.json if present
+ * Now runs asynchronously to avoid blocking server startup
+ */
+export async function runEnvironmentInstall(): Promise<void> {
+  const environmentConfig = findEnvironmentFile();
+
+  if (!environmentConfig || !environmentConfig.install) {
+    logger.debug("No install script found in environment.json, skipping...");
+    return;
+  }
+
+  const installScript = environmentConfig.install;
+  logger.debug(
+    chalk.blue(
+      `\nRunning environment install script: ${chalk.dim(installScript)}`,
+    ),
+  );
+
+  try {
+    await execAsync(installScript, {
+      cwd: process.cwd(),
+      encoding: "utf-8",
+    });
+
+    logger.debug(
+      chalk.green("✓ Environment install script completed successfully"),
+    );
+  } catch (error) {
+    logger.error(`Environment install script failed: ${formatError(error)}`);
+    throw new Error(
+      `Failed to run environment install script: ${formatError(error)}`,
+    );
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Runs the install script from environment.json if present, with error handling
+ * This version doesn't throw errors to avoid blocking server startup
+ */
+export async function runEnvironmentInstallSafe(): Promise<void> {
+  const environmentConfig = findEnvironmentFile();
+
+  if (!environmentConfig || !environmentConfig.install) {
+    logger.debug("No environment install script to run");
+    return;
+  }
+
+  logger.debug(
+    chalk.blue("Running environment install script in background..."),
+  );
+
+  try {
+    await runEnvironmentInstall();
+    logger.debug(
+      chalk.green("✓ Environment install script completed successfully"),
+    );
+  } catch (error) {
+    logger.error(
+      chalk.yellow("Warning: Environment install script failed:"),
+      formatError(error),
+    );
+    logger.error(
+      chalk.dim("Server will continue to run without the install script."),
+    );
+  }
+}
+
+/**
+ * Gets the environment configuration if available
+ */
+export function getEnvironmentConfig(): EnvironmentConfig | null {
+  return findEnvironmentFile();
+}